The FerMonitor Lives

I have a friend who works for an electrical supply distributor. He says they've been having supply problems since the recession started because so many of the shops over seas making the basic components closed their doors and sent everyone home. He said it's been taking a long time for things to start ramping back up, especially with basic components.
He was saying, as an example, there's a certain type of fluorescent fixture that they can't get because the manufacturer can't get components for the ballast, because the shop that made that component went out of business and no one else makes that part. He said it happened all over the place.

The recession, it just keeps getting better and better...

D0ug said:

I have a friend who works for an electrical supply distributor. He says they've been having supply problems since the recession started because so many of the shops over seas making the basic components closed their doors and sent everyone home. He said it's been taking a long time for things to start ramping back up, especially with basic components.
He was saying, as an example, there's a certain type of fluorescent fixture that they can't get because the manufacturer can't get components for the ballast, because the shop that made that component went out of business and no one else makes that part. He said it happened all over the place.

The recession, it just keeps getting better and better...

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Perhaps, but I'm having a hard time swallowing that explanation.

Catt22 said:

Perhaps, but I'm having a hard time swallowing that explanation.

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Well, that's been his experience. They've been struggling with it for awhile now, I think they refer to the phenomenon as "excess capacity coming out of the market".
He doesn't have a dog in this fight, in fact I doubt he's even heard of this device, it's just something he's been talking about for the last year and a half or so.

Just thought I'd share. If you would rather condemn this guy for things that are probably beyond his control, have at it.

I will try to make a video or at least some photos next time I brew, hopefully during the holiday break. But, more I think about it, I'm not sure it will show you what you want to see. When you use the probe you only insert it into the wort just after yeast pitch - you don't mess with it again until fermentation is mostly done which of course takes days. Would be hard to video that to provide anything meanaingful. I will try to make some time to set up a little experiment to show how accurate it is. My experience has been very good with the first two batches, nailed OG and FG and I assume the trend in between was right on. This sounds like fun, not sure I can post pics or vids here, might have to email it to one of you senior members or something?

Please post something bricklayer. I would be interested to see how you use this in your setup. Even if it is only pictures.

Thanks.

Also, from their website:

Recent News:
December 16, 2010 - Due to price and delivery problems with a supplied component we are redesigning the SG probe products with an alternative component. Unfortunately we do not expect to have more product available for sale until 2011. We apologize for the inconvenience, stay tuned !

bricklayer38 said:

I will try to make a video or at least some photos next time I brew, hopefully during the holiday break. But, more I think about it, I'm not sure it will show you what you want to see. When you use the probe you only insert it into the wort just after yeast pitch - you don't mess with it again until fermentation is mostly done which of course takes days. Would be hard to video that to provide anything meanaingful. I will try to make some time to set up a little experiment to show how accurate it is. My experience has been very good with the first two batches, nailed OG and FG and I assume the trend in between was right on. This sounds like fun, not sure I can post pics or vids here, might have to email it to one of you senior members or something?

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How about a picture of what the setup for the thing looks like?...in an empty carboy hooked up to a computer perhaps?
By the way, how much did you pay?

Pretty sure I paid $250 - came with a SG probe and a LabJack and the software. Hoping to ditch the in-laws and get all my gear out to make a batch soon, I will try to remember to post some pics. Sounds like I was pretty lucky to grab one of these when I did!

Have you posted this on ProBrewer yet?

Very intrigued to say the least!

jmansfield - Can you please make an e-mail alert, or some other form of notification, to notify us when you will have more in stock? I would hate to miss out on an opportunity to buy this equipment.

So is this dead?

fermonitor.com says that testing is underway with the new redesigned system and should be available later in 2011.

steve039 said:

jmansfield - Can you please make an e-mail alert, or some other form of notification, to notify us when you will have more in stock? I would hate to miss out on an opportunity to buy this equipment.

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I'll second that...

The Fermonitor is still alive after numerous struggles. We had to redesign with completely different electronics from a totally different supplier. We have been conducting a series of extensive tests and we have completed some early beta testing. We still have more work to do with our new supplier to ensure we have the optimal product. We have decided to again delay our target release date, now expecting product to be available sometime in 2012. We have received thousands of emails from all around the globe showing interest in the Fermonitor. Here are some answers to questions we are commonly asked:

(1) Exactly how does the Fermonitor work? This is a very good question and one we are not yet ready to divulge the answer to. We see no business benefit. Good try though.

