Oh Hell Not Another Controller
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2018 11:05 am
I have just finished my revamp of my controller.
I needed to upgrade for multiple elements for my new beer keg boiler.
I think I went a little over the top and the more I thought about it the more I added.
I had a 600 x 400 stainless steel enclosure that I had my phase controller and contactors for my old 25lt boiler and stripped it and started again.
I wanted it as safe as possible so I decided to monitor temperatures at 4 places and to monitor flow in the cooling system, condenser for the pot still and separate flow meters for the condenser and re-flux coil on the column still.
I added a programmable logic controller to monitor all these and give delays as required and output lights and flashers.
I automatically shut off the elements in the event of a flow failure and will turn the second element down or off if the output temp of the alcohol gets too high.
The elements will not switch on unless the cooling pump is in manual ( running all the time ) or in auto ( automatically switching on when the boiler reaches 60 Deg).
I have facility for a differential pressure switch to monitor pressure buildup in the boiler probably something set at about 2 psi.
I am a qualified sparky and my area of expertise is industrial control systems.
It is not as neat as I would like but I ran out of room in the cabinet.
The cooling fan had to be mounted on the outside of the box and is controlled by an thermostat mounted on the inside top of the box.
The air flow will suck from the bottom across the first phase controller and exit through the opposite side on the top just above the second phase controller.
I have facility to bypass the phase controllers on both elements and just run flat out and then can turn both down when the boil starts.
All items are very oversized for the load and should not produce a lot of heat in the cabinet.
I have a 32 amp single phase plug on the box and I am installing a 32 amp circuit for the still.
I have used industrial 56 series outlets for the boiler and pump as well as a 20 amp 5 pin outlet for the keg boiler ( 2 x 15 amp single phase controlled supplies for the elements.
Any and all suggestions welcome and if you have more that you think I should monitor please let me know.
I have also almost finished my new stills which is a modular 2.5 inch 750mm column and 2.5 inch pot with bubbler and sight glasses , the condenser is a 500mm 4 x 1/2 inch tubes spiralled inside a 50 mm copper tube..
I have installed a 750 lt tank for cooling and have a submersible pump and separate feeds for condenser and reflux coil.
Have a great day all.
Dave