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Great looking build. Good luck on getting the rest of it all squared away!
DIY glycol chilled plastic conical fermenters
- Thread starter packet
- Start date
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Looks like you're getting there with this build. :awesome!:
According to the chart you've posted, this particular Propylene Glycol product, straight up at 40%, will start to freeze below -9°F. I have absolutely no clue what "burst protection" means in that respect.
According to the chart you've posted, this particular Propylene Glycol product, straight up at 40%, will start to freeze below -9°F. I have absolutely no clue what "burst protection" means in that respect.
Need more help with wiring. (edit- found the answer! Its in and odd spot on the brewers hardware page - bottom left "Instructions" at main page, then gives links for various components. Turns out that for me, this is the black and red conductors needed.)
The temp probes from Brewers Hardware have three conductors: Red, White, Black. I know that in Packet's original instructions, that he only wired two conductors. Which ones are they, and does polarity matter (I don't think it does).
Can't really finish up until I find out.
Went ahead and ran the ethernet cord through the floor. what a PITA it was to fish that line...
Going to finish up the internal control panel wiring as much as possible today. Think that I'm going to leave the WallBrick Power supply for the BCS alone. I'm having a hard time getting correct volt readings from my voltage-reducing circuit.
After that, going to work some more on the conical lids. Still have two to go.
Home stretch...
TD
edit #2- Have done a lot of work today. Might be able to fire it up tomorrow. Only have one conical all setup (minus insulation), others still need some work, mostly on the lids. None have the dip tubes installed yet. At this point, other than the conical stuff, its mostly wiring up the temp probes inputs and ball valve outputs from the internal control case connections onto the driver board and BCS inputs. Probably need another 3 gallons of the 40% glycol, right now I have only 3 gallons + 2 gallons water - cooler holds a little over 8 gallons minus the plumbing, pump and condenser displacement. I'm not sure where that winds up on the chart, but I'm sure its not protected from freezing yet. Won't be able to get more until Wednesday. Will post more pics soon.
edit #3- Finished up the wiring. Need to neaten up the temp probes a bit yet. One concial is done enough for testing purposes. Going to clean it, then fill with some water and then ready to fire it up for the first time. I nabbed the MAC address off the faceplate of the BCS controller and used that to reserve an IP address for it on my network so I'll always know where it is. Checked against the client list to ensure the one I picked was available. I'm sort of worried that I screwed something up and a bit ambivalent about plugging it in for the first time. It is ready to plug in and test now though. Hopefully I can finish up with all the insulation and bang out the last two lids before the end of the weekend.
The temp probes from Brewers Hardware have three conductors: Red, White, Black. I know that in Packet's original instructions, that he only wired two conductors. Which ones are they, and does polarity matter (I don't think it does).
Can't really finish up until I find out.
Went ahead and ran the ethernet cord through the floor. what a PITA it was to fish that line...
Going to finish up the internal control panel wiring as much as possible today. Think that I'm going to leave the WallBrick Power supply for the BCS alone. I'm having a hard time getting correct volt readings from my voltage-reducing circuit.
After that, going to work some more on the conical lids. Still have two to go.
Home stretch...
TD
edit #2- Have done a lot of work today. Might be able to fire it up tomorrow. Only have one conical all setup (minus insulation), others still need some work, mostly on the lids. None have the dip tubes installed yet. At this point, other than the conical stuff, its mostly wiring up the temp probes inputs and ball valve outputs from the internal control case connections onto the driver board and BCS inputs. Probably need another 3 gallons of the 40% glycol, right now I have only 3 gallons + 2 gallons water - cooler holds a little over 8 gallons minus the plumbing, pump and condenser displacement. I'm not sure where that winds up on the chart, but I'm sure its not protected from freezing yet. Won't be able to get more until Wednesday. Will post more pics soon.
edit #3- Finished up the wiring. Need to neaten up the temp probes a bit yet. One concial is done enough for testing purposes. Going to clean it, then fill with some water and then ready to fire it up for the first time. I nabbed the MAC address off the faceplate of the BCS controller and used that to reserve an IP address for it on my network so I'll always know where it is. Checked against the client list to ensure the one I picked was available. I'm sort of worried that I screwed something up and a bit ambivalent about plugging it in for the first time. It is ready to plug in and test now though. Hopefully I can finish up with all the insulation and bang out the last two lids before the end of the weekend.
Powered it up. Nothing blew up. Oddly all ball valves opened. I referenced the printouts from plasticconial, and also checked the site. Seems I had my driver board wired GND to the 12vdc- bus. Not sure why I did this. However, I think this is one of the reasons I was trying to run the BCS off the main PSU in the control case. Anyway, in my printout of the original instructions, it said to run ground to chassis ground, then the website said to wire to the BCS GND. So I ran it to the BCS GND, and the ball valves closed.
