McGster's DIY Electric Brewery Controller Build

[mcgster]

The package of supplies for the panel was picked up by a few friends coming back from Extreme Beer Fest, i'm heading home Friday night. I can't wait to get my hands on the parts for this project.

[jason.loxton]

Derailing the thread a bit, but just wanted to through this baby in here. Mcgster noted a 30a controller at $1500 USD. This fella clocks in at $439 USD and has been tempting me for awhile. (Admittedly, it was tempting me more before the dollar collapse.) An option for people following this thread who aren't as handy or don't feel like the effort:

http://brewtronix.com/Hosehead" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mcgster]

That is a pretty cool setup, quite a bit different from the electric brewery control panels for 1500 though. I thought about going with a brewpi controller as well but i like the manual control a PID and a PWN gives you during brewday.

It is tempting to have the digital displays and readouts of your temps like the brewpi / hosehead controllers offer but i didn't want to tie my brew day to a screen.

[mcgster]

Derailing the thread a bit, but just wanted to through this baby in here. Mcgster noted a 30a controller at $1500 USD. This fella clocks in at $439 USD and has been tempting me for awhile. (Admittedly, it was tempting me more before the dollar collapse.) An option for people following this thread who aren't as handy or don't feel like the effort:

http://brewtronix.com/Hosehead" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I just read through the 20+ page thread on this controller on HBT, it looks like it might be a better value than the brewpi, definitely worth considering for anyone looking at a PC interface like this, it definitely has some appeal!

[jason.loxton]

Yup. Feel the same way. I like--and trust--PIDs and the interface more than the screen-based approach. Still... price is right!

Here's a link for the older 2.0 version that describes it a bit more: http://brewtronix.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mcgster]

I finally have all the parts ready to start this project. I have to pick up a surface to work on for the apartment tomorrow since i don't have a suitable spot to assemble it, then i get to try and start figuring everything out!

[sleepyjamie]

I finally have all the parts ready to start this project. I have to pick up a surface to work on for the apartment tomorrow since i don't have a suitable spot to assemble it, then i get to try and start figuring everything out!

Where did you get the partlist?

[mcgster]

I started off using the template from http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/control-panel-part-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but when i realized i wanted to do something different i subbed in parts from the lists on http://www.auberins.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Having built a previous panel loosely based on the electric brewery model i wanted something that was a bit cleaner to work with. Don't get me wrong, Kal's build is super clean, but the DIN rails seemed a bit cleaner than the terminal posts

[AllanMar]

I started off using the template from http://www.theelectricbrewery.com/control-panel-part-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but when i realized i wanted to do something different i subbed in parts from the lists on http://www.auberins.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Having built a previous panel loosely based on the electric brewery model i wanted something that was a bit cleaner to work with. Don't get me wrong, Kal's build is super clean, but the DIN rails seemed a bit cleaner than the terminal posts

I agree, I built all mine via DIN but similar level as The Electric Brewery. I think Kal made a lot of design choices back originally that he's just stuck with since. The amount of hardware/wiring to accommodate the voltage/amp meter seems ridiculous now that they have all in one self-powered ones for example.

[mcgster]

I agree, especially on the voltmeter! I wired one in a similar process into my first panel and thought it was a bit much!

The DIN setup is new to me but it looks to be fairly straightforward. Did you use any resources to help you on the DIN side?

[AllanMar]

I agree, especially on the voltmeter! I wired one in a similar process into my first panel and thought it was a bit much!

The DIN setup is new to me but it looks to be fairly straightforward. Did you use any resources to help you on the DIN side?

Don't over think it... It's just an alternative to screws really. I'm quite familiar with it (from work), but its not like there's a lot to know.

[mcgster]

Finally getting around to getting all the pieces together for this.

IMG_8865.jpg

[mcgster]

I really had to search around for some wire to do this project. The prices were horrendous at most places I checked and I was going to strip down some 14/3 and 10/3 cables to use them. However the crimped terminals don't work as well with the solid wire. I lucked out and found Home Depot had a huge selection of stranded wire from 10 gauge to 16 gauche.




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[mcgster]

Slow going with this project this week, it seems that everytime i go to start I'm missing something small that I need.

I wired up and mounted the power input and the output to the element. The input is going to a 50A contactor split off to the keyed power switch that will be on the front panel.

On the other end the element will be fed off a the SSR to the 30A contactor then fed through an indicator light.




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