HOWTO - Make a BrewPi Fermentation Controller For Cheap

[phishie]

I withdrew my answer and have not re-posted, because I really don't have a friggin' clue to the answer

maybe there's a mismatch due to the ramping down, the difference between both the refresh rate of the profile and LCD, and the number of significant digits

if it were my beer in there (and it soon will be, I have a Schwarzbier I'm about to pitch and ferment), I would see the current temperature being consistent with what I expect should be happening and not worry about it

but I'm like the opposite of OCD. and that one little dot at the lower-right corner of lower-case "r" s doesn't bother me 1 bit

Haha I'm with you: ultimately it doesn't matter, but it's odd and I am a bit OCD.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Thank you, I appreciate the response, but I was referring to the "LCD Profile" numbers and the "Profile" numbers. My profile says it should currently be at 59.64 but my LCD Profile says it should be at 58.4. I've pushed refresh on the profile chart. See updated screenshot.

I actually had this issue as well, i did two things. Updated to the latest legacy branch(just runt he updater.py --ask command again), and also ran Sudo raspi-config and find the spot where you adjust the system time and make sure its set properly to your timezone. Then restart the RPI and mine seems to work. It bothered the hell out of me because it was not ramping temperatures properly. I believe its related to the system time being set wrong, but i also updated at the same time so im not sure which fixed it. I updated to fix mine about 3-4 days ago.

 

[phishie]

I actually had this issue as well, i did two things. Updated to the latest legacy branch(just runt he updater.py --ask command again), and also ran Sudo raspi-config and find the spot where you adjust the system time and make sure its set properly to your timezone. Then restart the RPI and mine seems to work. It bothered the hell out of me because it was not ramping temperatures properly. I believe its related to the system time being set wrong, but i also updated at the same time so im not sure which fixed it. I updated to fix mine about 3-4 days ago.

Ack that's a pain.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

It takes like 5 minutes max

 

[phishie]

It takes like 5 minutes max

A friend helped me set it up so I'm bound to get hung up now.

"The path '/var/www' does not seem to be a valid git repository
What path did you install the BrewPi web interface scripts to?"

My /var/www path has the following:
"do_not_run_brewpi"
"html"
"robots.txt"

In case this helps:

 

[phishie]

A friend helped me set it up so I'm bound to get hung up now.



My /var/www path has the following:
"do_not_run_brewpi"
"html"
"robots.txt"

In case this helps:

Nevermind, I input /var/www/html/ to make that work.

I actually figured it out and this had nothing to do with it. My BrewPi is in EDT and I'm in CDT. The Profile graph is showing the current value for CDT time and the LCD is showing the current value for EDT, hence the miss match.

When I remote into my EDT machine and view the BrewPi page they're in sync. Seems like a bug in the webpage codebase.

When viewed while remoted into EDT machine:

When viewed while on my CDT machine (where I'm located physically currently):

 

[flanken]

Anyone have luck recalibration temp probes? I have an Irish red ale fermenting, my first with the BrewPi, and the system LCD is reading 67.1F but my ThermoWorks digital thermometer (calibrated) reads 65.5F. It's not a huge difference but I'd like them to be consistent.

I found the wiki page but don't understand all the prompts and commands... (I had to google what sudo meant...)

http://wiki.brewpi.com/index.php/Temperature_Sensor_Calibration

Anyone do this successfully?

 

[ame]

Here's some more info on how to do it:
http://forum.brewpi.com/discussion/448/temperature-probe-calibration

 

[flanken]

Thanks I saw that one too... Wondering if anyone here has been successful at it lately, or if Elco integrated an option right into the interface like he mentioned in a 2013 post?

 

[Finny62]

Has anyone had any issues with changing their IP address? I recently moved and changed the IP address in Chromium to the new address. Now when I try to access the Brewpi site, I'm unable to see the graph and Chromium freezes up. The CPU also reads 100%.

