HK1259780A1 - Two vessel compact beer brewing system - Google Patents

Description

Double-container compact beer brewing system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a dual vessel compact brewing system having vessels configured to perform the mashing, filtration and boiling brewing stages, particularly suitable for small scale commercial process beer brewing and bar brewing.

Background

Brewing is an ancient art as civilization, involving the production of alcoholic beverages from water and carbohydrate sources. Recent scientific and technical developments have enabled understanding and control of the successive brewing process stages. These stages can be performed under specific time and temperature conditions controlled by thermodynamics to affect the organic chemistry and microbiology involved, to achieve repeatable and desired results.

Generally, the first brewing stage involves grinding malted or unmalted cereals, such as barley or wheat, and then mixing the ground cereals with optional auxiliary carbohydrate supplements in hot water in a controlled steeping process called mashing, which enables the enzymes to convert the starch in the malt into sugars. In the second stage, the liquid is filtered from the mash, wort is withdrawn from the grain and the grain bed is sprayed with a top spray of additional hot water to flush the grain bed and recover additional sugar. In the third stage, the sweet wort is boiled and hops are added to balance the malt sweetness and bitterness, as well as to provide aroma and flavor. The boiled wort is then spun for further hop addition, then cooled, oxidised and then inoculated with yeast to start the fermentation process, thus producing beer for refrigeration, carbonation and packaging for distribution or direct on-site supply of fresh.

Typically, commercial breweries package and dispense beer, and brewery designs are optimized to minimize product unit cost. Such breweries require skilled breweries and expensive large-scale equipment. Modern technology breweries are small and often seek to expand and enrich the range of beer flavors. This can be facilitated by improving the machine design and thermodynamic control of the brewing process.

For example, application US 8,993,273B1 discloses a dual container brewing system for saccharifying grain to fermentable sugars, the system comprising: a first container as a mash tub; and a second container which is a boiling pot; the boiling pot having an open top, a closed bottom, and a lid positioned in physical contacting relationship with the open top of the boiling pot; wherein the mash tub has a closed bottom and a filtration system, the closed bottom of the mash tub being in physical contacting relationship with the lid of the boiling pot; a discharge conduit communicating from the mash tub into the boiling kettle near the closed bottom of the mash tub; a flow control mechanism located in the discharge line; and a heating unit transferring heat to the boiler.

Patent application US2014/0017354a1 discloses a system for brewing beer comprising: a base; a boiling pot positioned on the base; a first heating element in communication with the boiling pot and configured to selectively heat fluid contained in the boiling pot; a mash tub positioned on the base, the mash tub configured to receive one or more solid or fluid materials therein; a pumping system positioned at least partially within the base and connected to the boiling pot and the mash tub, the pumping system operable to selectively direct fluid into, out of, and between the boiling pot and the mash tub; and a control system positioned at least partially within the base and configured to selectively control the first heating element and the pumping system. The size of the base preferably occupies an area smaller than the countertop.

A compact, automated whole grain brewery plant is also disclosed in publication US 9,228,163B 1, while publication US 6,032,571 a discloses an automated machine for home beer brewing in a single container under automatic control.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact and cost-effective brewing system that can be easily, accurately and repeatably used to control and improve all critical brewing process aspects.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a compact and cost-effective brewing system that provides integrated control of brewing, fermentation and services at a single location.

Disclosure of Invention

To achieve the above and other objects, a dual container beer brewing system according to the present invention includes a bottom container having a keg configured to perform a mashing and boiling stage; a top vessel located above the bottom vessel in fluid communication with the tub and configured to perform a filtration phase; and a pump for moving fluid from the tub to the top receptacle.

This provides a compact structure and minimizes the space and pump number requirements of the system.

As used in the context of this specification, the "brewing stage" refers to all processes occurring in a given container before or after transfer of process fluid to another container or out of the brewing system. Thus, each "brewing stage" may involve multiple "processes" occurring sequentially within the same container.

Preferably, at least the bottom bucket and/or the top container are substantially cylindrical, the top container has a diameter smaller than the bottom bucket, and the top container is placed eccentrically on the bottom bucket.

