Kickstarter temp controller

Saw this, and jumped in right away:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brewbit/brewbit-model-t-wireless-temperature-controller

I have a keezer next to a fermentation chamber, both requiring temperature control. I've wanted to use data logging, or fermentation temperature profiles, etc... and this seemed like the perfect way to do it.

I got the control unit and 2 probes for 175, which comes with some pretty fancy display / control options. Looks like it can be a PID for mash temps, sous-vide, etc... as well.

Thought I'd share the link.

I saw that too. I am a DIYer though, and would rather build my own with an Arduino for about 1/5 of the cost. Cool gadget though.

I am sure you could make it cheaper but I am not sure if you could make it 1/5 of the cost if you could you would have folks lining up at your door.

You can buy an Arduino for $10 on eBay. Code is free. Throw in another $8 for LCD shield with buttons, and $10 relays wire and resistors. Then find a cheap project box to fit it all in. Cords are a dime a dozen from china. Just sayin...I could think I could make one for about $30-$40.

Abhitchc said:

You can buy an Arduino for $10 on eBay. Code is free. Throw in another $8 for LCD shield with buttons, and $10 relays wire and resistors. Then find a cheap project box to fit it all in. Cords are a dime a dozen from china. Just sayin...I could think I could make one for about $30-$40.

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Hey, I'm Nick with BrewBit. Just wanted to comment on this a little bit.

This project, like most projects started with us making similar statements. "We could do that so cheaply/easily..." we said to each other. Over the course of the the next 8 months, we found out that developing a product is a TON of work. Sure, each little piece of the project is not that complicated, but 1000 easy things is the same as 1 incredibly difficult thing. The same is true for cost, the individual pieces may not be incredibly expensive, but they add up quick, and back of the napkin type calculations tend not to account for EVERYTHING that will be needed.

That said, I fully support DIY. If you live to build things yourself, then that is great. We love building our own brewing equipment too, hence this project. Now we are just sharing our hard work with the world in this form. If you think it's cool, we would love to have you as backers.

Anyway, I'll step off the soap box now. Keep brewing strong!

I think it's really cool. I'd bet that most homebrewers are DIYers. Most can probably do what I did and throw together an STC-1000, a freezer chest, and a paint can heater to get the job done. I'm a mechanical engineer with some background in electrical, but this project offers some cool programming that is a little more than I have the time to figure out. I barely find time to brew! Sometimes an out-of-the-box product is just the way to go, even if it cost more than you could do it for yourself. Some people make their own false bottoms, I bought mine. Sometimes I change my own oil, sometimes I pay a mechanic to do it.

I also develop consumer products and packaging for a living, so I can confirm what nhebner said about product development. It's not too hard to build one or two units, but developing a product to bring to market is a time consuming and costly project. CAD software alone can cost thousands of dollars (some are over $25k/seat!) , prototypes can cost thousands, single cavity molds, reworks when things don't fit right...it adds up to a lot of money. It's tough to bring even a simple product to market.

Good luck, guys!

John

My comments were not meant to offend anyone. As an out of the box gadget it is really cool. I only stated that i would rather make my own for cheaper. When someone doubted that, I tried to explain that I could. I totally understand that one-offs are far cheaper to build than making hundreds, dealing with large quantities of parts, injection molds, r&d, etc. I like to DIY and I am also cheap, so I make whatever I can whenever I can. The temp controller is very cool, and it looks like it has a lot of interest. I wish you the best! Cheers.

I've put together a STC-1000 myself already but find the program-ability (temp schedule) and 2 separate controllers very nice. Like others, I build a good amount of my own brewery equipment but this is a cool item that I have already backed. I just personally don't have the time to get into andruino / raspberry pi kits & programming.

Since hardware and software are both open source, then I certainly hope this succeeds. Anyone who wants to build their own can do so, while everyone who wants to buy one finished can also benefit. Looks to me like a win-win for everyone.

Here is something that is already out there that somebody with a bit of ingenuity could modify to work. The HeaterMeter is a Wifi Enabled Temp. Controller for smokers. The temp probe triggers a fan to run at desired temperature set point. Instead of triggering the fan, it could just as easily toggle on and off the refrigerator/freezer. Tons of information about these out there with a bit of Googling.

I plan on building one of these soon for my smoker.

https://github.com/CapnBry/HeaterMeter/wiki

Abhitchc said:

My comments were not meant to offend anyone. As an out of the box gadget it is really cool. I only stated that i would rather make my own for cheaper. When someone doubted that, I tried to explain that I could. I totally understand that one-offs are far cheaper to build than making hundreds, dealing with large quantities of parts, injection molds, r&d, etc. I like to DIY and I am also cheap, so I make whatever I can whenever I can. The temp controller is very cool, and it looks like it has a lot of interest. I wish you the best! Cheers.

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No offense taken. We certainly respect the DIYers out there (us among them) and fully support the decision to take the road less traveled.

automobiliben said:

Here is something that is already out there that somebody with a bit of ingenuity could modify to work. The HeaterMeter is a Wifi Enabled Temp. Controller for smokers. The temp probe triggers a fan to run at desired temperature set point. Instead of triggering the fan, it could just as easily toggle on and off the refrigerator/freezer. Tons of information about these out there with a bit of Googling.

I plan on building one of these soon for my smoker.

https://github.com/CapnBry/HeaterMeter/wiki

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The issue with many implementations like this that you need to have some intermediate electronics knowledge about is amperage. Switching on and off a fan requires a much different relay than a Freezer/Fridge that will source upwards of 10+ Amps when it flips on.

