BCS460 for Malt Oven Control

[cdbailey]

I have purchased a BCS460 for use in a craft malt house drying oven. I have taken my first cut at the programing and I am ready to start laying out the rest of the hardware to make this run. I am hoping the group can provide suggestions for the ancillary devices SSR’s E-stops, Lights etc. The drying oven will have a heat exchanger fed by a boiler heating to 150F (or higher) and an electric duct heater for 150 to 210 F deg F air temp. A variable speed fan will provide air flow for the different stages of the drying process. Reading the posts on the forum and BCS tech info I understand the BCS is only providing a switching signal and does not have enough current to drive ANY loads. I believe the process I am trying to run for the oven is simpler than the brewing end of things I have read about on the forum. Have outlined my DINS and OUTS and am hoping for a string of suggestions and comments to help get this thing off the ground.
1. Process0 E stop Check
2. Process1 Air Flow Check
3. Process2 Oven Overtemp Shutoff
4. Process3 Distiller Malt
5. Process4 Base Malt
6. Process5 Pilsner Malt
7. Process6/7 not used yet.
8. OUT0 Air Recirculation Damper – 120 Vac will control with SSR.
9. OUT1 Boiler – Controlled by Temp1 HW air temp to a 24VDC relay to boiler control. Boiler is either firing or not firing.
10. OUT2 Duct Heater – Controlled by Temp2 air on temp to a 24VDC relay to duct heater.
11. OUT3 Blower Fan off signal. The VFD is a Lenze SMVector drive controller – Control signal 0-5 VDC or 4 - 20 mA input. I believe I can wire the BCS directly to the control inputs on the VFD.
12. OUT4 Blower Fan Speed – High/low speed control - I believe I can wire the BCS directly to the control inputs on the VFD.
13. OUT5 Alarm buzzer/light – Any suggestions for hardware?
14. DIN0 and 1 - E-stop button – Any suggestions for hardware?
15. DIN2 Airflow Sensor – Any suggestions for hardware?
16. DIN3 Alarm reset button – Any suggestions for hardware?
17. TEMP0 to 3 – Intake air, boiler temp, air on temp, air off temp. – Have purchase the BCS compatible temp probes Brewers Hardware.
18. Enclosure is 12” x 18” should be plenty of room.
19. Will have 120vac going into enclosure for 120vac duplex plug and recirculation damper SSR.
20. What other things like wire guides or mounting hardware would be recommended

[oakbarn]

I use the following for my alarm. They are wired to the same Out (SSR) but I have a switch also for the siren as it is very loud. It is great when I am cleaning as I may not be close to what I am cleaning and I can hear it from a distance. I switch it off when I am next to it because it is too loud.

When I am in my brewery, the light gets your attention by itself.

Siren
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C9S ... UTF8&psc=1

Rotating Light
http://www.amazon.com/Rhode-Island-Nove ... s_ap_1_fbt

[cdbailey]

Duct heater for the oven has a 120V air flow sensor I want to pick up this signal and check for positive air flow for safety reasons. How do I get the 120VAC signal to 5vDC so I can us it as a DIN? Any help appreciated.

[JonW]

You'll need to use a relay. The 120V signal would wire to the coil of the relay to trigger it on and off and you can use 5V from the BCS wired to the NO/NC contacts of the relay to sense when the relay triggers on and off.

[cdbailey]

Jon,
Thanks for the reply. Just to make sure I understand you are talking about an electro-mechanical relay. Automation Direct has QL2N1-A120

CUBE RELAY 10A DPDT 120VAC COIL LED INDICATOR looks like it should do the job.

[JonW]

Yes, that will work.

[cdbailey]

Network Question – Moved the malting equipment into a warehouse and got to the point of powering up the BCS40 to start debug and realized DIRECT CONNECT was no easy thing. My plan was to debug and run in direct connect mode but I could not get my computer to talk to the BCS460. My building is basically a warehouse with NO internet so I am stopped dead for now. Is there a router or something I can buy at one of the big box stores that would accomplish the same thing as the WOW internet I had a home. I did the basic programming on my computer with a couple of temp probes hooked up. Appreciate any help or ideas. Thanks.

[JonW]

There are several ways you could do this, but they all require that you have an understanding of IP addressing and configuring your PC and the BCS to the proper values to allow them to talk - which is why we always suggest to plug them into your internet router and let it handle the addressing for your. However, given what you've layed out, I would only suggest you do this one of two ways: (1) Direct connect with static IP addresses or (2) with an internet router (that does not actually connect to the internet).

(1) To use the direct connect connect method with static IP addresses, you'll need to first attach the BCS and computer to the router at your home to get them communicating. You can then go into the network settings and set a static IP address for both the BCS and the computer.

(2) Get a cheap internet router to use at the warehouse and plug both devices into it to get their IP addresses. This is probably more plug & play.

If the computer you are using to talk to the BCS is a laptop that needs wireless, then you will need an internet router with wireless capabilities.

[cdbailey]

Option 2 worked great literally plug and play. Thank You.

On to the next issue. My start up plan is to wire and debug 1 circuit at a time.
1. Should I be able to measure the output voltage at my power supply? Line to ground is 120vac, neutral to ground 0 vac. When I measure +5VDC and +24VDC I get 0 volts. The green LED is on indicating output voltage.
2. Process0 is an E-STOP check that will shut down the dryer if pushed. The e-stop is hooked up to 5VDC and is NC. My intent is by pushing the E STOP button 5V is created feeding DIN0. The BCS then enters a shutdown mode, sounds the alarm, and asserts OUT5 to turn on an Alarm light. The whole circuit has 0 VDC on it when closed as it should but when I hit the button I don’t get the 5 V (not at the power supply either). I have some basic set up problem with the power supply or my e-stop since any thoughts or help would be appreciated.
3. Last question for now. If I have an output asserted ON will I be able to measure the 5VDC with a multimeter?

Thanks appreciate the help in advance.

[JonW]

Not clear on what power supply you are referring to. Is this something running relays? Yes, you should be able to measure its output.

You should be able to measure 5V on either the 5V terminal pin of the BCS or on any of the outputs that are asserted ON. Are you using the power supply that was supplied with the BCS to power the BCS?