E-stop!

[microbusbrew]

I bought a red mushroom switch on e-bay for $4.99 It can handle 20 amps. You can wire it normally closed or normally open. When you press it, it locks in position. To release it you have to twist. I'm going to get another and use this as an emergency stop on the heating elements.

Linc

Hi Linc, can you share the seller you bought the button from? I'm building a brew stand and adding a control panel for my BCS and I'd like to add one of these, but I'm only seeing switches rated for 5-10 amps. Thanks

[missing_link]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160610139430?ss ... 1439.l2649

not sure if the link will work. looking closer i don't think this is rated for more than 10 amps either. i've been using it and it doesn't get warm at all. weird. It is a very beefy switch.

Linc

[flux]

for a non true Estop you can run the common from all your outputs through it, this will shut down all outputs unless an SSR has shorted. In that case i use the main breaker on my power distribution panel.

[nuke314]

I acquired a spring loaded e stop button. It interupts the voltage to the BCS all together. If I need to interrupt my process in an emergency, I just cut power to the BCS. It shuts off all relays, but I can save a brew if need be.

[clearwaterbrewer]

That does NOT stop a SSR or contactor that failed closed! disconnecting the BCS is not a true e-stop...

Bottom line - spend the few extra dollars on a contactor, to wire you e-stop to, and a few more on individual fuses or circuit breakers to protect your SSR's from an element that shorts to ground. I blew 3 SSR's last week troubleshooting a failed element that tested good dry, the 'supplementary circuit breakers' are on their way from automation direct as I type this...

[BentTwigBrew]

Hey Everybody! New to ECC and just bought the BCS 462 so I am sure I will have a lot more questions.

For the E-Stop...I was planning on wiring the main power supply to my box through it. I am not using heating elements for brewing so I am well under 10 amps. The BCS will be outside of the box as ultimately I will have two control boxes, one for fermentation control and one for brewing control. So in theory if I hit the E-Stop button that will cut all power to my SSR's and stop any pumps/heat wraps/solenoid valves that I have for the fermentors.

My question is...when the E-Stop is activated, all 110V will be cut, but the BCS will still be sending 5v signals to the SSR until I can get to my phone and turn off. Is this acceptable or is there a way to wire a din/dout to the E-Stop that will stop the BCS from sending signals at the same time?

This is the E-Stop that I purchased. http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Sho ... ed/GCX3136

I believe I could add a contact block to the E-stop for the 5v.

Thanks!!! BTB

[JonW]

Just plug the BCS power supply into the same 110V supply you are running through the E-stop. You'll then cut all power to the BCS at the same time.

[BentTwigBrew]

I thought of that, but eventually I will have two different control boxes with two different E-Stops. One by the fermentors and one by the brew rig. So doing what you suggested will only work for half of the system.

I think I am looking for the same thing as Bad coffee in the original post. Only turning off the fermentation controls with that E-Stop and not brewing controls. He mentioned that he can program a condition of "If Din8 is on then goto process 7 (all off.)". Is there a way to wire the +5vdc terminal out of the BCS, through a contact block on the E-stop, and to a Din? Then the programing would be something like "if Din is off (e-stop activated) goto "shut off fermentation processes"? Now this is assuming the contact blocks on the E-Stop that I purchased are completely independent of each other. So one block would carry the 110v and the other would carry the 5v without issue.

Sorry for the noob questions...I haven't even started programming my BCS. Still working on the wiring and want to figure all this stuff out before I continue ordering parts

[ECC]

To your original question, you won't have any issues if the BCS is controlling relays have the 110V cut. That is fine, in fact standard operating procedure in some systems.

Secondly, if you want to have the e-stop feed back in to the BCS as you describe, I don't see any issues with that either. Just have a process monitoring that DIN and kill fermentation processes when its activated. Just use an auxiliary contact block on the e-stop to keep it separate.

[BentTwigBrew]

Roger that! Makes sense. Thanks.

I will hopefully be posting my wiring diagram soon for the community to critique.