HOWTO - Make a BrewPi Fermentation Controller For Cheap

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I have 2 probes but i wanted to limit potential issues first, so only one is installed currently.
 
FuzzeWuzze said:
Is there a reason your not using 2 probes? BrewPi really needs Beer + Fridge temp to be accurate.

Also what temp control option are you choosing? Beer Profile, Beer Constant, Fridge constant?
Click to expand...


Seems you have to have both sensors installed to work. Which is not ideal in my case since I only want this to control chilling via:

SsBrewtech Conical BME using the FTSS pump and heat pad only...no fridge chamber.

Nonetheless it does work now. Thanks for the help everyone!!:mug:
 
lgbainbridge said:
Seems you have to have both sensors installed to work. Which is not ideal in my case since I only want this to control chilling via:

SsBrewtech Conical BME using the FTSS pump and heat pad only...no fridge chamber.

Nonetheless it does work now. Thanks for the help everyone!!:mug:
Click to expand...

Your Fridge sensor should be between your chronicle and the heat pad if thats the case, its the closest thing you have to what it should be measuring, which is the air inside your chamber that whose temperature is whats effecting your beer temperature. Fridge implies cooling but its the same sensor used for cooling and heating. If your chilling, ideally your temp probe would be measuring your glycol temp pumping through the chiller, as that is "force" that is being applied to change your beer temp. Similiar to how a HERMS coil works in electric brewing except cold not hot.

Is there a reason your not using the entire FTSS setup for controlling? Im not that familiar but it seems to be an all in one pump + temp controller?
 
Sadly the FTSS doesn't allow for easy upload to web server and the FTSS only heats OR cools and you must set prior to. I mainly want all my instrumentation to be viewable online be a use I travel quite a bit. Currently I also use the BeerBug for specific gravity and temp but I will be switching to BrewPi for temp going forward. While the FTSS is good I like to web access and control.
 
lgbainbridge said:
Here are my settings...(see pic)
Click to expand...
When in beer constant mode as you have it, the BrewPi will set a calculated Fridge setpoint and run till that is reached. Without the second sensor for fridge temp it will not work. Change your sensor to chamber temp and switch over to fridge constant and it should work with a single sensor.

Using glycol, I'd think you would want the chamber sensor to measure the glycol or jacket temp and the beer sensor in the brew of course.
 
A quick question.

powering the pi via usb and the arduino via its barrel connector (9v) should I link the two boards common (0v) supply?

If so what pins should I use?

Thanks All. aamcle
 
I power my pi and arduino separately and then still link them together with the micro USB cable to communicate it's been running for over a year like that so I think that's ok
 
Hey guys. I just finished building my brewpi system using the spark core and I'm trying to fine tune it. The only issue is under advanced options I'm fairly lost.

Is there any documentation on what each setting does or how to properly set those settings? Or even if someone could look at my graph and provide recommendations.

Thanks.
 
I don't recall a single person using Elco's Spark version posting on any of the various "BrewPi" threads .
Hopefully I'm wrong and someone will pipe up, but you might be drilling a dry hole here...

Cheers!
 
Honestly, I have no idea if the gui for the Spark Photon version is identical, similar, or totally different from the "classic" Arduino version.

If it's at least "similar", all of the Advanced constant and control settings have explanatory blurbs. If you run into one that doesn't seem clear you'll likely have to dive into the brewpi.com community forum...

Cheers!
 
Whats the difference between the arduino and the rasppi, and why are both needed? A quick google search told me that arduino is good for simple tasks, and the rasppi is more advanced, like a mini computer?
 
Yes, the Raspberry Pi is a single-board general purpose computer that runs an actual operating system.
The Arduino, otoh, is essentially a state-machine that runs whatever firmware you load onto it.

The former provides for all kinds of functionality including web servers, but with the attendant risk of failure due to any number of arcane causes, while the latter is best used for mission-critical "cannot fail" control...