I am not getting any temperature readings on any of the temp probes, and I think because of this, I am unable to get anything to function. Need to double check my wiring, though I am pretty much sure that the correct pins are soldered to the connectors on both sides. I used the same type connecters as packet, but mine don't have the rectangular faceplate, they're just round. Brewershardware said which conductors to use, which I did, and that there was no polarity. I ended up wiring them all the same anyway in terms of polarity. I'm not entirely sure why all four aren't working. I am thinking its the wiring because that's all that makes sense.
I have the LED temp displays for the three conicals. I found the appropriate settings to enable them and to set the correct addresses. Still I get no display. My units are different than what I've been able to find documentation on. Basically there are four connectors and they all daisy chain. two connections are for power, and two are for data. the two data connectors connect to EXP0 and EXP1 on the BCS. In all the pictures and even the manual, the data connectors on my PC boards have the two data channels flip-flopped, so I flip flopped the connections into the BCS. I think they aren't working because the temp probes aren't working.
Would the lack of a temp probe prohibit me from running the AC in manual mode? I can't get it to turn on. I triple checked the wiring and all appears correct. Wondering if its (again) the temp probes?
So far only have one conical all setup and ready to test. How are folks keeping their temp probes from sliding out from the thermowells? Do I need to use and thermal paste or anything to ensure proper contact?
My firmware is 3.7.0. I see there is a new F/W version, but reluctant to update it until I can at least get a few things working. Probably need to do some reading up on the BCS operations as well. I thought about downloading packets config file, but so far I haven't.
Not looking like Its going to be done by the end of the weekend, as I had hoped. I have to build a frame for my box fan to dry my homegrown hops, which are nearing harvest time.
Any suggestions on troubleshooting, aside from checking the temp probe wiring?
TD
hmm- after a little investigation, seems I might have received the incorrect probes from brewershardware. Maybe I ordered the wrong ones. Invoice online doesn't match up the right SKU. Says mine are tppt1006. Need to check my packing slip and hardcopy, and the packaging material. Might explain my problems. The instructions description of the probes doesn't seem to match up the actual physical probes I have though. fun fun fun
Edit- Yep, have the wrong probes. What a dunce! Looks like mine are the Ptd100 RTD probes, not the BCS 460 probes. Dunno how I managed that goof up. Anyways, I re-wired them to the connectors using the correct conductors (black and white, not the black and red like the BCS probes use). Now I just need to find the fudge factor numbers to display the correct temp. right now it says my glycol bath is over 300º. Might be easier to return them, but I'm carrying on to see if I can get them to work. Seems they could even be a few bucks cheaper.
http://forum.embeddedcc.com/viewtopic.php?t=356&f=17 so much for that idea. RTD's aren't supported.
I am not getting any temperature readings on any of the temp probes, and I think because of this, I am unable to get anything to function. Need to double check my wiring, though I am pretty much sure that the correct pins are soldered to the connectors on both sides. I used the same type connecters as packet, but mine don't have the rectangular faceplate, they're just round. Brewershardware said which conductors to use, which I did, and that there was no polarity. I ended up wiring them all the same anyway in terms of polarity. I'm not entirely sure why all four aren't working. I am thinking its the wiring because that's all that makes sense.
I have the LED temp displays for the three conicals. I found the appropriate settings to enable them and to set the correct addresses. Still I get no display. My units are different than what I've been able to find documentation on. Basically there are four connectors and they all daisy chain. two connections are for power, and two are for data. the two data connectors connect to EXP0 and EXP1 on the BCS. In all the pictures and even the manual, the data connectors on my PC boards have the two data channels flip-flopped, so I flip flopped the connections into the BCS. I think they aren't working because the temp probes aren't working.
Would the lack of a temp probe prohibit me from running the AC in manual mode? I can't get it to turn on. I triple checked the wiring and all appears correct. Wondering if its (again) the temp probes?
So far only have one conical all setup and ready to test. How are folks keeping their temp probes from sliding out from the thermowells? Do I need to use and thermal paste or anything to ensure proper contact?
My firmware is 3.7.0. I see there is a new F/W version, but reluctant to update it until I can at least get a few things working. Probably need to do some reading up on the BCS operations as well. I thought about downloading packets config file, but so far I haven't.
Not looking like Its going to be done by the end of the weekend, as I had hoped. I have to build a frame for my box fan to dry my homegrown hops, which are nearing harvest time.