This provides easy access to the top of the bottom container and easy access to the sides of the top container, and the cylindrical shape of the container provides rotational symmetry for vortex generation to achieve temperature uniformity, the desired shape so that effective clean-in-place autoflushing can be achieved and the lowest production costs.

Preferably, the bottom container includes a top opening providing access to its inner barrel and positioned free of the top container.

Such a top opening allows the brewer convenient access to the brewer, particularly to agitate the grain and boil the boil during the mashing stage.

Preferably, the top container is provided with a false bottom which conveniently holds the grain during spraying.

Preferably, the top container comprises a side aperture.

The side aperture allows for convenient emptying of used grain from the top container without any tipping capability.

Preferably, the side aperture extends over the periphery of the double container and is preferably located at the level of the arm.

Preferably, the side aperture is aligned with the false bottom of the top container.

Such side apertures further facilitate access to the top container and have a height and location to allow the brewer to rake used grain into the container in a convenient, clean and ergonomic manner.

Preferably, the bottom vessel further comprises a heating jacket disposed at least partially around the bottom barrel.

Preferably, the heating jacket is a fluid heating jacket, preferably an oil heating jacket powered by at least one electrical heating element.

Such a heating jacket may use steam, steam and water, oil or any other fluid as a heat exchange medium and is capable of uniformly heating the contents of the bottom drum.

Preferably, the bottom vessel further comprises an internal fluid heat exchanger, preferably in the form of a water tube arranged helically around the heating jacket.

The internal spiral heat exchanger does not require any additional hot wine barrels or separate hot water heaters, but hot water for spraying and cleaning can be obtained in a controlled manner by heating during passage through the heating jacket.

Preferably, the bottom tub is provided with a tangential inlet.

This enables a vortex to be created in the bottom container if desired.

Preferably, the system further comprises a fluid heat exchanger external to the vessel.

The heat exchanger is capable of adding or removing heat from the recirculating fluid.

Preferably, the bottom of the top container is also provided with at least one spray head.

The sparger provides flow to a lower plenum within the top container below the false bottom to allow cleaning in situ of the false bottom and also to lift the grain bed in the case of viscous mash.

Preferably, the system comprises a second pump, which although not necessary for the exemplary embodiment of the brewing system described above, may supplement the first pump by a positive displacement design, optimized to facilitate the transfer of very thick mash.

Preferably, the brewing system is further provided with a computer-operated control system comprising a control unit and a plurality of sensors and providing control signals to the system valves, pumps and other auxiliary devices and components of the system.

Drawings

These and other features of the present invention will be presented in the following exemplary embodiments and in conjunction with the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of one embodiment of a brewing system with a container hatch open;

figure 2 is a schematic vertical side view of the brewing system shown in figure 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the brewing system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 with the container hatch closed;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional top view of the bottom container of the brewing system taken along plane A-A shown in FIG. 1;

figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of the container of the brewing system along the planes B-B (bottom container) and C-C (top container) shown in figure 3.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional top view of the top container of the brewing system taken along plane D-D shown in FIG. 1; and

figure 7 is a schematic piping and instrumentation diagram showing the connections between the various components of the embodiment of the brewing system shown in figure 1.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the exemplary embodiment of the brewing system 1 comprises a bottom cylindrical container 2 and a top cylindrical container 3 stacked eccentrically on the bottom container 2. The bottom container 2 is supported on wheels 24 provided with foot-operated brakes 241, which foot-operated brakes 241 stabilize the position of the system 1. The wheels 24 together with the handle 23 also allow convenient movement of the system 1 when required.

The bottom container 2 is configured to perform the mashing and boiling stage of the brewing process, while the top container 3 is configured to perform the filtration stage that takes place between the mashing and boiling stage. The containers 2 and 3 are in fluid communication with each other with the ancillary devices and components they provide in a manner to be described later.

The bottom container 2 is provided with a top opening in the form of a hatch 21 with a handle 211, and the hatch 21 is pivotally arranged on a hinge 212 above the top cover 22 of the container 2. The top container 3 is also provided with a similar hatch 31 with a handle 311, and the hatch 31 is pivotally arranged on a hinge 312 above the top cover 32 of the top container 3.

