gboja

No brewers out there? >:(

The application I am seeking assistance with is the control of temperature in the mash during the conversion of starch to sugars. The grain/water mash is held in a picnic cooler at XT temperature for XM minutes. The temp. is increased to YT for YM and is increased again to ZT for ZM. Some recipes may have more temperture break points. My thought would be to pump out at a slow rate the water from the bottom of the cooler and pass it through a heat exchange coil submersed in a couple gallon kettle and return the water to the top of the mash in the cooler. The temperature in the kettle could be increased with a hotplate or submersible heater. I envision a microprocessor or computer to read the temperature from a probe and turn on or off a contactor to control the heat. It is a simple concept, but I do not know how to interface the input data to the closing of a switch to activate the controllor. Assistance would be appreciated. Thanks, Greg