Any suggestions on troubleshooting, aside from checking the temp probe wiring?
TD
hmm- after a little investigation, seems I might have received the incorrect probes from brewershardware. Maybe I ordered the wrong ones. Invoice online doesn't match up the right SKU. Says mine are tppt1006. Need to check my packing slip and hardcopy, and the packaging material. Might explain my problems. The instructions description of the probes doesn't seem to match up the actual physical probes I have though. fun fun fun
Edit- Yep, have the wrong probes. What a dunce! Looks like mine are the Ptd100 RTD probes, not the BCS 460 probes. Dunno how I managed that goof up. Anyways, I re-wired them to the connectors using the correct conductors (black and white, not the black and red like the BCS probes use). Now I just need to find the fudge factor numbers to display the correct temp. right now it says my glycol bath is over 300º. Might be easier to return them, but I'm carrying on to see if I can get them to work. Seems they could even be a few bucks cheaper.
http://forum.embeddedcc.com/viewtopic.php?t=356&f=17 so much for that idea. RTD's aren't supported.
Great thread Packet. I was thinking of doing a single fermenter setup as I have a 14 gallon Fermenator sitting unused that would make good use of a setup like this but simplified. Appreciate the inspiration...
Question- when you are using the blow off tubing as an airlock, and let's say brewing an ale, when you cold crash, will it pull water from the blow-off container into the conical?
TD
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TD
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Yes! and even covering with foil, you will still suck in oxygen....The best way to cold crash is under positive pressure.
positive pressure is cheap. TC to MPT fitting, Coupler, and a 1/2" to flare nut fitting.
But the devil is in the detail. What exactly are you supposed to be doing while cold crashing with the pressure, carbonating? I don't think my plastic conicals will hold pressure for carbonation, maybe 1 psi, but I'd worry I'd just be leaking CO2 into the atmosphere. I have not been able to test mine for air pressure.. yet... I built one of those rigs to pressurize my conicals, or to move beer with gas if I wanted to. When I've connected to the conical, I've not been able to determine if it'll hold airtight or not. I supposed this is my next step - going to make a big mess spraying down with soap solution though. Better do it before I get my insulation on though.
TD
But the devil is in the detail. What exactly are you supposed to be doing while cold crashing with the pressure, carbonating? I don't think my plastic conicals will hold pressure for carbonation, maybe 1 psi, but I'd worry I'd just be leaking CO2 into the atmosphere. I have not been able to test mine for air pressure.. yet... I built one of those rigs to pressurize my conicals, or to move beer with gas if I wanted to. When I've connected to the conical, I've not been able to determine if it'll hold airtight or not. I supposed this is my next step - going to make a big mess spraying down with soap solution though. Better do it before I get my insulation on though.
TD
ejluttmann
Well-Known Member
I just started my glycol chilled plastic conical fermenter build, using the details from http://plasticconical.com/glycol-chiller ... today I just noticed that plasticconical.com domain name has expired, which is a bummer. I'm sure I can find the info to continue within this thread, but wondering if there was another URL that contained the same details as plasticconical.com?
Might be cached on google. I'd check quick!
I have most of the pages printed out, but not all of them, and might have some cached in my browser. I will try and save whatever I can for any who is interested, possibly as a large PDF. Not sure. Packet has been pretty scarce here lately.
I think most people have modified the original plan in building their own. I know that I will have lots of leftover parts and fittings, and others that I ordered the wrong part, or not enough. It's a large list of stuff to build it all out.
Mine still not done. Awaiting new temp probes because I ordered the wrong ones, and nothing will work without those. Otherwise really just needs the insulation finished, and the lids on two of the three conicals finished, and the dip tubes installed (and one bulkhead swapped out). Have most of the BCS programmed and all wired to my network.
I'm planning to convert to stainless conicals. I am going to get the plastic ones going for now though, and see how they perform. There may be a cheaper conical option for you in the future. I'll post it if/when my plastics are available. This thread really should be just about all you'll need though. The parts list is basically from only a few places. Let us know what step you're on and I for one will be happy to help.
TD
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I have most of the pages printed out, but not all of them, and might have some cached in my browser. I will try and save whatever I can for any who is interested, possibly as a large PDF. Not sure. Packet has been pretty scarce here lately.
I think most people have modified the original plan in building their own. I know that I will have lots of leftover parts and fittings, and others that I ordered the wrong part, or not enough. It's a large list of stuff to build it all out.
Mine still not done. Awaiting new temp probes because I ordered the wrong ones, and nothing will work without those. Otherwise really just needs the insulation finished, and the lids on two of the three conicals finished, and the dip tubes installed (and one bulkhead swapped out). Have most of the BCS programmed and all wired to my network.
