Remote/ Wifi temperature controller for glycol chiller?

[Fettucini]

We're looking for a temperature controller we can control remotely via an app on our phones to monitor and alter the temperature of our 12,000 btu glycol chiller if need be. This is really to avoid having to go in to the brewery at weekends. Any suggestions? I found a wifi temperature controller by inkbird, but it looks like it only has an app for Iphone, not android.

[TGTimm]

Why would you ever need to change the temp settings on the chiller? If it's sized right, with adequate glycol back, and your system is plumbed correctly with good temp controllers on the ferms, the settings on your chiller should never be messed with. Ours is set to 26F, and it has been since we installed it.

WiFi or cell capable controls on the ferms and brights would be very handy if you don't want to come in on off days. Some form of cell phone notification when things go out of parameter would also be a very nice thing.

[Sauce]

Why would you ever need to change the temp settings on the chiller? If it's sized right, with adequate glycol back, and your system is plumbed correctly with good temp controllers on the ferms, the settings on your chiller should never be messed with. Ours is set to 26F, and it has been since we installed it.

WiFi or cell capable controls on the ferms and brights would be very handy if you don't want to come in on off days. Some form of cell phone notification when things go out of parameter would also be a very nice thing.

true....though a alarm for when the glycol system goes awry, as you said for the fermenter controls, would be nice.....that will certainly bring you in on the weekend, but that beats several fermenters over 90f walking in on a Monday morning ;-)

[TiminOz]

There is a version of the Fuji PXR3 with the RS485 feature that allows you to change the temp on tanks remotely.

[Kevin N.]

This looks like it may work, although I don't know if it has hit the market yet. The APP is dated last November.

http://smartpid.com/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fred.com.smartpid

[ControlTec]

Controls

We're looking for a temperature controller we can control remotely via an app on our phones to monitor and alter the temperature of our 12,000 btu glycol chiller if need be. This is really to avoid having to go in to the brewery at weekends. Any suggestions? I found a wifi temperature controller by inkbird, but it looks like it only has an app for Iphone, not android.

Hello, we make a variety of control products for cellar and brewhouse. Please see our stuff at www.craftbrewcontrol.com
Look at CellarSentry and the PLC systems. each have remote control capabilities and can send alarms.
Dwight Kelly
ControlTec, Inc
724-746-1901
dwight@controlteconline.com

[Starcat]

Setpoint

There should be no reason to " need " to alter chiller setpoint.
Wifi is Microwave Technology and we should be moving very quickly away from it rather than attempting to use it more and more.
Its a dangerous affair that people are mostly ignorant of, and the power density is not safe by any means.
There is tons of buried evidence, research, and even worse for those in the know on the matter.
There are already cases of deaths from children sleeping with cell phones under their pillows.
All the wireless and constant fiddling with gadgets and apps is a bad idea and a distraction.
The " Tek " is the new drug of the masses.


Star

[augiedoggy]

I use a newer software I helped beta test from Brucontrol.com to control everything using an arduino... Ive been using it for my home brewery including my 4 gycol chilled and heat strip heated conicals as well as for my electric control panel (via pc touchscreen through a windows pc for over a year now. Building the larger version for the brewery now.
I do use it to control the actual temp as well as power to my chiller. I also wrote easy scripts for the ramping fermentation schedules for the different types of beers I make... (example , hold it at 68 for 2 days then bring down to 65 for 7 days and so on)

you can pretty much automate whatever you want with it or control stuff manually.. there pid, hysterisis and pwm outputs and it works with pretty much any type of temp sensors, I currently use a mix or stc 1000 type sensors as well as pt100 and one wire sensors.

[EngineerBrewer]

Remote HMI

How are you connecting to the control panel? Or are you really using an Arduino board to control the temperature control system?? Any plans on integrating this into an industrial PLC?

[augiedoggy]

I am just using the arduino to control both the heating and cooling as well as the chiller and the DP relays which activate the appropriate solenoid valve at the same time as the main chiller pump to send gycol to the jacketed fermenter that needs it.

I have no desire to use PLC's I work with them on the machines I service and maintain for a living and they are proprietary and limited in my opinion over a simple arduino which is more than capable. The arduinos are also cheap and super easy to load the firmware and swap out.

