RIMS Controller Build

[brewskitom]

After a few years of gravity feed all-grain brewing with two Home Depot coolers and a pot, I'm adding a RIMS rocket, pump and counterflow chiller to my brew system. It should make step mashes, mash out and overall wort movement easier. This weekend's project, the controller for the pump and heating element. I went with the Auber DSPR320 PID controller. Here are all the parts laid out:



and templates for the front and back panels:



with parts laid out on the templates:



Let the drilling begin!

Tom

 

[brewskitom]

Drilling and cutting the panels was a pain. My el-cheapo step drill from eBay was dull and didn't exactly cut through the panels like a hot knife through butter:

 

[brewskitom]

Finished panels with switches/lamps/sockets installed:



And the overall layout:

 

[brewskitom]

Let the wiring begin...

 

[golfindia]

Is that a factory kit? Did the instructions say to put the SSR and heat sink smack in the middle of the box?

 

[brewskitom]

Is that a factory kit? Did the instructions say to put the SSR and heat sink smack in the middle of the box?

Nope, not a factory kit. The enclosure, PID and SSR are all from Auber Instruments. Switches, lamps and terminal blocks are from Amazon. Wire and hardware from Home Depot. The placement of components is all my doing.

 

[golfindia]

I'd put a fan in the mix somehow. If the 15a computer plug socket is the input, and the 20a twist lock is the output, something seems amiss. Unless the rims rocket is less than 15a. But in that case you wouldn't need a 20a twist lock....

 

[brewskitom]

The Bilchman RIMS Rocket is rated at 16 amps and comes with a NEMA L5-20P plug, hence the 20A twist lock receptacle.

The power entry module is a C20 receptacle that is rated at 20 amps and the power cord is a 5-20P to C19 that is also rated at 20 amps. The heater circuit is all 12 gauge wiring. The pump wiring is all 14 gauge, protected by a 5 amp fuse. I don't think anything is amiss.

A fan is probably a good idea. I only have room for a 40mm fan on the back panel exhausting through the ventilation holes. I can only find 40mm fans in 12V DC. I wonder if I could run a fan off the 12V control output of the PID (that connects to the SSR) otherwise I'd need to shoehorn in a power supply to run a DC fan. Alternately I could cut an opening in the top of the case and mount an AC fan directly above the SSR.

 

[golfindia]

Ok I stand corrected. Couldn't see the orientation of the prongs very well.

I have never had any problem running small 12v PC fans off of the SSR leads.

 

[phreaky]

I wouldn't worry too much about a fan. I ran a 5500 watt element on a 40 amp ssr in mine for 5 years, and the guy who bought it from me is still running fine. The box never got more than a little warm. Auber SSRs seem to be pretty good quality compared to some.

 

[brewskitom]

Is that a factory kit? Did the instructions say to put the SSR and heat sink smack in the middle of the box?

OK, now I understand the question about putting the SSR in the middle of the box. When I laid out the parts by hand, it seemed like a good layout. Nice even spacing of the components. What I failed to realize is that there are a ton of wires emanating from the front panel that could use some room for routing! It wouldn't have been so tight if I relocated the SSR to give more space. Oh well, live and learn!

 

[processhead]

Your project looks very good.

have two SSRs mounted in my enclosure using the interior metal sub-panel for the heat sink, one on a 5500 watt load and the other on a 1250 watt load, with no cooling fan and no extruded aluminum heat sinks.

I used good quality domestic production-SSR modules and they have worked fine for 8 or 9 years now. I have checked their operating temperature while in use and they get warm, but never hot.

Use low quality SSR's at your own risk. Might be a little benefit to fan cooling and heat sinks on the dicey Chinese SSR clones, but not worth the hassles and unreliability, IMHO.

I think the SSR positioning in the cabinet might get a bit too much over-thought. The key point is the SSRs want to see good thermal conduction to the heat sink surface and ideally to the metal cabinet as well. The cabinet needs some clearance to the air around it to radiate the heat it absorbs. If using more than one SSR, you probably don't want to mount them right next to one another, but rather, place some distance between them.

 

[brewskitom]

I wouldn't worry too much about a fan. I ran a 5500 watt element on a 40 amp ssr in mine for 5 years, and the guy who bought it from me is still running fine. The box never got more than a little warm. Auber SSRs seem to be pretty good quality compared to some.

Looks like you used the same Auber enclosure for your controller!

Next on my project list is to build an upright trolley to hold my pump, RIMS Rocket, counterflow chiller and the RIMS controller. Very similar to the rig in your referenced post, but using strut channel.

Great minds think alike!

 

[brewskitom]

Wiring is complete. Tonight I went over the schematic, wire-by-wire, and verified the connections on the controller via visual inspection and with a continuity tester. Everything checked out - not a single wiring error! I guess that minor in Electrical Engineering finally paid off.

Applied power and all is well. The heater-pump interlock works as designed: I can run the pump independent from the heater, but the heater power is disabled unless the pump is running (regardless of whether the PID controller has turned on the SSR).

