My build thread

[augiedoggy]

To be honest, I used red because I’m cheap lol! I added black electrical tape to the ends to separate it from the other. Also, if 10awg is rated for 30 amps, why do you need to use 6awg?

I completely understand. I did the same thing with my 1st panel even recycled wire I had from other projects. But I was just letting you know I regretted it later it's so much easier to figure out things months down the road when you have to change something if the wires are properly Color coded is all I'm saying

 

[--Jason--]

I completely understand. I did the same thing with my 1st panel even recycled wire I had from other projects. But I was just letting you know I regretted it later it's so much easier to figure out things months down the road when you have to change something if the wires are properly Color coded is all I'm saying

I appreciate the feedback. I was hoping that people would notice anything that maybe wrong before something went wrong lol

 

[adman]

I bought this wire from ebay and it seems to be pretty decent quality (warning, I am not an electrician, so my opinion as to the quality of wire may not be valid) and not too expensive. I actually have a good amount left over--too bad you're not local, I could sell it to you relatively cheap.

 

[--Jason--]

I bought this wire from ebay and it seems to be pretty decent quality (warning, I am not an electrician, so my opinion as to the quality of wire may not be valid) and not too expensive. I actually have a good amount left over--too bad you're not local, I could sell it to you relatively cheap.

I should have some wire left over from the spa panel install, but thanks for thinking of me.

 

[--Jason--]

I have added the 6 awg wire and bigger terminal blocks for Leg1 and Leg2 to the breakers. I have the 50amp service ran to the garage as well. It getting closer.

 

[--Jason--]

Getting to a point where I can see how it is going to fit together!

 

[--Jason--]

Spent a lot of time tonight working on the wiring, heatsink, SSRs and outlet. Still have the control panel, power source wiring and low voltage to go.

 

[--Jason--]

So I got it wired up and when I powered it on, there was a loud buzzing sound going from the contractor. I realized I didn’t get 110 coil contactors and ran 220 to it as the manufacturer states, but still buzzing really loud. It does open and power up the Arduino and power supplies, but I can’t deal with the noises. Has anyone else had this issue?

Update:
Staying up late working on this cost me hours lol. I still had 2 contractors wired 120v, so that was the source of the buzzing. Once I hit the e-stop, it stopped. I then wired the second leg to the contactors and they are almost silent.

 

[--Jason--]

I have a 5500w ripple element installed. I was doing some testing tonight and I noticed that the 1wire sensors were jumping from -197 and then the real temperature. Has anyone else this before?

 

[BrunDog]

The -197 is a misread. Means something is noisy.

 

[--Jason--]

The -197 is a misread. Means something is noisy.

What would I do the resolve this?

 

[augiedoggy]

I have a 5500w ripple element installed. I was doing some testing tonight and I noticed that the 1wire sensors were jumping from -197 and then the real temperature. Has anyone else this before?

theres most likely electrical noise from either the contactor coils or a ground issue.

I wired these across my coils when I used the contactors your using
https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_35&products_id=238

also make sure the stainless shielding on your rtd cables (if your using that type of cable) is only grounded at one end. otherwise you can create a ground loop which also causes the spikes when things are turned on or off.

Also... remember when I said I had electrical noise when using that red relay board your using?... you might have to replace it if the other stuff doesnt completely resolve it. I did. I bought a "sunfounder" brand equivalent and the last of issue cleared right up.

I only used one of the one wire sensors in my homebrewing panel and it was certainly the most sensitive to the noise by far. I had the issue with my rtds as well but not with my thermister sensors..
In my other panel at brewery I had a lot of trouble with my rtds doing this and thats where I tried the above steps.

Im building my fermenter control panel now for the brewery and you've just reminded me to be proactive about noise insulation.

 

[swimIan]

How do you only ground one end of the stainless shielded cable? I assume you skip soldering the ground connection at either plug?

My onewire read 185 at startup but then drop to the normal level afterwards. They don’t spike again later. Is this noise too?

 

[augiedoggy]

How do you only ground one end of the stainless shielded cable? I assume you skip soldering the ground connection at either plug?

My onewire read 185 at startup but then drop to the normal level afterwards. They don’t spike again later. Is this noise too?

I dont believe this is noise since mine does the same but maybe Brundog can clarify..

as far as the shielding, its more for the rtd cables where the shielding could be grounding both ends. when you have this as well as the element ground going to the same kettle it creates a ground loop... The same thing can happen in a car stereo system when multiple points of ground are used from different points on the chassis.. you can get that whine in the stereo from the electrical noise. the grounds should terminate in the same place and more or less branch out like a star from what Ive been told here.

 

[BrunDog]

How do you only ground one end of the stainless shielded cable? I assume you skip soldering the ground connection at either plug?

My onewire read 185 at startup but then drop to the normal level afterwards. They don’t spike again later. Is this noise too?