I'm planning to convert to stainless conicals. I am going to get the plastic ones going for now though, and see how they perform. There may be a cheaper conical option for you in the future. I'll post it if/when my plastics are available. This thread really should be just about all you'll need though. The parts list is basically from only a few places. Let us know what step you're on and I for one will be happy to help.
TD
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I had another near incident with my coils last weekend. Previously, I had one of the compression fittings pop off when cleaning the coils. Turns out that the coils were filled with glycol and disconnected and the temperature change caused the liquid in the coil to expand. This past weekend, I tried to connect to the coil while the pump was running. After I got one of the quick connect fittings on, I could not get the other one on. I think the pump pressurized the coil and made it so you could not push down the other spring valve on the quick connect fitting. I ended up running cold water and eventually hit it with a hammer before it released the pressure. I am trying to figure out if there is a way to make this foolproof. One idea is to have the program open the valves after the pump turns off so the glycol can drain back. This requires that the outlet tube is above the liquid level so that air can be pulled in. Otherwise, here are a couple of tips:
-Manually drain the coils immediately after you disconnect them by depressing the valves and drain into the reservoir.
-Make sure the valves are closed before disconnecting/connecting the coil to prevent pressurizing by the pump.
-Don't allow the disconnected coils to heat up unless they have been drained
Any one else have issues with this, or have any ideas to prevent it?
-Manually drain the coils immediately after you disconnect them by depressing the valves and drain into the reservoir.
-Make sure the valves are closed before disconnecting/connecting the coil to prevent pressurizing by the pump.
-Don't allow the disconnected coils to heat up unless they have been drained
Any one else have issues with this, or have any ideas to prevent it?
ejluttmann
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the cache suggestion ... I was able to get what I needed - really just looking for parts links. I'm rather far into the build, and just wanted to look at the links for the insulation. I may look into upgrading to stainless conicals in the future too, but not too soon if the plastic one work well enough. I was lucky enough to inherit an Aquarium Cooler from my brother that he had sitting in his garage for far too long - so the cooling part was easy to setup. Also, I'm going to use three STC-1000+, each one will be used to control the temp on a singe conical - I might replace this with an Arduino solution down the road but for now the STC-1000+'s will work fine.
The text is all here: https://web.archive.org/web/20130725111031/http://plasticconical.com
But it doesn't seem that any of the pictures are..
But it doesn't seem that any of the pictures are..
Hey Guys,
Had no idea this thread was still going on. Yeah, the domain is shut down. I'm in the middle of moving from Washington to the Bay Area and with real estate prices, there's no space for the fermenters. I can try to answer the questions you guys have though.
This is where I got the insulation for the conicals:
http://www.thefoamfactory.com
Regarding the temp change in the coils:
If you disconnect the coils while they're cold, the water heats up while you're filling the conicals and it makes it near impossible to reconnect the fittings due to the increased pressure. What I ended up doing was hooking up the spray ball to the airlock fitting and using that for CIP. Leave the outgoing side of the coils hooked up to the system and the pressure equalizes. once you're ready to fill the conical, disconnect everything and leave the coils in a bucket of water. Since they were ~120 degrees when you unhooked it, there's no pressure differential to deal with.
The other option is to just leave the coils in cold water while you clean, or drain a tablespoon of glycol out of the coils.
Had no idea this thread was still going on. Yeah, the domain is shut down. I'm in the middle of moving from Washington to the Bay Area and with real estate prices, there's no space for the fermenters. I can try to answer the questions you guys have though.
This is where I got the insulation for the conicals:
http://www.thefoamfactory.com
Regarding the temp change in the coils:
If you disconnect the coils while they're cold, the water heats up while you're filling the conicals and it makes it near impossible to reconnect the fittings due to the increased pressure. What I ended up doing was hooking up the spray ball to the airlock fitting and using that for CIP. Leave the outgoing side of the coils hooked up to the system and the pressure equalizes. once you're ready to fill the conical, disconnect everything and leave the coils in a bucket of water. Since they were ~120 degrees when you unhooked it, there's no pressure differential to deal with.
The other option is to just leave the coils in cold water while you clean, or drain a tablespoon of glycol out of the coils.
eaglerisingbrew
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Could you post the webpage where you got the pieces for your racking arm? I remember it wasn't from Brewer's Hardware...
Also, any plan on restarting the website? I linked to you off mine and am wondering if I need to remove the link. Thanks.
