Bent nail 2.0 - Fermentation edition

[Minbari]

It's ALIVE!

lol, yup. tommorow I will try to get the solenoids and pump wired in.

finished the firmware today. had to add a calibration sub-routine.

 

[Minbari]

[rant] I swear to god the world hates me! most things in industrial electronics are active low, meaning that they present ground when "on" and not voltage! this has the advantage of not mattering what the source voltage is, because you are just providing ground to the device.

my PID provides source voltage, which means half the logic I programmed on my control board is backwards and I cant fix alot of it in SW! now I have to biuld some inverter boards to flip the logic back to normal. [/rant]

hows your day going?

 

[GFHomebrew]

[rant] I swear to god the world hates me! most things in industrial electronics are active low, meaning that they present ground when "on" and not voltage! this has the advantage of not mattering what the source voltage is, because you are just providing ground to the device.

my PID provides source voltage, which means half the logic I programmed on my control board is backwards and I cant fix alot of it in SW! now I have to biuld some inverter boards to flip the logic back to normal. [/rant]

hows your day going?

Well that sux now doesn't it!
Aleast you had the foresight to check this beforehand.

 

[Minbari]

Voila! 2 ch Logic inverter

 

[Minbari]

Finished! works about the same as it did, although I have better control over it and it is easier to see what is going on.

to sum up,

Before

after

 

[Minbari]

Added some labels

 

[Megary]

Added some labels
View attachment 23575

I have no idea what any of that is, but I would have fun playing with the switches!

 

[Minbari]

I have no idea what any of that is, but I would have fun playing with the switches!

lol, in a nutshell it;

1) controls temp of the glycol for the chiller
2) has a 2 channel dual PID controller. does heat and cold control for 2 fermentors at once.
3) the switches on the front allow me to turn on/off heat and cold for each fermentor.

there is more to it, but that is the 10,000ft overview of it.

 

[Josh Hughes]

Seeing stuff like this is awesome

 

[Minbari]

Changed the pump from a centrifugal style to a 35psi diaphragm. Going to get a bit more pressure and volume through the cooling coils.
Also added a cross over shunt. When high volume is not needed, i can divert some of the glycol directly back to the reservoir.

Also cleaned up the plumbing

 

[Craigerrr]

To quote a respected member:
I don't understand it but I respect it

 

[Minbari]

To quote a respected member:
I don't understand it but I respect it

Lol, diaphragm pumps are self priming and generate much more pressure. If you block the output it will either pop the hose or damage the pump. (Most of them have pressure relief valves)

Centrifugal have an impeller that requires being primed and you can stall them with no ill effects.

Fyi, 100% of all home brew pumps for moving wort are centrifugal

 

[Josh Hughes]

Amazed with every post in this thread.

 

[Craigerrr]

I sell air operated diaphragm pumps, nice thing about them is that when blocked they just stall, no ill effects. But your electric fella there is positive displacement, do you have some sort of relief valve on that set up?

 

[Minbari]

I sell air operated diaphragm pumps, nice thing about them is that when blocked they just stall, no ill effects. But your electric fella there is positive displacement, do you have some sort of relief valve on that set up?

this model has a built in relief valve. I blocked it on purpose just to see, it really grunts, but doesnt stall the motor.

 

[Craigerrr]

this model has a built in relief valve. I blocked it on purpose just to see, it really grunts, but doesnt stall the motor.

Probably not advisable, something will break if you push it too far sir

 

[Minbari]

Probably not advisable, something will break if you push it too far sir

well ya, but I needed to know if it would instantly explode or if the valve would do it job.

the glycol system has a return solenoid to avoid it being blocked when the PID switches cold on and off. if you look at the bottom picture on my last post, you can see the solenoid with a black hose and clear hose. if one is on, the other is off and visa-versa

 

[GFHomebrew]

well ya, but I needed to know if it would instantly explode or if the valve would do it job.

the glycol system has a return solenoid to avoid it being blocked when the PID switches cold on and off. if you look at the bottom picture on my last post, you can see the solenoid with a black hose and clear hose. if one is on, the other is off and visa-versa

Pity you can't put a check valve in a one way type gig.

Craigerr would sell them.
They just got a spring stopper in em.

 

[Minbari]

Pity you can't put a check valve in a one way type gig.

Craigerr would sell them.
They just got a spring stopper in em.

Not sure a check valve would work. Pressure release valve would work, but then the pump has to open it to relieve the pressure when the cold coil solenoid is off. The second solenoid offers nearly no resistance.

 

[Minbari]

Hoping this will help with cooling efficiency. The glycol chiller is right next to it, so all the heat from the condenser blows on the fermenter.

Has 1/2" Ridgid foam insulation.

Magnets hold this in place

Insulated top