 

[day_trippr]

Thanks I saw that one too... Wondering if anyone here has been successful at it lately, or if Elco integrated an option right into the interface like he mentioned in a 2013 post?

He didn't.
Here's my write-up on how to calibrate BrewPi probes:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7574340&postcount=5565

Cheers!

 

[day_trippr]

Has anyone had any issues with changing their IP address? I recently moved and changed the IP address in Chromium to the new address. Now when I try to access the Brewpi site, I'm unable to see the graph and Chromium freezes up. The CPU also reads 100%.

A bit of clarification, please:

- you're running this on an RPi?
- the Chromium session is running on the same RPi?
- if so, why are you're not using the localhost address?

Cheers!

 

[ame]

Thanks I saw that one too... Wondering if anyone here has been successful at it lately, or if Elco integrated an option right into the interface like he mentioned in a 2013 post?

I don't think it has been integrated, otherwise it would be documented (and would be visible).

Basically, you open a serial link to your Arduino, using screen, or minicom, or gtkterm, or your favourite serial terminal program, then send some commands and read the responses.

 

[Finny62]

A bit of clarification, please:

- you're running this on an RPi?
- the Chromium session is running on the same RPi?
- if so, why are you're not using the localhost address?

Cheers!

I am running this on an RPi B+ with the chromium session on the same RPi. I found that Brewpi works perfectly on the defualt browser. After uninstalling and re-installing Chromium I am still having issues seeing the graph on the Brewpi screen using both the new IP address and local host.

 

[AlehCemy]

A noob question:
Can I use any raspberry pi? I mean, I noticed there is a new version (the RaspPI 3) and the RaspPI 2 have B, B+, a few ones which are 512MB and 1GB.

Which model would be ideal?

 

[joebob296]

A noob question:
Can I use any raspberry pi? I mean, I noticed there is a new version (the RaspPI 3) and the RaspPI 2 have B, B+, a few ones which are 512MB and 1GB.

Which model would be ideal?

That had been answered multiple times, pi2 b

 

[LBussy]

A noob question:
Can I use any raspberry pi? I mean, I noticed there is a new version (the RaspPI 3) and the RaspPI 2 have B, B+, a few ones which are 512MB and 1GB.

Which model would be ideal?

The answer is not straightforward.

The RPi 3 (which must run Jessie) is great, has built in WiFi saving you some money. If you are not going to be doing Raspberry Pints, if you are not going to be doing Bluetooth minions; then it's cheaper, more powerful, and probably the way to go. If you will be doing those other things then the RPi 2 is needed because you need to be able to run Wheezy.

If all you want is a straightforward setup, there's no reason not to use the 3. I gave very simple setup instructions in post 5638.

However, if you have a Pi 2 Model B, use that with Wheezy and you will be among the majority I think.

 

[AlehCemy]

The answer is not straightforward.

The RPi 3 (which must run Jessie) is great, has built in WiFi saving you some money. If you are not going to be doing Raspberry Pints, if you are not going to be doing Bluetooth minions; then it's cheaper, more powerful, and probably the way to go. If you will be doing those other things then the RPi 2 is needed because you need to be able to run Wheezy.

If all you want is a straightforward setup, there's no reason not to use the 3. I gave very simple setup instructions in post 5638.

However, if you have a Pi 2 Model B, use that with Wheezy and you will be among the majority I think.

Thank you! All of those model are roughly the same price here, which is also the reason I asked. I'm not sure about the add-ons, but thought it's better having the possibility of adding things along the way. I'm sure I want to put a hygrometer sensor, a sensor for the room temp and a LCD screen, so decided to go with the Pi 2 Model B.

 

[gueykewl]

The answer is not straightforward.

The RPi 3 (which must run Jessie) is great, has built in WiFi saving you some money. If you are not going to be doing Raspberry Pints, if you are not going to be doing Bluetooth minions; then it's cheaper, more powerful, and probably the way to go. If you will be doing those other things then the RPi 2 is needed because you need to be able to run Wheezy.

