Flow Controller

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Fil said:
check out the 20 x 4 lcd screen, u pay a little more, but get to display way more info and if canny can use the bottom line to label your buttons on the fly thus cutting down the need for as many buttons to start with and the need to make labels for the box ;)

I like the valves bobsber, and have taken a punt on one ;) not the gizmo tho, way less potential than steves box,
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I'm liking the idea of the 20x4 with self-labeling buttons, noted for final purchasing :) At that price the valves are worth a punt but I couldn't see if it was NC/NO and what the thread size was.

Appears I've been paid a few days early so time to order some more parts I think, also need to figure out how I'm going to mount all this, would be nice to get everything contained in one project box that I can mount on the wall.
 
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just added all those parts to my basket ready to hit the trigger, will be planning on fully automating it from pressing a button to it finishing. obviously stirring the mash and adding hops, etc manually.
 
Cyclops said:
just added all those parts to my basket ready to hit the trigger, will be planning on fully automating it from pressing a button to it finishing. obviously stirring the mash and adding hops, etc manually.
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a 240v ac industrial microwave turntable motor might be upto the job of stirring the mash for you, If u design the right paddle :)
with liquid measurement solved.. kudos Steve.. and budget hi flow hi temp foodsafe low voltage valves diy brew by wire looks more achievable ;)
 
Thanks for that Steve.

I have a massive boner about this. Ordering parts tomorrow. I have minimal electronics experience and was looking for a project to get into arduinos :)

I'm definitely going to set it up to the mains in and fully automate filling my HLT. Should make my sight glass pretty much redundant.
 
Belter said:
I'm definitely going to set it up to the mains in and fully automate filling my HLT. Should make my sight glass pretty much redundant.
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Belter, with a bit of thought and this kit u can recalibrate your sightglass on the fly with a push of a button filling in 500ml increments for u to mark up :) move it and sit it on a not too flat surface and still have spot on visual measurement hehe

still need to weigh what the flow meter counts as 1l a few times to determine if any error is significant. but lots of promise indeed.
 
stevela said:
I'm liking the idea of the 20x4 with self-labeling buttons, noted for final purchasing At that price the valves are worth a punt but I couldn't see if it was NC/NO and what the thread size was.
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From what I could see of the specs they were 'Normally Closed' valves with a 1/2" thread. Although looking at the other items on the sellers list he has different sizes available, 1/4", 3/4" and 1".

I agree that the arduino route gives it more potential, ie controlling the HLT temp and also controlling pumps etc. But I'm not familiar with the coding or electronics, so the ready made job looks good for me. By adding the temp probe to the setup it looks like most parameters are covered. And if I wanted a totally automated brewery I would go for a Braumeister if I could afford it, but I like the hands on bit of brewing, and getting your hands dirty so to speak. It's a bit like the difference between hand made bread and a breadmaker. They both produce good bread, but little satisfaction.
 
Could you put air through it? If so then it could be put on a timer and used to pump O2 to rouse yeast once in the morn. Once in the evening
 
Cyclops said:
just added all those parts to my basket ready to hit the trigger, will be planning on fully automating it from pressing a button to it finishing. obviously stirring the mash and adding hops, etc manually.
Click to expand...
Nice one, sounds like you are going to take it a lot further than I will :thumb:

Belter said:
Thanks for that Steve.

I have a massive boner about this. Ordering parts tomorrow. I have minimal electronics experience and was looking for a project to get into arduinos :)

I'm definitely going to set it up to the mains in and fully automate filling my HLT. Should make my sight glass pretty much redundant.
Click to expand...
:thumb: I've been quite impressed with the Arduino so far lots of potential for something so cheap, I've had a RaspberryPi for a while but never got around to using it, I can see one of these with a few probes being a good replacement for multiple STC-1000s with the ability to log etc (a project for another day though).

I don't currently have a sight-glass on my HLT which is one of the things that made me want to start this. I do have a new shiny 50l one in mind though from MrLard when I've fully recovered from my last purchases from him :) As Fil says having this controller will make calibrating the sight glass a lot quicker (and hopefully more accurate than doing it by hand).
 
