Hi everyone, new to brewing.
First batch is down and has been fluctuating +/- 4 degrees c (7.5f) which is a bit too much for my liking (we live in a cold climate). I'm using an arduino with DHT-22 to read the temp and an oil-fin heater on a mechanical relay for heating. I think the problem is the air temp rises quickly as soon as the heater is on but not the brew, so the relay shuts off before any ambient heat transfers to the brew.
So today I had a DS18B20 liquid temp sensor arrive, which is now mounted in the brew. Hopefully this gives better readings than the DHT-22 or the stick-on thermometer.
I also have a 30W heat belt coming on the courier, I figure this will be more efficient for heating the brew than a room heater and a lot easier to control.
I'm thinking I also need to add some form of cooling to this. A fridge isn't an option for me, but what about a 12v server fan or 2 aimed at the ferm? So my arduino would be activating the relay/heat belt if it's too cold or activating the fan if too hot. Maybe wrap some towels over the ferm at night since the temp drops a lot at night.
Does this approach sound ok? Anything else I need to be mindful of here?
Thanks in advance.
First batch is down and has been fluctuating +/- 4 degrees c (7.5f) which is a bit too much for my liking (we live in a cold climate). I'm using an arduino with DHT-22 to read the temp and an oil-fin heater on a mechanical relay for heating. I think the problem is the air temp rises quickly as soon as the heater is on but not the brew, so the relay shuts off before any ambient heat transfers to the brew.
So today I had a DS18B20 liquid temp sensor arrive, which is now mounted in the brew. Hopefully this gives better readings than the DHT-22 or the stick-on thermometer.
I also have a 30W heat belt coming on the courier, I figure this will be more efficient for heating the brew than a room heater and a lot easier to control.
I'm thinking I also need to add some form of cooling to this. A fridge isn't an option for me, but what about a 12v server fan or 2 aimed at the ferm? So my arduino would be activating the relay/heat belt if it's too cold or activating the fan if too hot. Maybe wrap some towels over the ferm at night since the temp drops a lot at night.
Does this approach sound ok? Anything else I need to be mindful of here?
Thanks in advance.