Are there any DYI boards to build a gas fired rig?

[purdman10]

I have built a two pump gas fired rig with Honeywell solenoid valves and control panel fashioned after Kal's design wit two RGB leds. I can't find a way to automate the thing using DI have resisted using pids or such things as a hfs

 

[purdman10]

I meant to say things like a pid or brewtroller.

 

[MrShake]

I meant to say things like a pid or brewtroller.

BrewTroller would have no issue automating that rig

 

[purdman10]

I appreciate your reply, MrShake, since you sell brewtrollers now, that may be a solution for others. The purpose of this thread is to find a way to build a DIY board, not buy one, that can automate a gas system.

 

[TX_Brewing]

I haven't seen one where people made their own board. Not saying it isn't out there, but it would be rare. Maybe start on the net looking at other automation projects, maybe a diy raspberry pi site??

 

[MrShake]

I appreciate your reply, MrShake, since you sell brewtrollers now, that may be a solution for others. The purpose of this thread is to find a way to build a DIY board, not buy one, that can automate a gas system.

So you are looking to actually make a board from scratch? I chimed in because BrewTroller is a very diy product, its just the circuit board and you have to wire it all up the way you want.

What level of DIY are you looking for? Starting from a base pi or arduino? Or are you wanting to go all the way back to designing and printing your own boards? I'm happy to chime in and help at any level, brewtroller or not.

 

[purdman10]

I started this thread typing on an iPhone on a commuter bus, and maybe that wasn't a good idea, because I wasn't able to be specific enough. I soldered together two iterations of the teensynet project but can't get it to work. I was able use the teensypi as it was a simple shield on an older RPI, but was only able to monitor temps. I have followed the Elsinore and Craftbrewpi projects but I think they are only electric. They are all boards that are designed and I will order the boards from the Gerber files. I have made everything I could as a learning experience. I am ready to put everything together to automate, except to be able to control the system. I have 3 years invested. Hence the cry for help.

 

[JonW]

I went down this road several years ago. I've built many microcontroller boards over the years for various purposes, but when it came time to automate my brewing, I decided to buy instead of build. My decision came down to wanting to spend more time brewing and less time debugging and programming. I ended up going with a BCS where I knew the hardware was solid and I would only need to spend a little time wiring it up and setting up my processes. How much is a bad batch of beer (or multiple batches) worth to you? How much is your time worth? At 3 years invested, it might be time to decide if you want to spend your time brewing or debugging.

 

[MrShake]

I started this thread typing on an iPhone on a commuter bus, and maybe that wasn't a good idea, because I wasn't able to be specific enough. I soldered together two iterations of the teensynet project but can't get it to work. I was able use the teensypi as it was a simple shield on an older RPI, but was only able to monitor temps. I have followed the Elsinore and Craftbrewpi projects but I think they are only electric. They are all boards that are designed and I will order the boards from the Gerber files. I have made everything I could as a learning experience. I am ready to put everything together to automate, except to be able to control the system. I have 3 years invested. Hence the cry for help.

Ok, I get it! So help me understand where you are getting stuck.

 

[purdman10]

OK, so to look at the commercial prospects as JonW suggested, I looked at the BCS. It uses RTD probes. Do not want to go that route, as I have made my own one-wire sensors with ss tubing, waterproof m8 sensor cables, and DS18B20 sensors. MrShake, I looked at your Brewtroller, and it appears that the brewtroller is based upon a similar platform as what I have already built. Jimmayhugh's DYI project uses a teensy 3.2 and arduino code, and an esp-01 or a Wiznet 820io with a travel router for wireless capability, and RGB lcds or touchscreen, and has PID programming which I think is gas-friendly. I am looking hard at my project on what to do next, and to the credit of jimmayhugh who has helped and supported me as I went, I think the real issue is the arduino coding, and whether it provides what is needed to control a gas system. I am not able to connect to the router to get to the webpage, and remains my only issue. Even after I reprogram the esp-01 with a breadboard, this system is still untested on a propane setup, therefore I thought I would ask around for other options using the stuff I have already built. I hope this helps explain my situation.

 

[crane]

First of all the BCS uses thermistors, not RTDs. But I get your point that you want to stick with one wire sensors.

It sounds like writing software might not be your day job and that begs the question of whether you want to be messing with someone else's code or writing your own.

The problem with some of the projects I've seen people start around here is that they build and code up a solution for their specific setup they have, which may not be flexible enough to adapt to other people's systems. Support for things like gas versus electric. You may have picked the wrong project to start from.

This is where is where the dilemma comes into play. How much do you want to hack someone else's project to get a solution that works for you and can it be done cleanly or is it going to be a cobbled together mess that is buggy and/or difficult to use. What skills are you going to need to accomplish this and if you don't have those skills, how will you get them?

I am in the same boat as Jonw. I started out writing my own code and quickly got to the point where I decided I don't want to be debugging code 7 days a week (already do this stuff for a living). I went with the BCS, but the brewtroller may be a good option if you don't want to switch up your temp sensors. Both options have support for gas out of the box, no messing around with source code.

Not to be a dick, but if you have spent 3 years working on this and don't have a working setup then I think you have DYI (done yourself in) instead of DIY. I would suggest looking at something else that you know has support for gas out of the box.

What is your motivation to stick with your current path? Already invested money in the hardware? Or a personal goal to learn about electronics and/or software? Started down a path and too stubborn to change?

 

[purdman10]

Thanks for the reply, which is well taken. As a microbiologist, I knew nothing of how to build a brew stand or the electronics but wanted to learn and build everything I could. That was the main motivation, until I learned enough and spent time and money enough to suddenly realize it probably wasn't going to work.