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OK, this is more on the philosophical side, and I'm definitely not here to discourage anyone from pursuing an automated gravity monitoring system. I get it, you're doing it because you can - and of course it would be so cool. However, I know from personal experience the push for "ultimate"...

Hard to say what the actual concentration of PAA is from 6% white vinegar and 3% Hydrogen Peroxide. I'm not a chemist but know the reaction to make PAA requires an acid catalyst using sulfuric acid to make it in higher concentrations. Without knowing the actual efficacy, it's probably better...

PAA is used in nearly every brewery across the world as a no-rinse sanitizer. In it's concentrated form (70%), it must be handled with the proper PPE - preferably a full face shield, rubber gloves and splash-proof clothing. When PAA is dissolved in water, it undergoes an equilibrium reaction...

Excellent job! Great repurposing project!

You probably want a tefc motor to prevent dust ingress into the motor.

According to the specs from eBay: •DC 12V, •Rated current: 0.7A, •Max Flow Rate: 8L/Min(2.1GPM), •Max Water Head: 9.8ft You'll need at least a 10 Watt, 12VDC power supply to run this. As the previous commenters have said, you can't mix AC power supplies with DC motors...

On-board 30 plate heat exchanger to chill wort post boil

All wiring is in LFMC for protection

RTD industrial temp sensors feed 4-20mA to the PLC. 2-Stage furnace valves control burners, auto ignition, temperature control set points on everything

HMI control

1/2 bbl automated pilot system

This is a great idea - similar to what pro brewers do who don't want to tie up precious fermenter space for months. After cold fermentation, brewers will sometimes carb & keg a lager, then put the kegs in cold storage for a month or 2.

I don't post much, just sharing some photos of my rig. I designed it as a pilot system for a small brewery, automated as much as seemed practical. HMI is a Red Lion G306, PLC is a Beckhoff CX9000, except for the welding on the frame and kettles, I did all the design & construction work. Propane...

The inexpensive Chinese paddle wheel sensors I've used (from eBay, etc.) work great as long as there aren't any particulates in the stream. Otherwise they jam up with even very small particles - they don't publish much in the way of specs for these sensors but my guess is particulates have to be...

The issue with using that kind of a paddle wheel flow meter is that it will immediately clog with grain debris. Even very small particles will stop them dead. They can only be used in a system where particle sizes are below something like 10-50 microns. Your only option for measuring mash recirc...

If you want a solenoid valve, then use a stainless valve with viton diaphragms - they work great at temps above boiling. $41 bucks on ebay for a 1/2" version - they are chinese but I've got 8 of them on my system and they are very reliable.

This could also be done by placing 2 static pressure sensors at 2 different heights in the fermenter wall (easy with stainless) and subtract the values. The greater the spacing, the better the resolution. For home brewing applications, use a pressure sensor designed to measure low pressures...

To automate flow, and do it right is expensive. There are a lot of creative schemes out there but IMO they just aren't robust enough to be repeatable and reliable every time. In the industrial world I use proportional or modulating valves to control flow but they are pricey. Using a flow meter...