1st Brew Day- Alarm Question

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Mach79
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1st Brew Day- Alarm Question

Post by Mach79 »

At last, first successful brew day with new BCS-482 control panel. Truly amazing transition from direct-fire to electric setup.

Having a problem with the alarm function...I set a Process for Notify Mash-In. The alarm sounded. Used the Input to move to next State, but alarm continued to sound....???

Tried/modified alarm settings for other States, but never got the results desired. What is the proper or best practice for setting up alarm feature for notifying when a user input is required, such as adding grains, setting up sparge, adding hops, Boil complete, etc.

Again, this was the first brew day & what an amazing transition to electric brewing. Looking forward to next batch- soon
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oakbarn
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Re: 1st Brew Day- Alarm Question

Post by oakbarn »

You have 3 choices for the Alarm:

None
Short
Loop

These all occur upon Exit of a State.

The None is just that "None".

The Short Alarm sounds for just 3 seconds and then stops.

The Loop continues until you do something to silence it. You can use Ladder Logic, a Din with a Switch ( I use a Push Button LED) or Use the Computer Interface.

Generally, I use None when I am doing something manually such as Adding Grain. I use the Alexa or a DIN with a switch to jump states (again, some action that I am doing). I already know that I finished the Step. I do not need the BCS to tell me.

I use the Short for something I might want to notice, but if I do not, it does not matter.

I have a Din Connected to a Float and a State where I am automatically filling a vessel. It shuts off when the vessel is full. I use a short alarm for that because I "sorta want to know" when it is full, but it effects nothing if I miss the alarm.

The Loop Alarm is reserved for something that I Must Do. A good example is my Mash State. When My Mash Timer counts down to Zero from 90 minutes, I exit my Mash State and want to transfer the Wort. Since the BCS controls the Mash so well, I can get distracted with other things. I do want to know that that State has ended. I need to transfer the Wort. I want the BCS to tell me.
Mach79
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Re: 1st Brew Day- Alarm Question

Post by Mach79 »

I must be slow, but after several batches I still haven't figured out the alarm function. I am dialing in very nicely the temps, times, Processes & States are working very well....but, I am struggling with the damn Alarm function. I have a bcs482 and the software process editor has 2 different places which control the alarm.....

First option is just under the State. After naming the State, there is an option for "Alarm when exiting state" with None/Short/Loop.

Second Option, under "Output Control *(Direct On/Off". There is an option for Alarm enabled (with a box for a check) and dropdown On/Off.

I have experimented with using either one or both options....Alarm when Exiting & Output Control, but have not had success in what I am wanting. I just want to have the software alarm (Beep) when certain States finish & I need to do something. I have programmed the software with inputs to move onto another State or Process after a Digital Input. I have had success in moving the States, but the Alarm still sounds. Other times, the Alarm doesn't sound & I find the laptop flashing yellow on a State waiting for my Digital Input. Other times, I have heard the Alarm on my laptop, but not on the Control Panel.....FRUSTRATING

Replies welcome...
JonW
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Re: 1st Brew Day- Alarm Question

Post by JonW »

Sounds like you've got a couple of issues going on here. First to clarify - you can have a software alarm that comes from the web browser and you can have a hardware alarm. There is a built in hardware alarm on the 482 that beeps at the same time as the software alarm. Additionally, you can wire up an external alarm to an output and use the "Alarm to Reg 10" function to trigger that external alarm via ladder logic. OK, that sounds confusing, but it's pretty easy. With an external alarm, you never turn it on/off via the "Output Control (Direct On/Off)" feature. It should only be controlled via ladder logic - and even then it is indirect since the ladder logic triggers when Reg10 is asserted - which happens whenever the software alarm is triggered. Check out the BCS docs section on ladder logic for an example. https://docs.embeddedcc.com/ladder_logic/

So, you really should only be triggering an alarm at state exit. That will give you bot the software and hardware alarms required.

Do you have an actual external alarm wired to that output?
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oakbarn
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Re: 1st Brew Day- Alarm Question

Post by oakbarn »

Mach79 wrote:
Mon Dec 03, 2018 8:01 pm
I must be slow, but after several batches I still haven't figured out the alarm function. I am dialing in very nicely the temps, times, Processes & States are working very well....but, I am struggling with the damn Alarm function. I have a bcs482 and the software process editor has 2 different places which control the alarm.....
There is only one place to set an Alarm.
Mach79 wrote:
Mon Dec 03, 2018 8:01 pm
First option is just under the State. After naming the State, there is an option for "Alarm when exiting state" with None/Short/Loop.
Only option is just under the State. After naming the State, there is an option for "Alarm when exiting state" with None/Short/Loop.
Mach79 wrote:
Mon Dec 03, 2018 8:01 pm
Second Option, under "Output Control *(Direct On/Off". There is an option for Alarm enabled (with a box for a check) and dropdown On/Off.
There is no second option. The "Output Control *(Direct On/Off") is only to control any of the none PWN Outs with the Process Editor. I use these to turn "ON" or "OFF" pumps, The Enable Check box must be Checked. There is an option for Output enabled (with a box for a check) and dropdown On/Off. The On/Off is not for an Alarm but to turn the Out On or Off. It has nothing to do with the Alarm Function.
Direct On Off.png
Direct On Off.png (31.99 KiB) Viewed 31066 times
Do not be too hard on yourself. If you are only hung on the Alarm, you have done very well. It took me months to get mine up when I bought it and even longer to get it to really work instead of a glorified Temperature Display.
Mach79
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Re: 1st Brew Day- Alarm Question

Post by Mach79 »

First, Thank you guys for the replies.

Second, I apologize for the delays in responding. We had a family emergency we have been dealing with over the past few weeks.

I truly appreciate the feedback received from my last post. To answer one of the questions, I do have an external alarm hooked up my control panel, in addition I have an input button which is supposed to be used to move from one state to another after manual input- such as adding grains. It was helpful to get the feedback on the "Output Control". I didn't think I understood it very well- the explanation helped.

I plan to do some reading on the ladder logic today. I have a brew day planned for tomorrow. I will put the new knowledge to use with the hopes of finally figuring it out.... end result, I just want to hear the loud external alarm sound when I need to do something, then use the manual input to move to the next State or Process. As I posted earlier, everything else seems to be falling into place. Already planning to add 2 additional temp probes, SSRs and cooling chambers to control lager temps- the goal is to have remote control via internet to monitor temps & make adjustments.... but, don't want to get ahead off myself- first things first- get the darn alarm function down- HA

Again, I appreciate the feedback
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oakbarn
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Re: 1st Brew Day- Alarm Question

Post by oakbarn »

Mach79 wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:20 am
- the goal is to have remote control via internet to monitor temps & make adjustments....
I can log into my brewery with the IPhone (In a Service Area) or a different computer (Internet Connected). It is fairly easy once set up. I have a paid :roll: DNS Service where I do not care if my Public IP changes. We do make changes on temps sometimes.
We have several "Brewers" and each can look at the progress of the Fermentation.

We have made trips to a store and monitored the Mash while there and adjusted our Radiator Heat for the Hermszilla (A Convolutus Chiller we use as a HERMS where we send Wort in the Inner Tube and Hot water in the Outer Tube.)

There is no program on the IPhone, just Safari Browser. The display on the Iphone is vertical and nicely done.

I have also connected with an Android Silk Browser as well (Fire Tablet).

I use Chrome on all my computers.
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