The off-centre (off-centre) stacking of the containers 2 and 3 provides a compact structure of the system 1, minimizing its space requirements and enabling easy access through the hinged hatch 21 to the interior of the bottom container 2 which may be particularly required for mashing, stirring and boiling. Furthermore, the fact that the containers 2 and 3 are arranged one above the other allows to filter by gravity between them, avoiding any need for a second pump to pump wort from the grains during the process.

The side wall of the top container 3 is also provided with side apertures 33, the side apertures 33 being sealed during brewing by a lid 331, the lid 331 being supported by a rod 332 having screws 333. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the side apertures 33 extend over the periphery of the containers 2 and 3 and are placed at a height such that the brewer has ergonomic access to the interior of the top container 3. Since the bottom wall of the side aperture 33 (see fig. 5) is aligned with the false bottom of the top container 3, the brewer can easily rake any grain from the interior of the container 3 after removing the lid 331. To this end, the side port 33 may also be provided with an additional slide groove (not shown) protruding downward from the bottom edge of the side port 33.

Referring now to fig. 4 and 5, the bottom container 2 comprises a container or bucket 28 having a volume of about 450 liters in this embodiment. In another embodiment, it may be 600, 750, or more.

The barrel 28 is surrounded by a heating jacket 25, the heating jacket 25 being powered in this embodiment by heated oil and provided with a housing 251. The jacket 25 may be filled with oil through an oil inlet 252 and excess oil may be disposed of through an oil overflow outlet 255 closed by a manually operated valve 253. The temperature of the heating jacket 25 is controlled and maintained by two electric heating elements 254, each electric heating element 254 having a power output of about 20KW, radially arranged within the volume of the heating jacket 25. Notably, the heating element 254 may be disposed higher than shown and extend further into the volume of the inner barrel 28.

The bottom vessel 2 is further provided with a helical tubular water pipe 26, and the helical tubular water pipe 26 is disposed on the periphery of the outer shell 251 of the heating jacket 25. The pipe 26 may be supplied with water through an inlet 261 and serve as an internal fluid heat exchanger for heating water, which may be supplied through an outlet 262 to the top tank 3 for spraying, as will be explained later. The heating jacket 25 together with the water tubes 26 is surrounded by an insulating layer 29 and all the components of the bottom vessel 2, including the drum 28, are encased in an outer steel shell 27.

The barrel 28 of the bottom vessel 2 has a conical base 281 with a central drain 282 and a peripheral drain 283 for transferring the bright hop-added wort to the fermentor, away from the centrally deposited mass of protein and hop material formed after rotation.

The drum 28 is also provided with a rotating spray ball 284 introduced through the top cover 22 of the bottom receptacle 2, which allows clean-in-place (CIP) recirculating cleaning of the drum 28, which process may be automated.

The keg 28 is further provided with a steam outlet 285, which steam outlet 285 can be coupled with an extraction chimney that is evacuated away from the brewery in order to prevent steam from re-entering the bottom container 2 during brewing. Alternatively, outlet 285 may be coupled to a steam condenser, with piping of the steam away from the discharge.

In order to provide the tub 28 with the crushed grains thoroughly mixed with the hot water, the tub 28 is provided with a crushed grain hydrator 286 installed on the top cover 22 of the bottom container 2. The crushed grain hydrator 286 includes a hopper at the top where crushed grain may be conveniently poured into the bucket 28. The hydrator is supplied by a water pipe that deflects incoming hot water into thin slices to quickly and thoroughly hydrate the grist to form a mash.

The barrel 28 and the heating jacket 25 are also provided with temperature sensors (not shown) provided in the thermowells 46 and 45. The sensor disposed in thermowell 46 is configured to measure the temperature of the fluid in bottom barrel 28, while the sensor disposed in thermowell 45 is configured to measure the temperature of heating jacket 25.

The bucket 28 is also provided with a tangential inlet 287 which allows the recirculation fluid to flow back to excite the vortex. The tangential inlet is shown in fig. 4, and the recirculating inlet flow is indicated by arrows.

In this embodiment, the cylindrical top container 3 has a volume of about 300 liters. In another embodiment, it may be 450, 600 or more.