185 is a reset... that is normal, but admittedly we need to weed those out in the firmware.

 

[--Jason--]

I dont believe this is noise since mine does the same but maybe Brundog can clarify..

as far as the shielding, its more for the rtd cables where the shielding could be grounding both ends. when you have this as well as the element ground going to the same kettle it creates a ground loop... The same thing can happen in a car stereo system when multiple points of ground are used from different points on the chassis.. you can get that whine in the stereo from the electrical noise. the grounds should terminate in the same place and more or less branch out like a star from what Ive been told here.

Maybe the ground is the issue. Do you guys have the ground from the Arduino going to the ground terminal block, or do you use the ground from the Arduino separately from the ground in the terminal block?

 

[BrunDog]

All grounds should (ideally) terminate at one "point" aka star ground. Using the Arduino ground is probably ok but if you use shielded cable, grounding on both ends may cause trouble.

Pics and schematics can help us help you.

 

[--Jason--]

theres most likely electrical noise from either the contactor coils or a ground issue.

I wired these across my coils when I used the contactors your using
https://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_35&products_id=238

also make sure the stainless shielding on your rtd cables (if your using that type of cable) is only grounded at one end. otherwise you can create a ground loop which also causes the spikes when things are turned on or off.

Also... remember when I said I had electrical noise when using that red relay board your using?... you might have to replace it if the other stuff doesnt completely resolve it. I did. I bought a "sunfounder" brand equivalent and the last of issue cleared right up.

I only used one of the one wire sensors in my homebrewing panel and it was certainly the most sensitive to the noise by far. I had the issue with my rtds as well but not with my thermister sensors..
In my other panel at brewery I had a lot of trouble with my rtds doing this and thats where I tried the above steps.

Im building my fermenter control panel now for the brewery and you've just reminded me to be proactive about noise insulation.

I have not even wired in that red relay board yet lol

 

[--Jason--]

All grounds should (ideally) terminate at one "point" aka star ground. Using the Arduino ground is probably ok but if you use shielded cable, grounding on both ends may cause trouble.

Pics and schematics can help us help you.

I am using your 50a schematic from Brucontrol.com. I was able to do a little troubleshooting after the kids were done trick or treating It only spikes when the DC motor (via MOSFET) is not running at full output. 0 = Good, 255 = Good, any thing else = bad. I assume that noise from the MOSFET? I have not connected any relay board yet, but AugieDoggy has mentioned he believes I will have same issue with it.

 

[BrunDog]

Again, pics and schematics are the best way we can help you. Otherwise, its a lot of conjecture... sorry!

 

[--Jason--]

Here are some pictures of my setup, but beware the wires are messy as i have been troubleshooting. I have every count terminating at the ground terminal block. Let me know if you see anything that looks wrong. This only happens when the MOSFET is being driven at less that 100% and is not affected by elements being used or not.

 

[augiedoggy]

Unrelated but you may want to power the mega from the 12v powersupply and let the onboard regulator output the 5v to outputs instead of using the 5v which I believe outputs at 3.3v.. I may be wrong but thats what I was told.

I use the same mosfet boards in my homebrew panel for 24v pumps and have not seen this noise with those. I Do have my middle VCC pin wired up to the 5v from the mega along with ground and signal though and that may be your issue.

 

[--Jason--]

Unrelated but you may want to power the mega from the 12v powersupply and let the onboard regulator output the 5v to outputs instead of using the 5v which I believe outputs at 3.3v.. I may be wrong but thats what I was told.

I use the same mosfet boards in my homebrew panel for 24v pumps and have not seen this noise with those. I Do have my middle VCC pin wired up to the 5v from the mega along with ground and signal though and that may be your issue.

I tried to power the mega from the 12v and it would work for 2 minutes then get hot and reset. I even dialed the 12v back to 11 and not still did it. I now power it via the 5v and have it set to 6.1(highest it will go) Has anyone else seen that?

I can connect the vcc pins and see if that helps.

 

[BrunDog]

Gets hot and resets with 12V power applied to Vin? That shouldn't happen. Does that happen with everything disconnected? The WiFi module uses a bit of power but not enough to roast the regulator.

 

[--Jason--]

Gets hot and resets with 12V power applied to Vin? That shouldn't happen. Does that happen with everything disconnected? The WiFi module uses a bit of power but not enough to roast the regulator.

It was actually connected to an adapter in the dc port. But I read the vin can take 6 and work. I also am using the Ethernet module versus the WiFi.

 

[--Jason--]

Gets hot and resets with 12V power applied to Vin? That shouldn't happen. Does that happen with everything disconnected? The WiFi module uses a bit of power but not enough to roast the regulator.

I did test it without any wires plugged in, but I didn’t test it without the Ethernet shield.

 

[BrunDog]

The Ethernet shield combo should stay cool. Not sure what’s going on.

