My first brewday with the BCS

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wrupp53150
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:49 pm

My first brewday with the BCS

Post by wrupp53150 »

And I'm very impressed.. I ran it in manual control from my laptop for my first brew. I used PID mode and that sure makes the boil a whole lot easier.. Set it at 212 and forget it.. No boilovers. My only complaint so far it my valves make a heck of a "Clack!" when they cycle. After an hour or two of it, my neighbors were getting tired of it.

Other observations.
  • My four cheap Chinese eBay SSR's are working fine and cool. I ran the pump for hours and it didn't heat up the heat sink at all. I have two heat sinks for the pumps, the valve ssr's are mounted to the back plate.
    Wireless is the way to go..
    I need to move the (plastic) controller box further away from the heat.
    I like the i pod app, but I do wish It had a better manual control (pid control for the burners).
    I need a whole bunch of quick disconnects for the pumps.
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Brutus 10 setup
Brutus 10 setup
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BCS-460 owner and loving it..
np0x
Posts: 110
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 7:16 am
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Location: Vienna, VA

Re: My first brewday with the BCS

Post by np0x »

Because you are so happy, i just pm'd ya a promo code(good for 30 days). Give the brew buddy a whirl and see what you can do.

Cheers,

-n!
Check out the Brew Buddy for iphone controlling your bcs-460.
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ECC
Posts: 676
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:29 pm
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Re: My first brewday with the BCS

Post by ECC »

Cool, I'm glad its up and running! Looks like a nice setup. Stainless brewstand? What type of valves are you using?

What did you brew?

If the PID control cycles too much for you, you could try using Duty Cycle control. But whatever works.
wrupp53150
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:49 pm

Re: My first brewday with the BCS

Post by wrupp53150 »

I'm using Azco valves. We brewed up a Anchor steam clone. I'll live with the valves clacking as it's doing exactly what needs to happen.

I hope the brew turns out, but woudn't be too suprized if it doesn't as we had a bunch of silly mistakes.. We melted a hose, ran out of water in the HLT, etc..

On my todo list - Adding level gauges to the kettles. Upgrading the tubing to higher temp/quality.

You can check out more pictures on my flicker account. http://www.flickr.com/billrupp
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BCS-460 owner and loving it..
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