Also, any plan on restarting the website? I linked to you off mine and am wondering if I need to remove the link. Thanks.
I believe I got most everything for the racking arms from here:
http://www.stainlessbrewing.com/
Web page may come back in a different iteration at some point, but with everything going on in my life at the moment, I have to drop some stuff.
Hey thanks for the thread Packet! Best of luck with the move and presumably job changes.
I'm at about 99% complete now. Some bone-headed temp probe orders has me sidelined until I can correct. Looking forward to testing it out in the next couple weeks.
TD
I'm at about 99% complete now. Some bone-headed temp probe orders has me sidelined until I can correct. Looking forward to testing it out in the next couple weeks.
TD
The bulkhead for the racking arm by the way, was from brewers hardware.com. 1/2".
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eaglerisingbrew
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Right on. Thanks for the note bck and good luck with your move.
As I mentioned, I have most of the documents printed out from the now defunct plastic conical site. I do not know if I have a full set or not. I can see what I still have available and maybe find a way to share with anyone interested.
Got my probes swapped out. Just need time to plug them in and test it out now. Still need to finish up the last two lids/coil assembly and apply insulation. Hoping to use it for my next batch of beer.
I'll post up some final pics when it's completed, which will be very soon.
TD
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Got my probes swapped out. Just need time to plug them in and test it out now. Still need to finish up the last two lids/coil assembly and apply insulation. Hoping to use it for my next batch of beer.
I'll post up some final pics when it's completed, which will be very soon.
TD
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Looks like I probably threw out a bunch of the plans. Most is in the thread. I'd be willing to help anyone out with what I have left, and a parts list.
So last night I tested it out. Only had one conical hooked up, and the reservoir only partly filled. Took several minutes to chill the reservoir bath and then started chilling the conical. My glycol has a blue tint in it. I did not see any leakage into the conical filled with water, nor from the conical itself! Did some work on last two lids. So far so good! Seems to be working and I couldn't be happier! Need to finish up the insulation and the last two conical lids and finally, the racking dip tubes.
Need to figure out how to get those really cool looking temp graphs going on!
One glitch so far.
I have the PID display modules installed. They are not getting data from the BCS. It seems that three connections need to be made: exp 0, exp 1, and also ground! Problem here is that the PID "ground" is really its 12VDC- and the BCS ground is not apparently a 12VDC-. For one thing, the BCS uses 6 VDC I think (could be 5). I had thought this was going to pose an issue for me long ago. I thought I could throw away the BCS wallwart power supply. And run it off the 12VDC supply in the control panel (which operates the driver board, and powers the PID display modules. I bought a pack of resistors (100k ohm, 1/4 watt) and was going to fashion a voltage reduction circuit from them to power the driver board, PID display, and also the BCS. I got a little breadboard that I was planning to use for this, but I can't seem to get an accurate voltage reading. Maybe I just buy a potentiometer and wire that up and adjust to the proper voltage. Does anybody know the max power consumption on the BCS so I can get the right sized pot?
Seems I might need to go trolling the BCS forums...
Might post a new thread about this...
TD
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So last night I tested it out. Only had one conical hooked up, and the reservoir only partly filled. Took several minutes to chill the reservoir bath and then started chilling the conical. My glycol has a blue tint in it. I did not see any leakage into the conical filled with water, nor from the conical itself! Did some work on last two lids. So far so good! Seems to be working and I couldn't be happier! Need to finish up the insulation and the last two conical lids and finally, the racking dip tubes.
Need to figure out how to get those really cool looking temp graphs going on!
One glitch so far.
I have the PID display modules installed. They are not getting data from the BCS. It seems that three connections need to be made: exp 0, exp 1, and also ground! Problem here is that the PID "ground" is really its 12VDC- and the BCS ground is not apparently a 12VDC-. For one thing, the BCS uses 6 VDC I think (could be 5). I had thought this was going to pose an issue for me long ago. I thought I could throw away the BCS wallwart power supply. And run it off the 12VDC supply in the control panel (which operates the driver board, and powers the PID display modules. I bought a pack of resistors (100k ohm, 1/4 watt) and was going to fashion a voltage reduction circuit from them to power the driver board, PID display, and also the BCS. I got a little breadboard that I was planning to use for this, but I can't seem to get an accurate voltage reading. Maybe I just buy a potentiometer and wire that up and adjust to the proper voltage. Does anybody know the max power consumption on the BCS so I can get the right sized pot?
Seems I might need to go trolling the BCS forums...
Might post a new thread about this...
TD
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ejluttmann
Well-Known Member
What I did to help prevent any glycol leakage directly into the conical was use Bore Through compression fittings on the lid so that the glycol connections to stainless tubing are on outside the conical. Just made me feel better that there are no connections inside the conical to worry about.