 

[--Jason--]

The Ethernet shield combo should stay cool. Not sure what’s going on.

I was just reading reviews of the brand I bought and they seem to have a lot of bad solders, so I will check that.

 

[--Jason--]

I have spent several hours troubleshooting this. I found a couple things that were grounded twice, and removing these has helped some. I still get the -197 and if i bypass the mosfet or set it to 100% I do not get any spikes. Can someone double check my wiring of the mosfet?

• v- and v+ go to pump and the - is not connected to ground. If I connect it to ground it runs 100% not matter what the mosfet is set to.
• Vin from 24v power supply
• Gnd - not connected as this is tied to the other ground on the board
• VCC - 5v from mega
• Sig - pwm from mega
• Gnd - to terminal block

 

[augiedoggy]

I have spent several hours troubleshooting this. I found a couple things that were grounded twice, and removing these has helped some. I still get the -197 and if i bypass the mosfet or set it to 100% I do not get any spikes. Can someone double check my wiring of the mosfet?

• v- and v+ go to pump and the - is not connected to ground. If I connect it to ground it runs 100% not matter what the mosfet is set to.
• Vin from 24v power supply
• Gnd - not connected as this is tied to the other ground on the board
• VCC - 5v from mega
• Sig - pwm from mega
• Gnd - to terminal block

the mosfets actually are ground switching for some reason.

your GND should be connected to the ground on your 24v power supply.. the mosfet board should be isolating them from the arduino, I bet thats your issue. either way the ground through the arduino may not be able to handle the amp draw from the pumps.. I would think its much too high. this also may explain your issues running the arduino off 12v.

 

[--Jason--]

the mosfets actually are ground switching for some reason.

your GND should be connected to the ground on your 24v power supply.. the mosfet board should be isolating them from the arduino, I bet thats your issue. either way the ground through the arduino may not be able to handle the amp draw from the pumps.. I would think its much too high. this also may explain your issues running the arduino off 12v.

I have all of the grounds going to the terminal blocks, and not through the Arduino. Is this not how it should be?

 

[augiedoggy]

I have all of the grounds going to the terminal blocks, and not through the Arduino. Is this not how it should be?

No, the vin and ground going to the low control side of the mosfet boards should come from the arduino along with the signal voltage.. The high side power to power the pumps should come from the powersupply and that ground can be tied to the main dc ground.

I tried the way your doing it and my relay boards wouldnt even work that way.

 

[--Jason--]

Here is a picture of my setup. Still getting 1 spike per minute.
Sig = PWM pin on arduino
VCC = 5v pin on arduino
Gnd = gnd on arduino
Vin = from 24v
Gnd = from 24v
v+ = + to pump
v- = - to pump

 

[--Jason--]

No, the vin and ground going to the low control side of the mosfet boards should come from the arduino along with the signal voltage.. The high side power to power the pumps should come from the powersupply and that ground can be tied to the main dc ground.

I tried the way your doing it and my relay boards wouldnt even work that way.

I think I have them wired the way you state, but still getting the interference.

 

[augiedoggy]

sorry to hear that, Time to start eliminating things one thing at a time.. Does the interference correspond with anything else turning on or off or just completely random? I know those contactors without snubbers will definitely be one potential source but only when they are actually turned on or off. if it appears random or correlates with the ssr firing the element I would look at ground loop issues myself.

 

[--Jason--]

sorry to hear that, Time to start eliminating things one thing at a time.. Does the interference correspond with anything else turning on or off or just completely random? I know those contactors without snubbers will definitely be one potential source but only when they are actually turned on or off. if it appears random or correlates with the ssr firing the element I would look at ground loop issues myself.

It only happens when the mosfet is not at 100%. Elements and other items do not cause it. I am thinking it has to be the mosfet boards. Where did you get yours? I see there are several different ones that look similar. I also hooked them up wrong to begin with and may have damaged them then.

 

[augiedoggy]

I use the very same mosfet boards in my home brewery as your using. I can tell you they pulse the ground to work not the positive so maybe you still have an issue with your ground. try running an isolated ground direct from the power supply and see if it effects anything?

 

[--Jason--]

I use the very same mosfet boards in my home brewery as your using. I can tell you they pulse the ground to work not the positive so maybe you still have an issue with your ground. try running an isolated ground direct from the power supply and see if it effects anything?

I replaced them with a 4 channel mosfet and the issue went away! I also replaced the Arduino, but I wired then both wrong to begin with, so likely damaged them. Lesson learned I guess.

 

[--Jason--]

I need to get some pictures on here of the updated components. I was able to do back to back brews on Saturday! Everything went well, aside from some pump priming issues. We were able to mash and boil at the same time, and I have to say the Quadzilla performed flawlessly. Next steps involve adding some valves to help with priming, and working to get some electronic ball valves to start looking at automation.

 

[BrunDog]

Awesome! Congrats!!