(2) Will it work on "xyz" operating systems? Seems like many people are concerned about the software side of the probe. We fully intend to offer software that works with the probe for those who don't plan to roll their own code - we have developed Windows based software at this time. However, the probe is a simple instrument - you provide a supply voltage and it returns an output voltage that is proportional to specific gravity. This means anyone can write software that will work with the probe, all you need is an A/D converter to convert the voltage signal into something the computer can understand. Our software uses the LabJack U3HV A/D converter.

(3) What are the electrical specifics of the Fermonitor? We have been hesitant to provide these details since our product has been evolving due to the supplier changes. In general, the probe requires a stable 5V supply and has about a 5mA draw. It outputs about a 1.5 to 2 V range, dependent upon SG of the fluid in which it is immersed.

(4) I really want one or more of these fermonitors as soon as they are available, is there any way you could put me on a list to notify me? Yes, we have the email address of every person who every showed interest in our products. When product is available we will notify the entire group.

Glad to see this project is still alive and kicking, hopefully you can get everything squared away in 2012.

Can't wait!

I'd like more information on this! I wanted to make one of my own, hopefully I don't have to. I know of the perfect device to interface this with.

Dead website...

Shocking, slow turn of events.

He should put this on kick starter. Raise some money and hire some help.

Heck, I'll help him for free....

These folks are just about to hit the market...
http://www.thebeerbug.com/
https://twitter.com/theBeerBug/

HBT users got strung along. Either jmansfield is the worst business person ever, or it was a scam all along. Thankfully, other folks came through with something that looks promising.

Hokie said:

These folks are just about to hit the market...
http://www.thebeerbug.com/
https://twitter.com/theBeerBug/

HBT users got strung along. Either jmansfield is the worst business person ever, or it was a scam all along. Thankfully, other folks came through with something that looks promising.

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Their site doesn't give away much in pictures, video, or detail. I'm interested but want to see it in action in a demo video with some more detail. If this just monitors temperature I think it's falling short of a true understanding of what homebrewer's really need. We need a device that not only monitors temperature but actually controls them as well. Being able to map out a fermentation temperature ramp and adjust temperatures via the beer bug would be key for me to plunk down this kind of money. Hydrometers are cheap and you can buy a temperature controller and fermwrap and get a much better use out of your tech.

makomachine said:

Their site doesn't give away much in pictures, video, or detail. I'm interested but want to see it in action in a demo video with some more detail. Very cool.

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Ha, yeah, good catch. They've posted this picture pretty recently...
http://i.imgur.com/KoBKj.jpg

...and they have this video about it...


Edit:... and this article about the project: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/11/small-tech-helpful-bug-home-brewers

Maybe I was a bit harsh about saying "falling short", but I definitely think they're missing opportunity with having both control and monitoring the same device. I'll stay tuned to see what people think about this as it's definitely a move in the right direction.

makomachine said:

Maybe I was a bit harsh about saying "falling short", but I definitely think they're missing opportunity with having both control and monitoring the same device. I'll stay tuned to see what people think about this as it's definitely a move in the right direction.

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I agree that the details aren't really all that revealing, but I don't see why it would be impossible to incorporate an arduino device that could control relays and other devices. Like you said, it's a step in the right direction. Personally, I like the real time monitoring for little other reason than say:
- monitoring when the SG has leveled out and fermentation has ended without removing a drop of beer
- pin pointing when a diacetyl rest should occur in a lager fermentation
- tracking yeast performance given certain conditions
- last but not least, geek factor

Just my opinion though.

makomachine said:

Maybe I was a bit harsh about saying "falling short", but I definitely think they're missing opportunity with having both control and monitoring the same device. I'll stay tuned to see what people think about this as it's definitely a move in the right direction.

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Why would we want another device to measure and control temperature? There are already dozens of solutions to exactly this problem, ranging from pre-packaged to hardcore DIY.

As yet, there's not a device that does realtime gravity readings in a way that can be integrated into an automation system. That would be something truly new.