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Belter said:
Could you put air through it? If so then it could be put on a timer and used to pump O2 to rouse yeast once in the morn. Once in the evening
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I can't see a reason that the flowmeter wouldn't work with air, I'm testing it by blowing down it! The only thing is you may need a different calculation to work out the volume that has been passed through :hmm:
 
I don't see why not, but I'm not sure what the pressure rating is. But at low pressure it should be fine. But the sensor will be designed for liquids rather than a gas so may need a bit of calibration. You may be better with a pneumatic solenoid rather than a water valve.
 
Well I've talked myself into the nearly ready made version and included the temp probe. Now to sort a power supply and how to connect it all up so I can swap the unit around from filling HLT, Mash Tun, MT-Boiler and Boiler to FV. Maybe some sort of box with quick connects on the outside. But calibrating will be an issue to account for pipe run volume in all the different variations of use. I also need to get a mag pump as that can be run with back pressure.
 
Has any one tried to SoLard mag pump yet MrLard is selling? I was going to buy one but wanted to hear reviews first
 
Belter said:
Has any one tried to SoLard mag pump yet MrLard is selling? I was going to buy one but wanted to hear reviews first
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Unfortunately I haven't, they were out of stock when I placed my last order so got one of the standard Solar Pumps, I'll probably pick one up when I order the new HLT as more than one pump would be nice.
 
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All parts ordered :) looking forward to playing with an Audrino. Found a 24v solenoid in the garage. Do audrinos output 12v?
 
Belter said:
All parts ordered :) looking forward to playing with an Audrino. Found a 24v solenoid in the garage. Do audrinos output 12v?
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arduinos have an opperating voltage of 5V and can be powered via a usb cable but can accept a psu upto 12v iirc. so using a single 12v psu u can simply power both the board itself and supply 12v to anything you need to power. im using a 12v 3a netbook psu which should have the oomph to run everything and a solar pump if i put that control back in. the gpio pins output 5v so 5v switching relays are useful..

cheers for the info on the valves bob.. but as long as the bore is bigger than a camlock or hosetail ;) it could easily be winner..

For gas switching check out the link to the 'bad idea' valve i linked to earlier as its got a micro bore and while can be used for liquids is really a gas valve.
 
Postie dropped off the valve Bob linked to while i was out.

yes its a 1/2" bsp compatable thread..

its a NC valve. (closed without power) But, the filter screen is enclosed with a 1/2" threaded cap, replace that with a manual valve any u have a bypass in place connected to the input.

its quick to open but under mains pressure is slow to close, taking 2-3 secs or so it seemed but i was standing in the middle of the kitchen with the tap hose extended and reaching from the other side of the room was the short wired 12v 1.25a dc psu.. and i lost my aim into the target pot on the floor when i expected the valve to snap shut.
so it probably seemed a lot longer than it was???

and perhaps orientation is relevant? i was holding it in the position i could reach the contacts with wires.

but if the 0verun is consistent with back pressure it can be taken into account if measured ;)
better get a flow meter now......


all in all a thumbs up after a little play and look-see..
 
Glad to hear it will do the job, happy I took a punt on one now, sadly mine hasn't arrived today which is a bit of a shame as it's my last day off.

On the plus side I did just take a punt on a PID on eBay this morning for £5, have to wait and see what turns up though as the description wasn't great :)
 
Solenoid has arrived at the office so if I get chance this evening I'll hook it all up and see how well it works.

I'm starting to think I should invest in a single 12v power supply to run everything that needs that voltage (pumps, arduino, stir plate etc) rather than keep hacking power adaptors to pieces, anyone ever picked up something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LED-Strip-Lig ... 4611b5d7d6

I was thinking a 20A one of those should power multiple pumps etc and could be nicely mounted in a project box with various outputs (XLR maybe?)
 
I use a din rail mounted 24v panel power supply in my electric brewery panel. I doubt you'd ever get anywhere near 20A. Solar pumps are 1A. SoLard pumps are 3A. Pids are mili amps. I had a 5A supply running everything then future proofed by going up to 10A.
 

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