As shown in fig. 5, the container 3 has a conical base 38, the conical base 38 being provided with a central discharge opening 381. On the conical base 38 there is a slotted horizontal disk-shaped false bottom 34 to hold the grain during spraying. Since the top container 3 is only used for the filtration stage of the brewing process, including spraying, no heating or insulation is required.

The top container 3 is provided with: a thermowell 44, the thermowell 44 being provided with a temperature sensor (not shown); a rotating spray ball 36 for CIP recirculation cleaning of the container 3; a spray arm 37 for sprayer 371 to gently introduce spray water into the top of the grain bed during filtration; a deflector 35 to allow for gentle splash-free filling of the vessel and a low level inlet 39 directly above the false bottom 34.

The conical base 38 of the top vessel 3 is also provided with an inlet pipe 384, the inlet pipe 384 feeding a spray nozzle 382 via an annular manifold 383 to provide flow to a lower plenum in the vessel 3 below the false bottom 34 to allow cleaning of the false bottom in place and to lift the grain bed with hot water during viscous mash.

The pump 51 and the pipe network with a series of valves allow the transfer of the process fluid and the mash slurry between the vessels 2 and 3, recirculating in the bottom vessel 2 and transferring from the brewing chamber to the discharge pipe or fermenter. Integrated Cleaning In Place (CIP) systems with motorized valves can recirculate the caustic cleaning solution for automatic thorough cleaning and rinsing.

An optional second pump 54 of positive displacement design facilitates the transfer of thick mash from vessel 2 to vessel 3.

All other auxiliary machine components of the system 1 classified as belonging to group 5 and the features of the system will be explained below with reference to the brewing process and in particular with reference to figure 7 showing the various sensors, components, valves and couplings of this embodiment of the brewing system.

As shown in fig. 7, the system may be manually operated, or may comprise a computer operated control system 4, the control system 4 comprising a control unit 41, the control unit 41 collecting information from all sensors of the system, as well as providing control signals to system valves, pumps and other components 4, and powering an electrical heating element 254 schematically shown by dashed lines. The control system 4 can not only control the wort brewing apparatus, but also provide temperature and carbonation control of the fermentation and serving tank to facilitate bar brewing. The valves shown in fig. 7 are not numbered for simplicity of illustration. However, it is apparent that those skilled in the art should understand their functions based on the following description.

In the first stage, the cereal and/or malted cereal is ground into a milled cereal, which is introduced into the barrel 28 of the bottom container 2 and then mixed with hot water at a specific temperature to form a mash.

For this purpose, the water in the tub 28 is heated by the heating jacket 25. When the crushed grain is poured into its hopper, water may be introduced into the tub 28 through the tangential inlet 287 or through the crushed grain liquefier 286. The crushed grain can then be manually and conveniently stirred by the brewer through the open hatch 21.

A single pour of mash without heating may be performed or, alternatively, a stepped mash profile with continuously increasing temperature is stationary, each profile being reached and maintained, allowing specific enzyme groups to act on the grist in turn.

During mashing, control unit 41 controls the temperature of heating jacket 25 using electrical heating element 254 and temperature sensors located in thermowells 46 and 45 to obtain the desired pre-programmed ramp and step mash profile, or the desired single pour temperature for the duration of the mash, to convert the cereal starch into simpler fermentable sugars. The final step up to the "mash out" temperature can be used to reduce the wort viscosity (to facilitate filtration) and denature the enzymes to fix the wort sugar profile.

The mash may also be recirculated via the tangential inlet 287 to provide temperature uniformity and to help break up any dough balls that may reduce extraction efficiency and grow acetobacter oxyacantha to harmful levels.

After mashing, the crushed grain slurry is pumped from the tank 28 through the central bottom drain 282, pipe 2821 to the low level inlet 39 of the top filtration vessel 3 using pump 51.

After being washed free of grain, the mash, called the first effluent, is allowed to fall back under gravity through the central discharge 381 of the top filtering container 3, the connecting tube 3811 to the bottom barrel 28.

