Cunny's New Panel

olddog

This is the panel near finished for member @cunnyfunt, just needs a couple of warning lamps and another sensor to finish then it will be shipped. The top of the panel is for distilling and the bottom for brewing.

OD

punkin

Flash as a rat. As general guide can you tell us in round figures what something like that is worth?

olddog

Depending on options required they run out between $750 to $1000

OD

punkin

Cool, thanks for that. Not so much at all. Clearly a lot of work and materials in there.

cunnyfunt

Way too cheap :) I love it OD. Can't wait

Lloyd

@cunnyfunt said: Way too cheap:) I love it OD. Can't wait

I agree, it's a super value.
If it works only half as good as it looks it should be worth twice the price (or more) as I couldn't build it myself with weeks of effort and many, many fried parts.

You rock, as always... and great job @olddog

olddog

Yes they work @Lloyd, I am happy to just cover my time and the cost of components. Similar systems on distilling and brewing forums elsewhere are advertised for more than twice the price.

OD

ggf1320

wow that is beautiful ill take one pm sent (if I can figure out how to do that)

olddog

I need to know your locality for volt/amps requirement, also what you want to control.

OD

Mtnmann

I may be ordering myself one of those some day.

olddog

Allow approx 4 weeks for ordering necessary parts building and dispatch, will be a bit longer ATM due to Chinese new Year

cooperville

Wow @cunnyfunt is now not so cunny
Can we get an explanation for the brewing side of it
It looks like you have only one temp control for the beer which is fine you can use the still boiler for the boiler
I'm interested in this system @olddog it look very well done
I'm only a home brewer but this is what every man needs apart from a Chinese distilling license!!!

olddog

It was built as requested, I am not a brewer, but I can build to your requirement's, you just have to let me know what you want, timers, PIDs sensors etc.

OD

jonno

Top build OD, definately not taking away from your service but offering my opinion.

Maybe the other builds out there are a hell of alot more expensive because the blokes are qualified electricians? May be buying parts from wholesalers that still aren't as cheap as buying most parts of ebay?

Again not taking away from what your offering but just giving my opinion :)>-

olddog

Electricians wire houses, electronic techs don't. If you want to pay up to 10 times the price for locally sourced items, I can oblige and charge accordingly.

Od

cunnyfunt

@cooperville The brew side is a basic setup for a recirculating BIAB.

jonno

@olddog didn't mean to sound like i was having a go mate was just maybe giving a reason for why the higher prices from other offerings.

Full disclosure - Sparky myself and sick to death of hearing about how tradesmen charge way to much for jobs.

Again, top build mate!

olddog

No offence taken @jonno, I am retired and don't need to make a living from building panels, its just something to occupy my time.

OD

ggf1320

Wow COOL so half the price and half the time I've been quoted from other 'tradesmen' wish I could come across more retired electronic techs willing to help others with their time and knowledge. I'm in the good ole US of A as far as voltage and amp requirements. I'm just a small hobbyist but have literally dreamed of setting up a similar panel and like Lloyd said after two weeks of trying to build something like this I would have probably burned the house down and gone to bed with a headache every night from trying to figure it all out. I would like a very similar panel I'm a wine maker/distiller so on the distillery side I would like to be able to control 2 elements a 5500 by pid and variable control (as looks like cunny's panel is) and a 1500 (just a on and off for a quick bring up to temp feature a turbo shot so to speak) On the winery side would be nice to have an on/off for vacuum pump for racking and bottling and a pid to control temp in the fermenter.

punkin

Guys if we could keep this more about @olddog's excellent panels and less about the work of others please.

@ggf1320 take it to PM's or email mate please.

moscca

Very nice, I whish there was such a builder on this side of the world !!

olddog

Its on its way to you now Cunny, I hope it does the job for you.

OD

olddog

Dam auto correct, I typed Cunty and it came out as funty, corrected now

FTFYPunkin

:))

cunnyfunt

It's ok. My gf calls me that all the time. Gotta love a good ole catholic education.

I can't wait to use it. You have been a pleasure to deal with olddog.

Lloyd

Got me an OD controller on order too.

Duck0fDeath

Beautiful panel!

olddog

Farcical aint it, I get my parts from China, even the parts I buy local come from China, I put them in a box then export it back to China for Lloyd. This build will have virtually every sensor possible, Reflux, Product condensor, Parrot sensor, and dephleg sensor, so I think we have all options covered. Lloyd and I have been discussing the production of Stilldragon control panels, so Lloyd will be getting his people with tiny fingers to dissect this panel with a view to producing the Stilldragon panels. So far we see three variants, a basic panel, a more advanced panel, and a panel aimed at the brewing community, things may change, but this is where we are at ATM. My order books are full at the moment and I am reluctant to accept any more commissions until I can clear the backlog. With Chinese new year at the moment, I can't do much anyway until I receive more parts. I started building panels to keep me occupied and to keep my mind active in retirement, demand has exceeded my ability to keep up with it, so as Lloyd is willing to take this on with a better access to parts, it should be another winner for Stilldragon along with the econo power controller. I will continue to build "custom"builds as required when I can clear some of my backlog of orders.

OD

fadge

Thanks for keeping us in the loop, sound like yet another win-win project.

I shall be watching and looking out for this one in the future.

Lloyd

Well, this will take many months. After I get the panel from OD I'll need to run it quite a few times to get it all figured out. A new parrot body designed to accept the sensor. Maybe a few new adapters will be needed to be produced.
Then find a company that can produce them, but more than that, they'll need to be proficient in USA electric as well.
Then negotiations and packaging. Yep, this is going to take quite some time but we drove the econobox (DIY controller) price from over $100 down to $31 so given time we can probably do the same with OD's design.

My thinking is that we need to take all the "work" out of it but still make it just enough of a "kit" so the responsibility is shifted back to the customer. A completed unit should carry UL (or some other insurer's backing) and that will greatly escalate the retail price. A kit does not need the insurance.
CE certification of the parts is easy as the vast majority of the parts already come with that designation but true insurance on a completed unit will be expensive.

Again, thinking that all the cutouts in the box could be made and a complete bill of parts included along with step-by-step no-solder assembly instructions.

I'm unclear exactly how far we can take the assembly and still have it considered a kit.

Stinger

An excellent plan @Lloyd. I'll start saving my pennies nickels & dimes NOW.

Lloyd

Thanks @Stinger. The DIY would be a cakewalk to have completed here but if it were offered completed in USA it would cost a small fortune to get UL listed so that's why it's only offered as a kit.
We cannot accept personal liability should someone get hurt or killed on an item where we so actively try to keep our profit at almost nothing.

We do have to eek out a profit to develop new products, to pay our bills and to grow, as every company must do, but in all sincerity we are dedicated to providing the best value possible. We sell gaskets for 35 cents that others sell for $2 or more!

The SD element guard, for example, has been knocked off by others yet we sell them for $36 USD while the knockoffs are about twice that (and ever more).
@Law_Of_Ohms has helped to re-design the EG to eliminate a clamp and streamline the production process and hopefully in a few months an even lower cost version will be available.

Always chipping away trying to make it better.
Sure, we make mistakes but mostly we get it right by being in the middle. We can sell very low cost crap and we can sell hyper expensive perfection but we elect to sell neither. The value is in the middle - a very good product at a very good price.

With OD's help SD can bring smart control to distilling in a very cost effective way.

End of self aggrandizing blurb :)