Good idea. Too late for me though. How did you get air tight seal? silicone?
I think would be easier to check for leaking connections would be to operate the the conicals empty and see if any of the blue tinted glycol drips in the conical with dump valve open and a paper towel or something beneath the valve. It's possible these could work themselves loose over time and might be prudent to check them periodically.
TD
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I think would be easier to check for leaking connections would be to operate the the conicals empty and see if any of the blue tinted glycol drips in the conical with dump valve open and a paper towel or something beneath the valve. It's possible these could work themselves loose over time and might be prudent to check them periodically.
TD
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ejluttmann
Well-Known Member
Still working on making it completely air tight but I think I'm good enough right now for a bubbler. What I did first was unscrew and apply silicon around the lid insert. Then I purchased some large silicon orings that I'm using when I screw on the lid. Right now it's air tight enough that the bubbler will be the least resistance to escaping co2.
I did upgrade the tank lids to the ones which have a removable labyrinth breather so that I don't have to remove the glycol part chiller connections in case I want access to add additions or such (http://www.spraysmarter.com/liquid-...-threaded-tank-lid-12-inch-male-threaded.html). If I find that I don't need to remove or open the tank lids for cleaning, I'm going to try to use a cip spray ball, then I might just try to silicon the lid on and just use the labyrinth breather lid for access.
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I did upgrade the tank lids to the ones which have a removable labyrinth breather so that I don't have to remove the glycol part chiller connections in case I want access to add additions or such (http://www.spraysmarter.com/liquid-...-threaded-tank-lid-12-inch-male-threaded.html). If I find that I don't need to remove or open the tank lids for cleaning, I'm going to try to use a cip spray ball, then I might just try to silicon the lid on and just use the labyrinth breather lid for access.
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Would think the labyrinth breather would just be another point for air intrusion, but would also be handy for hopping, etc in the primary. I'd like to see some pictures of your setup if you don't mind.
TD
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TD
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ejluttmann
Well-Known Member
Yes, it could be ... I've got silicon orings for it too. Again, my hope is that I can ultimately seal the lids with silicone and only have to use the labyrinth breather. Very long term I'd like to switch to SS conicals.
Later when I'm home I'll take some close up pictures and post them.
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Later when I'm home I'll take some close up pictures and post them.
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Thanks!
The breather is a nice addition. You could then permanently seal the lid and just have to deal with sealing the smaller breather, which would probably be much easier. CIP is feasible. Long term I may go over to stainless as well. The lids on the plastic and the inner lip of the plastic tank have lots of scratches from modification and cutting and caulking. I do have concerns about lagering in these tanks, which is one of my plans and the reason that I built it. Stainless will be easier I think. I have been looking at some options, and the bru-gear is the leader right now in my mind, though I prefer a bolt on leg over the welded on legs. Ironically, the blichman conicals are nearly perfectly sized though. Too bad that they are so expensive. More options seem to become available with time. Right now I just want to get everything working and begin using them. Maybe over the next year, every few months, I could pickup a SS conical and convert one by one over the next year to spread out the cost a bit. Will see.
TD
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The breather is a nice addition. You could then permanently seal the lid and just have to deal with sealing the smaller breather, which would probably be much easier. CIP is feasible. Long term I may go over to stainless as well. The lids on the plastic and the inner lip of the plastic tank have lots of scratches from modification and cutting and caulking. I do have concerns about lagering in these tanks, which is one of my plans and the reason that I built it. Stainless will be easier I think. I have been looking at some options, and the bru-gear is the leader right now in my mind, though I prefer a bolt on leg over the welded on legs. Ironically, the blichman conicals are nearly perfectly sized though. Too bad that they are so expensive. More options seem to become available with time. Right now I just want to get everything working and begin using them. Maybe over the next year, every few months, I could pickup a SS conical and convert one by one over the next year to spread out the cost a bit. Will see.
TD
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ejluttmann
Well-Known Member
Bru-gear fermentors do look good. I too just want to get this up and running right now ... the fact I'm already looking a upgrading to SS probably doesn't say much for plastic but it will do for now and was by far cheaper to start. If I can reuse the coils in the conical then everything else I invested in will directly transfer over to a SS conical setup. At least that's how I'm justifying it in my head 
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ejluttmann
Well-Known Member
Here are a few random pictures I have. Let me know if you want to see something else.
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Got my temp displays working. Had to ground the BCS GND terminal to the chassis ground, and connect the 12VDC - to the chassis ground as well. I was concerned it was going to screw something up but it works!
