My brewery controller: iBrew - Page 6

Pez · 01-08-2009, 01:08 AM

Impressive controller. I just ordered the 2009 board

I have electronics and programming knowledge so I'm really looking forward to messing with it although I am just moving to AG so it'll be a while before I actually us it for brewing. Thanks for sharing!

**Derrin** · 01-09-2009, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pez

Impressive controller...

Thanks! Even though I don't have it working in production, I'm coding v 3.0 right now. I moved some redundant code to a function and I'm adding a whole timer routine with stop watch functions so I can time Mash, Sparge and Boil.

I received the hot surface control module and an ignitor today. I tested it just as an ignition control and it works great. There are a couple issues I'll need to accept and/or overcome. First I have to figure out how to mount the ignitor and protect it as much as possible. This is difficult because it needs to live in the flame in order to sense the flame presence. It looks more rugged than I thought it would, but they are supposed to be very fragile and crack easy.

The other issue that I'd like to overcome is the timing. The control module has a timed sequence that is preset. When it receives a signal it sends current to the ignitor but then waits about a full minute before it opens the gas valve. This is designed to give the ignitor plenty of time to get glowing hot before sending in the gas. As soon as it detects flame it cuts the current to the ignitor and continues to burn until the voltage is cut to it. The minute really seems like a long time. It could be just because I'm sitting there staring at it (it gets rather bright BTW).

I scored 3 identical control modules of eBay for only $5 each. I'll test one for a while and if all goes well, I plan on having all three burners controlled. The boil kettle won't have any logic, but it'll be nice having a burner on/off switch.

I haven't tried it with the Arduino but there is no reason it shouldn't work.

Pez · 01-12-2009, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derrin

On the breadboard they worked flawlessly, once at the end of a 6'ish shielded cable they were useless. After turning to the spec sheet I should have read initially, I added a 1uF cap and 82ohm resistor in series from signal to ground which stabalized the output perfectly.

So you essentially turned the LM34's into a long temperature probe? What type of wire did you use? Any possibility you could post pics?

**Derrin** · 01-12-2009, 05:06 PM

camiller · 01-12-2009, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camiller

Another alternative to consider is the Sanguino. It is based on the atmega644P vs the atmega168 on the Arduino and has 4 times the memory and 32 general purpose IO pins vs 20. It is intended to be programmed from the same Arduino environment so there is very little modifications needed.

Just ran across another arduino alternative (just announced yesterday) that appears to be half way between the arduino and sanguino in regards to memory but a whopping 42 IO pins.

the illuminato uses a atmega645.

Drustanos · 01-23-2009, 06:51 AM

I was thinking about doing something like this as a final project for my electronics technology diploma.

The arduino is a really good platform to use for this type of application due to its simplicity and massive amount of free source code. I have been too busy with school to make mine do anything more than blink a few LEDs, but I may have to follow in your footsteps.

Good work.

**Derrin** · 01-23-2009, 05:21 PM

The project has changed a lot The original version displayed information based on sensor, ie MLT, HLT, Boil, Chiller in/out... Now it displays info based on process, ie: mashing, sparging, boiling, chilling. I also added 4 independent timers and I'm working on adding a hop schedule to the boil timer. I also converted it to the digital DS18B20 temperature sensors.

Check out the "Brew troller" group here on HBT. A few guys are taking the idea a lot further with more automation and more setup control.

ClaudiusB · 01-23-2009, 06:24 PM

Derrin nice project, well done.

Cheers,
ClaudiusB