If all you want is a straightforward setup, there's no reason not to use the 3. I gave very simple setup instructions in post 5638.

However, if you have a Pi 2 Model B, use that with Wheezy and you will be among the majority I think.

Looking at starting a Brewpi build. Will the Rpi3 (jessie) support multi chamber build?

 

[ame]

I don't know why you wouldn't choose a Pi 3. BrewPi is just software.

 

[froot]

I don't know why you wouldn't choose a Pi 3. BrewPi is just software.

Yeah lets install windows 3.1 on a new computer... that'll so work! Quite obviously you haven't been following the thread or understand the changes in raspbian.

 

[ame]

I have been following the thread. I have two Pi 3s. They work. They are better than Pi 2s.

 

[day_trippr]

They're still fixing RPi3 SOC hardware problems with Raspbian. The latest release apparently has a work=around "fix" for the secondary hardware serial port which inexplicably had its baud rate generator tied to the system clock - which changes depending on workload, temperature, etc - so the baud rate was constantly changing and nothing could talk to it for long. The better UART is dedicated to the on-board Bluetooth adapter.

My take is simply this: if one wants to be able to run all of the toys covered here on HBT, one must avoid installing the Jessie version of Raspbian.
As the RPi3 requires the Jessie kernel, that rules out the RPi3...

Cheers!

 

[ame]

The original Raspberry Pi was horribly broken for a while. Then it all got fixed. No reason to think that won't happen again.

What exactly is broken on the Pi 3? I haven't noticed.

 

[zgja2]

Finally finished boxing up my Pi, I think it turned out pretty good!

What size project box is that? Thanks!

 

[LBussy]

Yeah lets install windows 3.1 on a new computer... that'll so work! Quite obviously you haven't been following the thread or understand the changes in raspbian.

Or ... a different analogy: Let's buy an old computer and assume nobody will ever fix Jessie. Software gets updates (eventually). Nobody will visit your house and upgrade your RPi2.

If a person is only doing BrewPi, there's no reason to worry about all this stuff. Buy the 3, get the latest, greatest, fastest, and frankly cheapest. Install BrewPi and sit and wonder why everyone else is still arguing.

I agree, if a person wants to be able to do EVERYTHING we do on HBT with RPi, sticking with the 2 is the way to go. If all they want is a shiny new RPi to run BrewPi, the 3 is great.

 

[zgja2]

What is a good size project box for uno, relay board, and outlet? Something with plenty of room to get my paws in there. Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

[...] If all they want is a shiny new RPi to run BrewPi, the 3 is great.

As long as any/all Arduinos needed are USB connected, anyway...

Cheers!

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Has anyone played around with WEMOS D1 MINI yet? Looks like a uno and esp8266 all in one board.I bet for someone who knows what they are doing they could get the basic Brewpi running on it teamed up with a rpi zero. You could fit the whole shebang in a band aid box
http://www.wemos.cc/Products/d1_mini.html

 

[AlehCemy]

Has anyone played around with WEMOS D1 MINI yet? Looks like a uno and esp8266 all in one board.I bet for someone who knows what they are doing they could get the basic Brewpi running on it teamed up with a rpi zero. You could fit the whole shebang in a band aid box
http://www.wemos.cc/Products/d1_mini.html

Apparently there is a thread about using the d1 mini https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?p=7625411

 

[KZack]

Are there any heat concerns being in the box?

 

[ame]

Has anyone played around with WEMOS D1 MINI yet? Looks like a uno and esp8266 all in one board.I bet for someone who knows what they are doing they could get the basic Brewpi running on it teamed up with a rpi zero. You could fit the whole shebang in a band aid box
http://www.wemos.cc/Products/d1_mini.html

AlehCemy beat me to it, but yes, someone has been working on that.

Another option is to run my Python code on a Pi Zero and get rid of the Arduino entirely.

 

[day_trippr]

Are there any heat concerns being in the box?

Probably not, if you provide at least passive ventilation.
I do run a tiny fan on my RPi2B brewery controller enclosure, run by the RPi itself via a Python script that reads the SOC thermal monitor.