More work on lids, almost finished (except insulation)! I think I'll probably refrain from any further posts until my final pics unless I run into any problems.
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More work on lids, almost finished (except insulation)! I think I'll probably refrain from any further posts until my final pics unless I run into any problems.
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MesterBrygger
Member
You guys are just amazing at this. I've followed your post, and I wish I had the same space to play with.
Keep up the great work. :rockin:
Keep up the great work. :rockin:
Well, I am back in the basement working on the final steps of the project. I was able to find nearly ALL the printouts (in color) from the now defunct plastic conical website. I have I believe the entire site except for part of the Controller part 2 printout. The only part of that I still have is the picto-graphic wiring diagrams. That seems to be the most important anyway, aside from the parts list, which might still be available, and I might be able to help with anyone wanting the plans. Some are bit worn, dog-eared, wrinkled, etc, but still easily legible.
edit- also found a list of all the parts for everything that I compiled from the site and printed out. It includes the parts for the controller part 2 section that I'm missing a part of.
Now back to work!
TD
edit- also found a list of all the parts for everything that I compiled from the site and printed out. It includes the parts for the controller part 2 section that I'm missing a part of.
Now back to work!
TD
bellinmi88
Well-Known Member
Packet, I have room on my web server if you want to zip all the files and email to me I will post them and provide a link to it off this thread.
Questions.
During leak testing, I plumbed up some loop back tubes for two of my tanks. There is a short piece of silicone tubing connected to the supply and return limbs of the glycol coolant using the camlock fittings. This was done to test for leaks in the PEX and ball valve plumbing prior to proceeding with the build and adding insulation. Problem I have now is that when I eventually turned off the system (I had also been running the AC and cooling one tank as a trial run), that glycol coolant backed up into the loop back silicone tubing. There is also still coolant in the reinforced vinyl tubing that was chilling the one completed tank. I don't want to spill any glycol, but the lines need to be removed. I think that the reservoir and the primed pump and lines are preventing flow. I do not believe that the manifold is pressurized because the pressure gauge on the reservoir outflow is at zero. I have a feeling I'm going to be mopping up some glycol one way or another. My best thought is to disconnect the coolant hose from the pump on the inside of the reservoir, which is somewhat of a PITA.
I was thinking about connecting my system to a UPS. I already have it plugged to a surge protector for the hard wired Ethernet and power. I know there was commentary about power interruptions spoiling the fermentation for an few of us who've built this. I've read the entire wiki for the BCS, but I don't really see how to set it up so it will resume its previous settings after a power loss. In my situation, I have a backup generator that will automatically fire up for my whole home if there is a power loss. It takes about a minute for power to be restored. I know that there is no reasonable UPS that can power the AC unit, and probably not the pump either. The BCS should be easy to keep powered. I think that a simple UPS might be an easy way to keep the BCS working in power outage situation assuming that I don't have the misfortune of the intermittent pump or AC unit coming on before the generator kick in, OR if it's running while the power goes out. I am even considering an internal 6v rechargeable lantern battery wired in parallel with the brick PSU of the BCS, but it would probably need some sort of logic circuit to connect this and have it work properly. Maybe this is all unnecessary if there is a way to get the BCS to resume it previous state after a power outage.
By the way, is there a counter or something for the number of builds on this so far? I think at least 5 confirmed builds, including a couple that are one tank or non chilled.
Thanks
TD
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During leak testing, I plumbed up some loop back tubes for two of my tanks. There is a short piece of silicone tubing connected to the supply and return limbs of the glycol coolant using the camlock fittings. This was done to test for leaks in the PEX and ball valve plumbing prior to proceeding with the build and adding insulation. Problem I have now is that when I eventually turned off the system (I had also been running the AC and cooling one tank as a trial run), that glycol coolant backed up into the loop back silicone tubing. There is also still coolant in the reinforced vinyl tubing that was chilling the one completed tank. I don't want to spill any glycol, but the lines need to be removed. I think that the reservoir and the primed pump and lines are preventing flow. I do not believe that the manifold is pressurized because the pressure gauge on the reservoir outflow is at zero. I have a feeling I'm going to be mopping up some glycol one way or another. My best thought is to disconnect the coolant hose from the pump on the inside of the reservoir, which is somewhat of a PITA.