Cheers!
 
stever1000 said:
Whats the difference between the arduino and the rasppi, and why are both needed? A quick google search told me that arduino is good for simple tasks, and the rasppi is more advanced, like a mini computer?
Click to expand...
I won't tell you the answer is already in here (it is) because nobody can read 600+ posts in a sitting. :)

The Arduino is a microcontroller, responsible for the actual temperature control. The Raspberry Pi provides logging and parameter manipulation via a web interface. Technically one or the other, with modifications to the project, can do both. The shortest answer is this was how the developers decided to implement.

There is an ESP8266 project which completely replaces the Arduino and Raspberry Pi, albeit with a much simpler web interface. There is also a Python port of BrewPi on the Raspberry Pi which does not use an Arduino.
 
Thought I'd post to say thank you to everyone who's contributed to this thread. With your help I was able to set up my Brewpi! I did have an issue programming the Arduino, but a quick search on the thread and I had the solution and was up and running. Still need to tidy up everything and put it all in a box, but it runs and is logging temps! :tank:
 
day_trippr said:
fwiw, you'd never get even remotely close to fitting the whole BrewPi functionality inside an Uno...
Click to expand...
You may be in the running for the under-statement of the year on that. :)

I've not looked to see how much memory is being used but I expect it's nearly full. The ATmega328 has:

32K Flash (.5k is used for the bootloader)
2k SRAM

It would be real easy to run out of SRAM too.
 
My BrewPi has run for the last two years without a problem, but I just got a new router due to an internet service change and I am having a hard time getting the Pi to connect to the new router. What's the simplest way to get it up and running again?
 
Thanks for the info guys, looks like I am adding another project to my list!:mug:
 
kevink said:
My BrewPi has run for the last two years without a problem, but I just got a new router due to an internet service change and I am having a hard time getting the Pi to connect to the new router. What's the simplest way to get it up and running again?
Click to expand...

Did you try a wired connection to the router to re-establish an address? You should be able to connect to a monitor and re-establish a wifi connection if that's how you were connected.
 
kevink said:
My BrewPi has run for the last two years without a problem, but I just got a new router due to an internet service change and I am having a hard time getting the Pi to connect to the new router. What's the simplest way to get it up and running again?
Click to expand...
The simplest way is to reboot the Pi ... it should pick up the IP address automatically. What makes you think it's not doing so?

Can you get to the page via the {hostname}.local address?
 
Does anyone know a US source of these heaters?
32265.jpg

I've Googled around and not found any, although I can get one shipped by just about doubling the price.

It would work really well in my instalation.
 
BYOBKC said:
Did you try a wired connection to the router to re-establish an address? You should be able to connect to a monitor and re-establish a wifi connection if that's how you were connected.
Click to expand...

I'll try this tonight. Thanks!
 
LBussy said:
The simplest way is to reboot the Pi ... it should pick up the IP address automatically. What makes you think it's not doing so?

Can you get to the page via the {hostname}.local address?
Click to expand...

The light on the wifi dongle, which is connected to the Pi, is not flashing like it used to do with the old router and I can't see the Pi on Fing, which is how I used to determine the IP address of the Pi (I never made it static, but it didn't bother me too much). I never set or knew a hostname... I always used the IP address found on Fing to get to the web interface. It's been a long time since I originally set it up, so I may be forgetting a lot of details...
 
kevink said:
The light on the wifi dongle, which is connected to the Pi, is not flashing like it used to do with the old router and I can't see the Pi on Fing, which is how I used to determine the IP address of the Pi (I never made it static, but it didn't bother me too much). I never set or knew a hostname... I always used the IP address found on Fing to get to the web interface. It's been a long time since I originally set it up, so I may be forgetting a lot of details...
Click to expand...


Can you get to the desktop via startx or vnc and see if you can get the wifi to detect through the GUI the wireless dongle should still flash even if it's not connected so it might just be that something else on your pi is drawing the power needed to power the dongle?
 