A solution like BrewPi is a better starting point for Fermentation. I took their latest SW, followed their instructions to a T installing debian and all of the packages on an old PC i had laying around(didnt want to buy a Pi). Flashed my Uno with their RevC image, hooked up my two DS18B20's to A4(i think it is?) and was on my way.

Didnt buy any of their PCB shield or anything, because i dont want/need all the extra gizmos of having a screen and manual adjustment that way. All i wanted was the web interface to control it. With proper precautions i can open that system up to the world and view and set my fermentation chamber anywhere i can get internet with my Cell Phone, which is basically anywhere.

I backed the Fermostat, and am looking forward to getting one. Then BrewBit came out and I'm in for a unit as well. Good thing I have two ferm chambers....

Normally, I DIY everything I can. Stir plates, my electric HERMS, keezer, etc... but this product looked like it could be really flexible around the house and looks considerably more polished than something I would be able to make out of a project box / arduino. My wife is picky about what homebrew equipment is actually in sight, and I think this will pass the test.

It did take me a day to think about it though. It takes a neat looking product to make me want to buy instead of build. Maybe my ways are changing though, as Stout Tanks is about to get a crap ton of my money...

Yeah, the brewbit model T looks like it will be a great controller. I would definitely get one if I hadn't already made my chambers w/temp control.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the original purpose of the brewbit to take gravity readings wirelessly? Is it safe to assume that project is dead?

Nice looking unit, and great idea!

Most of the tiem I DIY, and sometimes I just buy a nicely packaged item and fiddle with other things. If I hadn't made 2 temp controllers after buying my first ITC, I would be in for this unit. Looks nice with lots everything I expect from a dual stage controller.

GL, and still might have to back it since I accidentally built a single stage unit thinking I was getting an ebay deal on a fish tank controller. Also, I do hope and suppose there has been a good look into probe length and quality. My ITC has an excellent and looong probe, whereas the fish tank controllers are very short and kinda suck... yes, you can splice extra wire etc, just not as clean.

Again, wish the BrewBit guys well on the project. Hopefully there is enough profit margin for you to have them in the online and local HBSs.

/back to the DIY keg washer over the MarkII out of preference and utility

lunchbox said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the original purpose of the brewbit to take gravity readings wirelessly? Is it safe to assume that project is dead?

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Yes, the original idea was the SG sensor. Our original prototype sensor showed some promise, but scaling it down from the size of a cracker jack box to something that can slip into a carboy presented some serious challenged, and we were not getting the accuracy that we required.

At that time, we decided to step back and plan the path forward. We had always planned to do a temp controller, and were originally planning it as an add-on to the SG sensor. However, the more we thought about it, the more we realized that we should build the temp controller first. For one, it is a less technically challenging project, so it would let us get our feet wet and form some relationships with manufacturing partners. Also, a lot of the web based platform platform we always envisioned could be put in place, making it a slightly simpler matter to add on SG support. So, we decided to set off on designing the Model-T.

With that said, the SG sensor project is not dead! We are evaluating other designs that will be simpler and cheaper to build. Once we get some prototypes together, we will announce more information. As said, we are already planning and designing for SG integration with the Model-T.

shmEk said:

Nice looking unit, and great idea!

Most of the tiem I DIY, and sometimes I just buy a nicely packaged item and fiddle with other things. If I hadn't made 2 temp controllers after buying my first ITC, I would be in for this unit. Looks nice with lots everything I expect from a dual stage controller.

GL, and still might have to back it since I accidentally built a single stage unit thinking I was getting an ebay deal on a fish tank controller. Also, I do hope and suppose there has been a good look into probe length and quality. My ITC has an excellent and looong probe, whereas the fish tank controllers are very short and kinda suck... yes, you can splice extra wire etc, just not as clean.

Again, wish the BrewBit guys well on the project. Hopefully there is enough profit margin for you to have them in the online and local HBSs.

/back to the DIY keg washer over the MarkII out of preference and utility

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Thanks for the well wishes!

We are offering 10 ft probes, so hopefully that will be long enough for most people. We could get longer ones if anyone needs them as well.

Did I see that this is an open source project? If so can you post a link to the source. Also any plans on doing this for an electric brew system that uses 4500-5500 watt elements?
Thanks.

This would be nice for people like myself who are controller/computer challenged. I have an STC but this has the bells and whistles.....could possibly control HLT and MT at the same time, ferm chamber, wort chiller/pump....so...much. Price isn't too bad either.

nhebner said:

With that said, the SG sensor project is not dead! We are evaluating other designs that will be simpler and cheaper to build. Once we get some prototypes together, we will announce more information. As said, we are already planning and designing for SG integration with the Model-T.

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Any chance you'll have the BrewBit T play nice with the Beer Bug (whenever they come out)? That's another project I've backed and having a centralized data collection and control location would be sweet!

dasdrewids said:

Any chance you'll have the BrewBit T play nice with the Beer Bug (whenever they come out)? That's another project I've backed and having a centralized data collection and control location would be sweet!

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We are planning to provide a completely open platform, so it would certainly be possible to integrate a BeerBug from our end. I don't think BeerBug is open source, so it would be on them to provide that support. Something that I think they might not want to provide, but who knows.

It's officially funded... Once I receive the unit I'll post some reviews. Between brewing, fermenting, dispensing, and sous-vide, I'll be able to put it through some tests.

BadWolfBrewing said:

It's officially funded... Once I receive the unit I'll post some reviews. Between brewing, fermenting, dispensing, and sous-vide, I'll be able to put it through some tests.

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Thanks BadWolf. We look forward to getting it into your hands for some serious testing!