MalFet said:

Why would we want another device to measure and control temperature? There are already dozens of solutions to exactly this problem, ranging from pre-packaged to hardcore DIY.

As yet, there's not a device that does realtime gravity readings in a way that can be integrated into an automation system. That would be something truly new.

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Trust me I get the importance of the gravity reading and that's the only reason I'm interested. I just think that people shouldn't have to have multiple devices to accomplish something that is already in contact with the beer. I want to avoid multiple devices tracking my fermentation and controlling it.

makomachine said:

Trust me I get the importance of the gravity reading and that's the only reason I'm interested. I just think that people shouldn't have to have multiple devices to accomplish something that is already in contact with the beer. I want to avoid multiple devices tracking my fermentation and controlling it.

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There's that side, but on the flip side adding integrated heating equipment would be the quickest way to ruin this hypothetical device for me. There are serious advantages to modularity.

MalFet said:

There's that side, but on the flip side adding integrated heating equipment would be the quickest way to ruin this hypothetical device for me. There are serious advantages to modularity.

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I'm not talking about adding - I'm talking about controlling. A PID is cheap and having an add on module to integrate with a thermowrap and have capability to set it up to control while it's monitoring is a great value. On a business trip and need to do a diacytl rest on your lager? Just whip out the iPad. Make it an add on if you will.

makomachine said:

I'm not talking about adding - I'm talking about controlling. A PID is cheap and having an add on module to integrate with a thermowrap and have capability to set it up to control while it's monitoring is a great value. On a business trip and need to do a diacytl rest on your lager? Just whip out the iPad. Make it an add on if you will.

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PIDs aren't that cheap, and if this came with one the first thing I'd do is cut it off and chuck it into my spare parts box (next to all the other PIDs). There's always a design trade-off between complexity and simplicity. Anybody who decides to actually produce and sell this kind of stuff has to do the market research to figure out what the market is most interested in. I can't guess at that, but I can say that -- for me -- every dollar spent on features that go beyond a basic sensor-array is a dollar I am less and less likely to spend.

MalFet said:

PIDs aren't that cheap, and if this came with one the first thing I'd do is cut it off and chuck it into my spare parts box (next to all the other PIDs). There's always a design trade-off between complexity and simplicity. Anybody who decides to actually produce and sell this kind of stuff has to do the market research to figure out what the market is most interested in. I can't guess at that, but I can say that -- for me -- every dollar spent on features that go beyond a basic sensor-array is a dollar I am less and less likely to spend.

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I'm talking as an option. We agree to disagree. I control my fermentations, not watch them and tweak them via a different set of controls. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks being able to monitor and control is a good idea. Remote control of my fermentations is something I would pay for, remote monitoring is a maybe.

I don't really care about the temp at all. My basement is basically the perfect temp for my ales. I would love the gravity reading functionality. That would make my life a dream.

Control would definitely be a valuable add-on feature, at least for me. The big plus would be the ability to base temperature control on gravity readings. What to start your d-rest at 1.020? Or cold crash as soon as gravity readings stabilize? No problem! (They'd need to have a wired version of the probe, though, since using a wireless & battery-powered device to control fermentation temp would be way too scary.)

Sooner or later, someone has got to get this to market. If not BeerBug, maybe BrewPi?

It's up on KickStarter now! 30 days left to get one of the first batches... http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/parasitx/the-beerbugtm-digital-hydrometer?ref=live

Totally different project, but still cool!!

There's one being called the brewbit as well. I saw an ad for it at GABF.

I wonder if you have to buy the developer special to write to the api. I'd be ok without any support and I just don't have the kind of cash to drop on monitoring my temps and gravity. I just want to toy with some mac development while I brew some beer.

HBT member Elkoe looks to be working toward full integration. He started with uberfridge.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-latest-diy-project-uberfridge-temp-controller-web-interface-282605/
and located here:
http://www.elcojacobs.com/uberfridge/


Now he's moved on to brewpi. Extremely cool.
http://brewpi.com/

Where I'm headed with this is that he also claims to have worked out a specific gravity / temp sensor.
http://forum.brewpi.com/discussion/38/bragging-rights#Item_12