Filtration may be performed to flush additional sugar from the grain bed by spraying water, heated in the coiled water tube 26 and introduced via outlet 262 from incoming water pressure or using pump 51, through supply conduit 372 to sprayer 371 of spray arm 37 to spray on top of the grain bed to flush residual sugar from the grain.

The injection water temperature is measured at the outlet 262 of the spiral heat exchanger 26 by the temperature sensor 42 and controlled by adjusting the pumping speed and jacket 25 heating value to maintain the desired injection water temperature and injection rate throughout the injection as the heating temperature in the heating jacket 25 decays.

These sprayed second effluents are also collected in the bottom tank 28 through the central discharge port 381.

The sweet wort is heated to boiling by the heating jacket 25 and hops are added according to a predetermined hop addition schedule for one or more hop additions, the early boiling additives providing more bitterness by isomerization of the hop α acids, the subsequent additions retaining more volatile aromatic compounds to contribute to aroma and flavor.

After boiling, the heating of the heating jacket 25 is switched off and a vortex is formed by pumping the hop-added wort through the central discharge 282 and back through the tangential inlet 287 in the side of the barrel 28. More hop charges (hop charges) may be added at different temperatures throughout the process, and the control system 4 controls the recirculation pumping rate and cold-side cooling fluid flowing to the external fluid heat exchanger 52 via coolant flow sensor (solenoid valve) 43 to achieve a predetermined vortex cooling profile over the entire temperature and time range.

After swirling and cooling, when the wort is at the desired fermentation temperature, the cooling flow to the external heat exchanger 52 is shut off and the cooled hop-added wort may be recirculated through the jet ball 284 to oxidize it by contact with ambient air, passing the protein disruption material and hop material into the center of the barrel 28, before the swirl is allowed to settle, so that the clarified wort may be discharged from the peripheral discharge 283 through conduit 2831 for transfer to the fermentor. The pumping speed and cooling of the heat exchanger 52 are controlled by the control system 4 to achieve the desired hop distribution, hop-added wort temperature and dissolved oxygen level. If desired, additional pure oxygen can be introduced into the hop-added wort through inlet 53 via the oxidizing stones (not shown) during recirculation or when transferring them to the fermentor.

Accordingly, the above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended to be illustrative only. The figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features may be exaggerated or minimized. These and other factors, however, should not be taken as limiting the spirit of the invention, the intended scope of which is indicated in the appended claims.

Reference numerals

1 beer brewing system

2 bottom container

21 hatch

211 handle

212 hinge

22 Top cover

23 handle

24 wheel

241 brake

25 heating jacket

251 case

252 oil inlet

253 valve

254 electric heating element

255 oil overflow outlet

26 internal fluid heat exchanger (spiral tube type water pipe)

261 inlet

262 outlet

27 outer cover

28 barrel

281 conical base

282 Central discharge opening

2821 pipe

283 peripheral discharge outlet

2831 pipe

284 rotating spray ball

2841 supply line

285 steam outlet

286 crushed grain hydrate

287 tangential entry

29 insulating layer

3 Top container

31 hatch

311 handle

312 hinge

32 Top cover

33 side hole

331 cover

332 pole

333 screw

34 false bottom

35 flow guiding plate

36 rotary spray ball

37 spray arm

371 sprayer

372 supply line

38 conical base

381 Central discharge port

3811 coupling tube

382 spray head

383 ring manifold

384 inlet tube

385 support column

39 inlet port

4 control system

41 control unit

42 temperature sensor (spray water)

43 coolant flow sensor

44 top container thermowell

45 heating jacket thermocouple sleeve

46 bottom barrel thermowell

5 auxiliary System device

51 pump

52 external fluid heat exchanger

521 inlet

522 outlet

53 oxygen inlet

54 mash transfer pump (positive displacement or screw).

The claims (modification according to treaty clause 19)

1. A dual vessel compact beer brewing system having vessels configured to perform mashing, filtration and boiling brewing stages, the brewing system comprising:

a bottom vessel (2) having an inner barrel (28) configured to perform a saccharification and boiling stage,

a top container (3) located above the bottom container (2) in fluid communication with the tub (28) and configured to perform the filtration phase, and

a pump (51) for moving fluid from the tub (28) to the top container (3), wherein the bottom container (2) comprises a top opening (21), the top opening (21) providing access to the tub (28) of the bottom and being positioned free from the top container (3), and the top container (3) is eccentrically arranged above the tub (28) of the bottom.

