Brewing System version 2.0

Recently, I decided to re-work my entire rig to see just how automated I could make it. I am a programmer by trade and wanted to incorporate that into the design. What I came up with is a touchscreen-driven PC running Windows XP, harnessed to a LabJack. The LabJack monitors three temperature probes, a PH probe (in the next release), a float switch, and toggles six solid state relays.

The touchscreen interface was designed to look very industrial. It loads each "brew" from a unique config file which controls the exact mash schedule (steps, temperatures, rests, etc) as well as the boil schedule.

Now some would argue that this takes some of the fun out of brewing. I'll argue back that 1) I am a gadget junkie and die-hard DIY'er, and 2) it is all about repeatability. I've also consistantly raised my efficiency above 90%. Read much more on this thread over at HomeBrewTalk.com.

Here are some videos of the system:

Part #1
Part #2
Part #3
Part #4