I'd like to be able to brew any beer style, using any brewing technique. I could've stuck with a 3 vessel system and brewed a single barrel at a time of many different beer styles, but as I explained earlier, I wanted to be able to brew a second 1bbl batch simultaneously, and even dump the spent grains from those and start third and forth beers while the first two boiled. And I also started thinking what if I want to do a turbid or decoction mash requiring a fourth vessel. The more I thought about this system, the more I realized how versatile it could be if each of the five kettles were configured to be able to perform any of the brewing functions that might be performed. I'm sure there's something I'll be able to do with the system that I haven't considered yet.
I had five different process control components (ie, inputs, on/off devices) in mind, so I designed the system so that each of the five kettles has the following five control components available to it to control what's happening in the brew session:
- temperature probe
- a pump
- an electronically controlled gas valve
- a float switch
- a solenoid valve for liquid
The solenoid valves will get the least use as far as I anticipate, but as the electrical system was being designed, it was decided to go ahead and plan for them. All the components are unpluggable at NEMA 4x rated enclosures beneath each kettle (I call them satellite enclosures), and these satellite enclosures are all wired to a Main Enclosure on one side of the system.
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