New Control Panel

[codewritinfool]

I just read that whole thread. Awesome. Those freakin' Krauts are just as nuts as we are.

The controller is a Honeywell 800 -- call morebeer and talk to James. Sven uses a pilot light for his, but I know he wants to do a whole post about his new stand, so I won't get into that.

Yes; you can get all the parts from a gas water heater or furnace. You won't regulate the gas with the valve, you'll use your thermostat (Ranco, Johnson or Love control) for that.

PE

Dude, I'm gonna close the loop on the whole thing with a PIC18-powered PID controller, including motorized gas valves and ignitors. I've been looking at UV flame sensors for safety reasons - can't just keep dumping propane if there's no ignition source, even then there should be a "max ignition attempts" to limit the number of lighting attempts under auto control.

[Sven]

The controller is a Honeywell 800 -- call morebeer and talk to James.

Yes; you can get all the parts from a gas water heater or furnace.
PE

To be precise it is a Honeywell V800 combination gas valve with a heat sensing pilot ignitor.

I don't think you'll have much success gutting a water heater as the BTU's aren't as high as with a furnace controller. About 70,000 vs 135,000+

[Kaiser]

Thanks for the input guys. I like the pilot light approach the best, as it is prooven to be save. I'll check out the furnace controller and keep my eyes open for deals on ebay.

I'm not in a rush to build the brewery. Cooler mash-tun and turkey fryer are working just fine for me so far.

Kai

[Kaiser]

Thanks for the input guys. I like the pilot light approach the best, as it is prooven to be save. I'll check out the furnace controller and keep my eyes open for deals on ebay.

Sven, do the BTU's really matter for the mash-tun. You only need enough to raise the mash 2-3 F/min anyway. To much may actually cause a scorching problem.

I'm not in a rush to build the brewery. Cooler mash-tun and turkey fryer are working just fine for me so far.

Kai

[Speyedr]

...Our amps go up to eleven....

[rich]

...Our amps go up to eleven....

Marty -"Is that supposed to be louder?"
Nigel - "It's one louder."
Marty - "Why don't you make it got to ten, and make that louder"
Nigel - "This one goes to 11"

[polski]

Not being anywhere close to this level of sophistication i gotta say i get a mean chub thinking about it. i'm assuming that if you have this kind of setup it is in a permanent location right? Do you all have this setup in an out building or your garage? Fill me in; i need to know what to look for when i move next.

[Push Eject]

Not being anywhere close to this level of sophistication i gotta say i get a mean chub thinking about it. i'm assuming that if you have this kind of setup it is in a permanent location right? Do you all have this setup in an out building or your garage? Fill me in; i need to know what to look for when i move next.

Sophisticated?! Sven? Me? LOL Really... no, thanks for the compliment, though!

My rig is on wheels and lives in the garage off to the side when not in use; often with a layer of saw dust on it and boxes of out-grown baby clothes piled on it.

Sven's lives outside bolted to the slab next to his house, but I expect he'll be putting up pictures of it soon.

The more I think about Doc and Jamil's setups the more I wish I had room on our property to build a 10x14' shed with a floor drain... that will be on MY list for the next time I move.