This software will allow the arduino to still run its script stand alone and run even if the pc its interfaced with goes down..
I use a separate arduino and control screen for my "hot side brewery " This includes driving mosfet pwm boards to control the speed of my dc pumps instead of using VFD drives for AC pumps. This allows dialing in perfect recirculation speeds for my rims as well as sparging. It also drives the software pids for my kettles and rims.

I should mention I had nothing to do with developing this software other than being the first to help beta test it and actually brew with it(so ive been told)
I'm averaging 91% efficiency on my home brewing rig right now with it using a unique long rims tube with a very ultra low watt density 36" long cartridge element and lower flow rate than most use which allows longer, gentler heating contact on each pass...
The difficult part has been sourcing acceptable counterparts for my 3bbl system i'm putting together for the nano.

This is a very old picture of my hot side interface and its changed quite a bit now but...

I am using usb connect my panels to my pc but in the nano I will be using wifi or ethernet. This software now supports wireless arduino based relays and accessories now as well which one user is using to control temps on his conicals as well as tilt wireless hydrometers. It also works with flow meters and level sensors..

[augiedoggy]

How are you connecting to the control panel? Or are you really using an Arduino board to control the temperature control system?? Any plans on integrating this into an industrial PLC?

You could use this though if something like this is what you meant...

https://www.industrialshields.com/open-source/ethernet-plc/

[Eskimo Bro]

BCS Controller

I am a fan of the BCS controller.

https://www.embeddedcc.com/

you can usually find it on www.brewershardware.com, but I don't see it there currently.


It has Data logging, programmable beer profiles, a complete online UI, warning emails, etc... you can access remotely if needed.

Check it out.

Todd

[sopbeer]

wifi for chiller

We're looking for a temperature controller we can control remotely via an app on our phones to monitor and alter the temperature of our 12,000 btu glycol chiller if need be. This is really to avoid having to go in to the brewery at weekends. Any suggestions? I found a wifi temperature controller by inkbird, but it looks like it only has an app for Iphone, not android.

We had the same issue when we started a number of years ago. If the chiller goes down for some reason when we are not there or don't realize it goes down we don't want the recirc pump to heat the res then the hot glycol to go through the tanks. We had it happen a couple of times until we deployed a relatively in expensive solution. We put an emerson or johnson controller with thermo probe in the res to measure the temp. Then we had a set point and if the temp went over the set point the control unit sent a signal to a contactor to shut down the recirc pump. No hot gylcol through the system even if the fermenters or brites where calling for it. The tanks just naturally warms which gave us time to get back into a control situation. The only problem we had was a day or so at high fermentation temps until the system could be brought back into parameters. We never had beer go so high that we lost a batch after deploying. We eventually installed a manual over ride on a timer that would allow the res to exceed the set point of the controller to be able to knock out as we had a duel water glycol heat ex. The timer was a simple 60 min dial like for the bathrooms with a heat lamp in them. Ultimately we still you this system today. cheap and never fails.

[BoxcarCentral]

Web Controls and Monitoring for Cellars/Chillers

We're looking for a temperature controller we can control remotely via an app on our phones to monitor and alter the temperature of our 12,000 btu glycol chiller if need be. This is really to avoid having to go in to the brewery at weekends. Any suggestions? I found a wifi temperature controller by inkbird, but it looks like it only has an app for Iphone, not android.

We have an industrial PLC system that enables remote control of Cellar temps and monitors glycol lines via an internet connection with SMS and email alerts. All backed by data graphs throughout the entire duration of fermentation. It's been very useful troubleshooting issues. Check us out at www.boxcarcentral.com. Thanks!

David Flynn
843-376-9024
info@boxcarcentral.com

[gitchegumee]

Preclude high temps in fermenter jackets...

You don't need fancy apps or additional complicated equipment to reduce possibility of jacket temps going high. If you have a decent temperature controller, then all you need to do is integrate a permissive into your control circuit. If a set point of your glycol isn't met, then it will not allow your tank solenoids to open. Super helpful for those with 2-stage heat exchangers--when the glycol warms, the controllers defeat cooling to the fermenters/BBTs.