 

[Blazinlow86]

Wiring is complete. Tonight I went over the schematic, wire-by-wire, and verified the connections on the controller via visual inspection and with a continuity tester. Everything checked out - not a single wiring error! I guess that minor in Electrical Engineering finally paid off.

Applied power and all is well. The heater-pump interlock works as designed: I can run the pump independent from the heater, but the heater power is disabled unless the pump is running (regardless of whether the PID controller has turned on the SSR).

View attachment 636087 View attachment 636088

Looks good

 

[processhead]

Looks good. Sounds like you are close to being ready to do some wet testing.

 

[brewskitom]

Looks good. Sounds like you are close to being ready to do some wet testing.

Did some wet testing and ran hot PBW and Idophor through the system. Everything checked out. Brewed with the new rig yesterday.

I built a rig out of channel strut to hold the controller, RIMS Rocket, pump and counterflow chiller.

Finished product during the mash step:



Recirculating the mash:



Sparging:



Whirlpool:



I have a couple of kinks to work out (adjust hose lengths, get the Bilchman autosparge positioned so it will work, etc.). All-in-all I'm pretty happy with the results.

Tom

 

[processhead]

Your system looks great, but you will never get the highly prized sticky wort patina on your floor if you keep using all those drip pans under your gear.

 

[rudylyon57]

Your project looks very good.

have two SSRs mounted in my enclosure using the interior metal sub-panel for the heat sink, one on a 5500 watt load and the other on a 1250 watt load, with no cooling fan and no extruded aluminum heat sinks.

I used good quality domestic production-SSR modules and they have worked fine for 8 or 9 years now. I have checked their operating temperature while in use and they get warm, but never hot.

Use low quality SSR's at your own risk. Might be a little benefit to fan cooling and heat sinks on the dicey Chinese SSR clones, but not worth the hassles and unreliability, IMHO.

I think the SSR positioning in the cabinet might get a bit too much over-thought. The key point is the SSRs want to see good thermal conduction to the heat sink surface and ideally to the metal cabinet as well. The cabinet needs some clearance to the air around it to radiate the heat it absorbs. If using more than one SSR, you probably don't want to mount them right next to one another, but rather, place some distance between them.

FWIW-When I built my control box I placed the SSR's (3 X 40A Foteks running 5500W elements) and heat sink so the cabinet wall was sandwiched
in-between. This left the heat sinks on the outside and I oriented them so fins are vertical to promote convection flow. Also left the paint on cabinet (just lazy & knew it could always be removed if needed) and applied conductive paste and its been used for 25 brews at least. Very simple-just drill two holes for screws to pass through.

 

[nonstoptr]

Any concerns about the non-waterproof nature of this box? Looking at building a control panel soon and I like how compact and neat it seems, but wondering if I should be finding something more waterproof.

 

[processhead]

Any concerns about the non-waterproof nature of this box? Looking at building a control panel soon and I like how compact and neat it seems, but wondering if I should be finding something more waterproof.

Only speaking for myself here, my panel is mounted on the wall directly behind my MLT and it has gotten little or no liquid on it over the years.
Everyone's system and practices are different, but I think the only time I would consider a liquid-tight enclosure was if I was hosing down everything in the brew room to a floor drain.

Also, bear in mind that a liquid tight panel enclosure is only as good as the devices you mount in it. Most of the control switches and devices we brewers are including in our panels are not rated for wet location service and even a gasketed panel cover is going to leak like a sieve if it is subjected direct spray.
A flip down shroud over the front of the panel might offer some added protection but you still need to access the controls while brewing.
The professional panels use rated components and construction and cost some serious coin.

 

[brewskitom]

Your system looks great, but you will never get the highly prized sticky wort patina on your floor if you keep using all those drip pans under your gear.

Lack of sticky wort patina on the garage floor increases the spousal acceptance factor of my brewing hobby! I intentionally built the bottom frame of the trolley to accommodate two drip pans: one under the pump/RIMS and the other under the counterflow chiller.

 

[4arrows]

Very nice build. I'm looking to make up something along these lines here soon as well. What pump did you decide to go with?

 

[brewskitom]

Very nice build. I'm looking to make up something along these lines here soon as well. What pump did you decide to go with?

A Bilchmann Riptide. I'm very happy with it. It's extremely quiet and has a built in valve that will control the flow from off to a trickle to a full-blown whirlpool. It's a nice pump!

 

[augiedoggy]

Any concerns about the non-waterproof nature of this box? Looking at building a control panel soon and I like how compact and neat it seems, but wondering if I should be finding something more waterproof.

Hi neighbor,
I also have built a few control panels (and have one 3/4 done sitting in a closet) and none of them have been built to be water proof. I do try to use switches and wiring to avoid the possibility of my hands being wet for some reason, coming in contact with high amp current and the safest way to do that is use switches to control coils on larger relays/contactors inside the panel.
as mentioned above it depends on whether your a messy brewer of not. I brew in a spare bedroom so I keep the liquids in the kettles for the most part but as the brewpub we do have floor drains and use CIP so there is some small amounts of splatter from this but nothing to worry about.