Converting Love controller box to BCS

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blackacre
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Converting Love controller box to BCS

Post by blackacre »

I would put this under professional brewing, but that category seems pretty sleepy.

We have been running a 3 BBL electric brewery with a brewmation made control panel for the past 2.5 years. I ordered a BCS-462 with the hope of modding the current panel to bypass the love controllers and instead use the BCS. One of the main purposes would be to be able to turn on the HLT remotely to start heating before we come in in the morning (right now we turn it on the night before which undoubtedly wastes energy.

I know just enough about programming and electrical engineering to be able to break things, so I am not sure if this project is a. unfeasable b. something I should hire someone to complete or c. something I can do myself with a little research.

I am also in the process of setting up our 15 BBL system so if I was able to get this to work for the 3 bbl electric would be interested in trying to set it up for the steam jacketed 15. Professional PLC systems marketed to breweries are outside of our budget.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Pics: http://imgur.com/Lwl930c http://imgur.com/LQJYUoU


Cheers,

Justin Miller
justin@blackacrebrewing.com
JonW
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Re: Converting Love controller box to BCS

Post by JonW »

There is no problem in doing exactly what you want to do. I guess the only problem could be if you are capable of doing the wiring and feel comfort with it. When you have specific questions about how to hook something up, there are several of us here that can help with explanations, but it will require some research on your part.

The bottom line is that the BCS has the capabilities of a stack of Love controllers. At a minimum you need a temp probe and relay for each thing you want to measure and control. The relays used will be dependent on what exactly you are controlling.
blackacre
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Re: Converting Love controller box to BCS

Post by blackacre »

Thanks for the response. Is it possible to keep the on/off switches and temp displays on the love controllers or do I need to bipass them completely when I wire in the BCS? I looked on the wiki and couldn't seem to find an answer. If there is some documentation I should look at for this I would love to be pointed in the right direction.

Thanks again.
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Re: Converting Love controller box to BCS

Post by JonW »

You can re-use the switches, but not the displays. There are displays available that could be used with the BCS. See https://www.oscsys.com/store/product/188

From the looks of your wiring there, you'll need to map out what exactly is currently being done and then swap in the BCS for the control functions. If those SSR's you have in the panel are standard 5-30 VDC triggered, you can reuse those as well.

When keeping your current manual switches, you have two ways to wire them: 1. directly control the high voltage going to the device being controlled, or 2. control the low voltage signal used to trigger the SSR's. My preference is option 2, but if your system is already wired as high voltage control switches, you may want to keep it that way. Up to you.
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oakbarn
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Re: Converting Love controller box to BCS

Post by oakbarn »

I loaded Teamviewer and connected to a PC that was part of my LAN. I was able to see the BCS with no problem. I plan to remotely control my fermentation temps from anywhere. Even if you do not have access you could start a timer the day before to turn on the HLT after a certain amount if time
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Re: Converting Love controller box to BCS

Post by oakbarn »

JonW wrote:You can re-use the switches, but not the displays. There are displays available that could be used with the BCS. See https://www.oscsys.com/store/product/188

From the looks of your wiring there, you'll need to map out what exactly is currently being done and then swap in the BCS for the control functions. If those SSR's you have in the panel are standard 5-30 VDC triggered, you can reuse those as well.

When keeping your current manual switches, you have two ways to wire them: 1. directly control the high voltage going to the device being controlled, or 2. control the low voltage signal used to trigger the SSR's. My preference is option 2, but if your system is already wired as high voltage control switches, you may want to keep it that way. Up to you.
If I am reading the Wiki correctly, you may only have four 7 digit displays at a time. I would assume also the same problem with an Aurbrins PID that you could not use the display.
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