Brewery control panel

[BornB]

Does anyone have any recommendations on a alternative the $13,000 brewmation control panel for an electric brewery? I have no experience in building a control box and I am looking for something more cost effective. Any suggestions?

[Starcat]

Controls

Depending on what devices you need to control, We use the Johnson Controls A419 series and also 350 series controls.
They do need to be set up in a field built panel for this application.
It does take some electrical savvy to do this correctly, but in real terms it is not that difficult.
You are dealing with a suitable cabinet, din rail, terminal strips, fuse blocks and control transformers as needed, wireways, switches, etc.
The A419 controls go for about $80.00 each. They are stand alone controls.

[ChesterBrew]

Bear in mind that your inspectors may want that panel to be UL listed... Brewmation does provide that service for their work if necessary.

[Starcat]

About UL listing

Bear in mind that your inspectors may want that panel to be UL listed... Brewmation does provide that service for their work if necessary.

The idea that everything under the sun " has " to be , or " should " be UL listed is a major proliferation of the police state and " control " mentality in everyones' affairs.
Supporting it and moving towards it is a mistake.
A panel assembled by someone with journeyman electrical qualifications in every way should be no problem, unless control freaks are involved which they should not be.
The way often times that local officials lord over things is a symptom of the times we are living in, and its very telling about what kind of people they really are.
The best way is to do things as safely and in as high a quality manner as possible and stop moving in every way towards an Orwellian state.

[almalkin]

You might want to check out the control panel section of this site: http://theelectricbrewery.com/

Lots of very details instructions and pictures, as well as a parts list. I'm sure you could modify this to suit your needs.

[Brandjes]

Brewtoller

I have been looking at the Brewtroller systems as an option for my 2bbl brewhouse. They have a ready built panel now for a gas system - $999. Anyone using their stuff for a nano?

[ChesterBrew]

The idea that everything under the sun " has " to be , or " should " be UL listed is a major proliferation of the police state and " control " mentality in everyones' affairs.
Supporting it and moving towards it is a mistake.
A panel assembled by someone with journeyman electrical qualifications in every way should be no problem, unless control freaks are involved which they should not be.
The way often times that local officials lord over things is a symptom of the times we are living in, and its very telling about what kind of people they really are.
The best way is to do things as safely and in as high a quality manner as possible and stop moving in every way towards an Orwellian state.

All well and good until an inspector says "nope." Then you're S.O.L.

[Starcat]

Inspectors

It can be easily proven in a court of law that any and all states in the US union are fictions.
Cops and inspectors attempting to enforce unreasonable dictates on anyone can be challenged for the highly unreasonable sub human people they often times are.

[StarCityBrewing]

You might want to check out the control panel section of this site: http://theelectricbrewery.com/

Lots of very details instructions and pictures, as well as a parts list. I'm sure you could modify this to suit your needs.

^ What he said.
This is the panel we are using for our 1BBL (soon to be 2BBL) brewhouse. 2 ULWD 5500W elements in the BK and also HLT.

[EBcoffeeandpub]

I believe The Electric Brewery's system only handles 11000 watts, so what you'd need to do is add more heating elements that are switch operated and separate from the main circuit. Its simple and cheap, but might not be inspector-friendly. I'm thinking about using that setup for our 3bbl system, but I'm nervous that we'll get owned when it comes time to pass inspections. Does anyone have any insight on this? Our pub is near Grand Rapids, Michigan if that's helpful.

[ChesterBrew]

I believe The Electric Brewery's system only handles 11000 watts, so what you'd need to do is add more heating elements that are switch operated and separate from the main circuit. Its simple and cheap, but might not be inspector-friendly. I'm thinking about using that setup for our 3bbl system, but I'm nervous that we'll get owned when it comes time to pass inspections. Does anyone have any insight on this? Our pub is near Grand Rapids, Michigan if that's helpful.

Are there any other breweries in your area that would have the same inspectors? It may be worthwhile to reach out and find out what their experience was.

Simple conversations beforehand can hopefully save heartburn later on, and it's no fun to be screwed and have the "meter running," so to speak.