2. Brewing system according to claim 1, characterized in that at least the bottom bucket (28) and/or the top container (3) is substantially cylindrical, the diameter of the top container (3) being smaller than the diameter of the bottom bucket (28).

3. Brewing system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the top container (3) is provided with a false bottom (34).

4. Brewing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the top container (3) comprises a side aperture (33).

5. Brewing system according to claim 4, characterized in that the side aperture (33) extends over the periphery of the container (2, 3) and is preferably located at the height of the arm.

6. Brewing system according to claims 3 and 4, characterized in that said side apertures (33) are aligned with said false bottom (34) of said top container (3).

7. The brewing system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bottom container (2) further comprises a heating jacket (25) arranged at least partially around the bottom bucket (28).

8. Brewing system according to claim 7, wherein said heating jacket (25) is a fluid heating jacket, preferably an oil heating jacket, which is powered by at least one electric heating element (254).

9. Brewing system according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the bottom container (2) further comprises an internal fluid heat exchanger (26).

10. Brewing system according to claim 9, wherein said internal fluid heat exchanger (26) has the form of a water tube arranged helically around the heating jacket (25).

11. Brewing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottom bucket (28) is provided with a tangential inlet (287).

12. The brewing system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a fluid heat exchanger (52) external to the container (2, 3).

13. Brewing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base (38) of the top container (3) is further provided with at least one spray head (382).

14. Brewing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the brewing system further comprises a computer-operated control system (4), which control system (4) comprises a control unit (41) and a plurality of sensors (42-46) and provides control signals to system valves, pumps (51, 54) and other auxiliary devices and components of the system (1).

Claims (15)

1. A dual vessel compact beer brewing system having vessels configured to perform mashing, filtration and boiling brewing stages, the brewing system comprising:

a bottom vessel (2) having an inner barrel (28) configured to perform a saccharification and boiling stage,

a top container (3) located above the bottom container (2) in fluid communication with the tub (28) and configured to perform the filtration phase, and

a pump (51) for moving fluid from the tub (28) to the top container (3).

2. Brewing system according to claim 1, characterized in that at least the bottom bucket (28) and/or the top container (3) is substantially cylindrical, the diameter of the top container (3) is smaller than the diameter of the bottom bucket (28), and the top container (3) is eccentrically arranged above the bottom bucket (28).

3. The brewing system according to claim 2, wherein the bottom container (2) comprises a top opening (21), the top opening (21) providing access to the bottom tub (28) and being positioned free of the top container (3).

4. Brewing system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the top container (3) is provided with a false bottom (34).

5. Brewing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the top container (3) comprises a side aperture (33).

6. Brewing system according to claim 5, characterized in that the side aperture (33) extends over the periphery of the container (2, 3) and is preferably located at the height of the arm.

7. Brewing system according to claims 4 and 5, wherein said side apertures (33) are aligned with said false bottom (34) of said top container (3).

8. The brewing system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the bottom container (2) further comprises a heating jacket (25) arranged at least partially around the bottom bucket (28).

9. Brewing system according to claim 8, wherein said heating jacket (25) is a fluid heating jacket, preferably an oil heating jacket, which is powered by at least one electric heating element (254).

10. Brewing system according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the bottom container (2) further comprises an internal fluid heat exchanger (26).

11. Brewing system according to claim 10, wherein said internal fluid heat exchanger (26) has the form of a water tube arranged helically around the heating jacket (25).

12. Brewing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bottom bucket (28) is provided with a tangential inlet (287).

13. The brewing system according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a fluid heat exchanger (52) external to the container (2, 3).

14. Brewing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base (38) of the top container (3) is further provided with at least one spray head (382).

15. Brewing system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the brewing system further comprises a computer-operated control system (4), which control system (4) comprises a control unit (41) and a plurality of sensors (42-46) and provides control signals to system valves, pumps (51, 54) and other auxiliary devices and components of the system (1).