It's almost assuredly overkill but that's pretty much my wheelhouse

Cheers!

 

[flanken]

My beer temp has been having some larger temp fluctuations than before, and it seems like BrewPi is overcompensating and creating some wild swings... Can anyone shed light on potential reasons?

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1468580494.116628.jpg

Some background:

- my ferm chamber is a Mother of Fermentation Chillers, I used the plans from wort-o-matic... Insulation is good but not great, I will be making upgrades to that after this brew

- cooling happens by blowing a computer fan across ice and into the chamber. It works, did some tests on water and was able to control temp well (but not as quickly as I'm assuming a fridge or freezer would).

- heat comes from a lamp inside used to melt those smelly wax things.

Is fermentation picking up and that's why the beer temp is fluctuating like that? Do I need to adjust some settings in BrewPi (they're all at default now)?

Any help or insight would be welcome!

Brian

 

[Dolomieu]

Probably not, if you provide at least passive ventilation.
I do run a tiny fan on my RPi2B brewery controller enclosure, run by the RPi itself via a Python script that reads the SOC thermal monitor.

It's almost assuredly overkill but that's pretty much my wheelhouse

Cheers!

Is there a thread on your brewery controller? Or pics? I'm debating on whether to build or just buy a hosehead and be done.

 

[day_trippr]

Is there a thread on your brewery controller? Or pics? I'm debating on whether to build or just buy a hosehead and be done.

There's are threads all over HBT that touch on it, but no build thread.
It controls my keezer, two fridges and a cold season fermentation cabinet, and provides my metered tap list, but doesn't control my latest brew structure which is totally manual.

I'm still shopping for a stand alone solution for that, but the build has gone so slowly that's kinda back burner right now...

Cheers!

 

[Dolomieu]

There's are threads all over HBT that touch on it, but no build thread.
It controls my keezer, two fridges and a cold season fermentation cabinet, and provides my metered tap list, but doesn't control my latest brew structure which is totally manual.

I'm still shopping for a stand alone solution for that, but the build has gone so slowly that's kinda back burner right now...

Cheers!

I knew you had a crazy setup, but your build threads have always be pretty easy to follow, which is why I asked. I have the low voltage side for three units wired up and SBE installed. I just haven't figured out how bare bones I should go with the high voltage side.

Guess I should probably build my next brewpi and get the Bluetooth minion setup running my keezer and fermentation chamber first. It just hard to motivate myself when they are already running. Just want them to be a little neater.

 

[day_trippr]

Here are a few pics of my system.
The pretty side...


The not so pretty inside. This was after I added the fan.
Everything was modded to run from a single 5VDC power supply.


A better picture, taken before the fan. I've also added another pair of front-panel USB ports and upgraded the 'Pi to a Model 2B since this...


This gives an idea of the cabling scheme.
The big sucker carries all the flow meter and temperature sensor data, power and ground to a receptacle mounted in the back edge of the keezer lid...


It's mounted on a pair of retractable glides in the keezer dolly.
The unit next to it has a power supply for all the fans and a big honking relay that switches the compressor and takes the load off the little SainSmart relay module.


It's hardwired to my LAN and uses its internal Uno to control the keezer and its Bluetooth dongle to control the three Arduino Uno "minions" for my two fridges and a ferm cabinet...

hth

Cheers!

 

[LBussy]

For the love of all that is holy ... I found another reason to use the RPi3. Running apt-get upgrade on top of wheezy and RPi 2 earned me a few more gray hairs waiting for it. Must be a combination of the speed and the number of packages that have to be updated. Anyway, no other issues to report. I used the same process I outlined in post 5638 and I was up and running without issues.

I stopped by Radio Shack for a handful of resistors. If I get time I'll try the Bluetooth thing tomorrow.

 

[gezzanet]

I had apt-get slow response before but it was due to the mirror site I used to get the upgrades. Changing the site it goes to to get the data made the difference for me.