I was thinking about connecting my system to a UPS. I already have it plugged to a surge protector for the hard wired Ethernet and power. I know there was commentary about power interruptions spoiling the fermentation for an few of us who've built this. I've read the entire wiki for the BCS, but I don't really see how to set it up so it will resume its previous settings after a power loss. In my situation, I have a backup generator that will automatically fire up for my whole home if there is a power loss. It takes about a minute for power to be restored. I know that there is no reasonable UPS that can power the AC unit, and probably not the pump either. The BCS should be easy to keep powered. I think that a simple UPS might be an easy way to keep the BCS working in power outage situation assuming that I don't have the misfortune of the intermittent pump or AC unit coming on before the generator kick in, OR if it's running while the power goes out. I am even considering an internal 6v rechargeable lantern battery wired in parallel with the brick PSU of the BCS, but it would probably need some sort of logic circuit to connect this and have it work properly. Maybe this is all unnecessary if there is a way to get the BCS to resume it previous state after a power outage.
By the way, is there a counter or something for the number of builds on this so far? I think at least 5 confirmed builds, including a couple that are one tank or non chilled.
Thanks
TD
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TD,
In System Settings, Miscellaneous System Settings, there are options to force outputs at startup. Just make sure that you want these to always come on after power failure. If you're not currently fermenting anything, you may not want outputs to come on.
In System Settings, Miscellaneous System Settings, there are options to force outputs at startup. Just make sure that you want these to always come on after power failure. If you're not currently fermenting anything, you may not want outputs to come on.
Gotcha!
Found a way to drain the tubing of coolant. Lesson for others and possible solution to over pressurized coolant coils.
So today, I sealed the lids. I decided to try and omit using the screws and used a ton of silicone. figured the screws would probably be working against me. Anyway, step two of sealant tomorrow. Then connect the last two coils and done (except for insulation - which is probably unnecessary for doing ale fermentations).
Anyway on to my advice. So while trying to drain the coolant loopback hoses, and the connecting hoses for the one finished tank I decided to relieve some back pressure by disconnecting the pump from its output. I left the hose handy so I wouldn't need to reach into the glycol bath. My cooler connections go through the cooler lid by the way. Then I decided to enter BCS manual mode and turn output 1 on to drain the loopback tube. WOOSH! glycol goes through the pump because it is asserted by enabling the output 1!!! the handy hose I left disconnected from the pump output was blasting glycol on my drywalled basement. I immediately hit the mouse again and lost maybe a pint or two at most. What a mess though! Then I thought after some clean-up, unplug the pump AC plug from the control panel and do the same. This enables easy draining of the connecting hoses. You could even do a similar thing to depressurize the cold coolant coils to prevent overpressurization if you remove them while still cold. Un-plug the pump and turn output 1 or whichever tank it is to ON, and the coolant should drain by gravity hopefully. As an alternate way to solve the pressurized coolant in the coil problem, place it in a fridge or freezer to "shrink" the coolant and then try connecting after an hour or two.
Planning an Oktoberfest for the weekend if I can manage and ferment in one of my tanks!
Pics soon! (Seems I cannot resist posting...)
TD
Found a way to drain the tubing of coolant. Lesson for others and possible solution to over pressurized coolant coils.
So today, I sealed the lids. I decided to try and omit using the screws and used a ton of silicone. figured the screws would probably be working against me. Anyway, step two of sealant tomorrow. Then connect the last two coils and done (except for insulation - which is probably unnecessary for doing ale fermentations).
Anyway on to my advice. So while trying to drain the coolant loopback hoses, and the connecting hoses for the one finished tank I decided to relieve some back pressure by disconnecting the pump from its output. I left the hose handy so I wouldn't need to reach into the glycol bath. My cooler connections go through the cooler lid by the way. Then I decided to enter BCS manual mode and turn output 1 on to drain the loopback tube. WOOSH! glycol goes through the pump because it is asserted by enabling the output 1!!! the handy hose I left disconnected from the pump output was blasting glycol on my drywalled basement. I immediately hit the mouse again and lost maybe a pint or two at most. What a mess though! Then I thought after some clean-up, unplug the pump AC plug from the control panel and do the same. This enables easy draining of the connecting hoses. You could even do a similar thing to depressurize the cold coolant coils to prevent overpressurization if you remove them while still cold. Un-plug the pump and turn output 1 or whichever tank it is to ON, and the coolant should drain by gravity hopefully. As an alternate way to solve the pressurized coolant in the coil problem, place it in a fridge or freezer to "shrink" the coolant and then try connecting after an hour or two.
Planning an Oktoberfest for the weekend if I can manage and ferment in one of my tanks!
Pics soon! (Seems I cannot resist posting...)
TD
So I'm basically done now. Need to clean and finish some insulation. Otherwise operational. Sure that I'll have lid sealing issues and still need to connect the blow off hoses.
TD
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TD
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