LBussy said:
Does anyone know a US source of these heaters?
32265.jpg

I've Googled around and not found any, although I can get one shipped by just about doubling the price.

It would work really well in my instalation.
Click to expand...

Do you have a link? The image you shared doesn't give much to go on.
 
kevink said:
The light on the wifi dongle, which is connected to the Pi, is not flashing like it used to do with the old router and I can't see the Pi on Fing, which is how I used to determine the IP address of the Pi (I never made it static, but it didn't bother me too much). I never set or knew a hostname... I always used the IP address found on Fing to get to the web interface. It's been a long time since I originally set it up, so I may be forgetting a lot of details...
Click to expand...
Assuming the light is on and not flashing, that probably means the thing works but is not connected to your new network due to a network name and/or password change. At the console, execute the following command:

sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

It will look something like this:

Code: 
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
country=US

network={
        ssid="[COLOR="DarkRed"]MyNetwork[/COLOR]"
        psk="[COLOR="darkred"]password[/COLOR]"
        key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
}
You will want to edit the ssid and psk within the quotes to match your home network name and password. Ctrl-O to save and Ctrl-X to exit. Reboot and you should be good to go.
 
LBussy said:
Assuming the light is on and not flashing, that probably means the thing works but is not connected to your new network due to a network name and/or password change. At the console, execute the following command:

sudo nano /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf

It will look something like this:

Code: 
ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
update_config=1
country=US

network={
        ssid="[COLOR="DarkRed"]MyNetwork[/COLOR]"
        psk="[COLOR="darkred"]password[/COLOR]"
        key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
}
You will want to edit the ssid and psk within the quotes to match your home network name and password. Ctrl-O to save and Ctrl-X to exit. Reboot and you should be good to go.
Click to expand...

I did what you recommended, but I still can't see the Pi on Fing. I really thought this is what I needed to do so the Pi could connect to the router, and it probably needed to be done anyway, but no dice. The wifi dongle is not flashing like it used to. It will give a quick, single flash when it's plugged in, but nothing after that. Below is what my screen looked like. Not sure if there are any clues there or not.

Mikmonken said:
Can you get to the desktop via startx or vnc and see if you can get the wifi to detect through the GUI the wireless dongle should still flash even if it's not connected so it might just be that something else on your pi is drawing the power needed to power the dongle?
Click to expand...

I can get to the desktop via startx, but still can't get anything to happen with the wifi. It's very possible that I am not trying the right things, though. Any other ideas? Thank god I have some time before the next brew.

20160923_200803_resized_zpssucvcoc6.jpg
 
I should also mention that in the second "network" section of the above screenshot, I changed "YNWE4" (the old router) to "FiOS-KVYPT" (the new router) and also changed the wep key to the new router's wep key before saving.
 
Fing isn't going to find any device that isn't actually connected - ie, has a valid ip address.

The most likely scenario here is the wifi dongle sees the SSID is not as "before" the router swap and needs the credentials refreshed to get connected again. Then you can find it with Fing...

Cheers!
 
day_trippr said:
Fing isn't going to find any device that isn't actually connected - ie, has a valid ip address.

The most likely scenario here is the wifi dongle sees the SSID is not as "before" the router swap and needs the credentials refreshed to get connected again. Then you can find it with Fing...

Cheers!
Click to expand...

How do I refresh the credentials?
 
It'd be the same experience as getting your phone hooked up to a new wifi hotspot.
You need to pick the SSID, and provide whatever security protocol and matching key your router is using.
Pretty much what folks have been saying here.

btw, did you perhaps configure your Pi to use static addressing?
Maybe check /etc/network/interfaces...

Cheers!
 
Thanks. I did what LBussy suggested in post 6153 and no dice. Is that what you mean? I never set the Pi up to use static addressing.

Where exactly do you "pick the SSID, and provide whatever security protocol and matching key your router is using."?
 
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