Brewie

[Ajes]

Ok, I think I managed to flash it.
I noticed a file in /usr/share/brewie named UpdateApplication.
I tried running it, and it seemed like it used avrdude to flash the firmware.
However, it used the Control.ino.mega.hex file. It seemed to go through, and the machine booted right back up.
However, now it was constantly showing 0L...
I then renamed the Control.ino.brewie1.hex and ran UpdateApplication again.
Still 0L.
Tried with brewie2.hex, and viola.
I then calibrated - and waddayaknow -
It's still reports about 2L short

 

[deroosa]

Have the folks experiencing water measurement issues updated their sd card with a new version?

I'm wondering if the water issue is related to a mismatch between the software version (sd card) and the firmware (microcontroller) version. There is an update script on the SD card image that can flash a new firmware onto the microcontroller but it requires some manual intervention (from a computer on the same Wi-Fi network as the brewie). If anyone wants to try it I have some instructions typed up in a PM that I can put here.

A HUGE Thanks to Hamboner!

I was able to successfully update the firmware in my b20 to resolve the lack of boiling issue. Since I was using windows 7 I could not find a folder where the ssh command was recognized I I used putty instead. Followed the directions to the letter however in step 6, I found I had to capitalize Contol.ino.brewie1.hex. Running the test recipe I saw that it hovered between 199 and 200 during what I Hope was a preboil stage. Awhile later I believe after hopping had started the temp did rise to a displayed 212 and I had a much more vigorous boil than what I would call a simmer at 200 during previous brews.


It also resolved the issue where when trying to shut down I could not get the attempts to press the ok button on power down to respond. It now responds and I can hear valves moving. I still have to power off using the switch but this dialogue was basically useless prior to the control.

I kept a copy of the text from the putty session that I could post to show the inputs and outputs if anyone is interested.

 

[Colin Kaminski]

Thank you Hamboner!

 

[c06u]

YIKES! you guys playing with software scare me, a sure way to screw up any device unless you are a code writer, my B20's all three of them are on V 3.0 and in boil all max out and cycle around +-200 F, I think it's wise when using these types of heating elements to operate at a temp lower then the self destruction level, they are really light weight heating elements to begin with...a "rolling boil is not required in my experience (30 years home brewing)

 

[Ajes]

weeelll - originally I was thinking that this is a nice platform to make my own controller for. I have to admit I do like the controller that is in there already - but I might have forced things a bit...
Tonight I was messing with flashing the firmware, and I think I turned off the power too soon.... 'cause now it wont boot...
I think I may have turned it off, while it was flashing the mcu board, so now I'm trying to figure out how to get that flashed.....
There are some tools in the google drive, but I'm a bit uncertain about how to use them.
Anyways, I take it as a learning experience

 

[Ajes]

It's ALIIIVEE!
Sorry - trying to contain myself...
After a few days of worries, messing around with trying to flash the mcu board (which seemed totally dead and unresponsive), trying to connect to the olimex board, prying the olimex board off - ripping off pins in the process - soldering them back on - retrying various ways to flash the mcu..... etc....
I finally managed to flash it.
I had to use a raspberry pi, and follow this guide:
https://learn.adafruit.com/program-an-avr-or-arduino-using-raspberry-pi-gpio-pins/installation
Before I managed to get that darned hex file written.

So, if anyone else got some non-functional mcu boards, and feel adventurous - check out that website of how to try to flash them.

 

[Ajes]

I wrote up a longer description of the process on the brewieforum.net under troubleshooting.
It might have interest for those who have trouble with calibrating, and might also be of interest if someone has a dead brewie (since this could simply be an issue of the firmware needing to be re-written on the mcu-board).

 

[deroosa]

I finalized more order tonight in part because this may be the only shot at parts for the two ebay b20’s I picked up. Of nothing else I’ll have parts others might need in the future. Agreed that I could have picked up another ebay unit but felt like I had already pushed my luck and didn’t want to get one covered in mold just for spare parts.

I received my parts order a few mins ago. Most everything looks brand new in the package. I did buy a whole new front control panel with LCD and I’m struggling to tell if it was ever installed. Of course it’s missing the battery, SD card, and WiFi module. I could easily swap between firmware and software versions now if I ever needed to.

Also my throttle modules also came with the servos as well.

 

[Nate R]

Hey all fellow Brewie users.
I am in the US so i have a 120 volt system.

I tend to add an extra 0.5 to 1.0 gallon of water to my brews.
I have noticed that getting up to a full 212 degree boil is harder with this increased batch size.

I am tempted to get a seperate heating elemant to stick in the boil tank to help get to full roiling boil.

Obviously i would plug into a different circuit breaker.

Anybody try this before? Any one think of any potential issues?

Thanks all!!

 

[Qunaki]

It's ALIIIVEE!

Congrats!

I wrote up a longer description of the process on the brewieforum.net under troubleshooting.
It might have interest for those who have trouble with calibrating, and might also be of interest if someone has a dead brewie (since this could simply be an issue of the firmware needing to be re-written on the mcu-board).

Good you did that. Sureley it can help somebody, someday (just hope it's not gonna be me

 

[Qunaki]

I whish some one came up with an add-on like the Sentinel for the Brewies.


After two boil-overs there's shure gonna be a third on and a fourth and so on...
No. I don't like to use foam control (like FermCap S), why add silicone to my beer?
Tried to do a small stainless steel wrap up (like 15 small rings from SS-thread) and added it under the lid.
Will see if it eases up on boil-overs - but there must be one first (but hopefully not).

 

[awoitte]

I whish some one came up with an add-on like the Sentinel for the Brewies.


After two boil-overs there's shure gonna be a third on and a fourth and so on...
No. I don't like to use foam control (like FermCap S), why add silicone to my beer?
Tried to do a small stainless steel wrap up (like 15 small rings from SS-thread) and added it under the lid.
Will see if it eases up on boil-overs - but there must be one first (but hopefully not).

Or you could just like, you know, pay attention to when your wort begins to boil..

 

[Blazinlow86]

Or you could just like, you know, pay attention to when your wort begins to boil..

You have to remember that defeats the only reasons to have a brewie. It's only advantage over all the other methods to brew is that its supposed to be able to brew thousands of batches hands off without fiddling with equipment. If it cant do that it's pointless. Cheers

 

[HarkinBanks]

Hey all fellow Brewie users.
I am in the US so i have a 120 volt system.

I tend to add an extra 0.5 to 1.0 gallon of water to my brews.
I have noticed that getting up to a full 212 degree boil is harder with this increased batch size.

I am tempted to get a seperate heating elemant to stick in the boil tank to help get to full roiling boil.

Obviously i would plug into a different circuit breaker.

Anybody try this before? Any one think of any potential issues?

Thanks all!!

Hey Nate, when I was having this issue I went out and bought a Hot Rod Heat stick to supplement the boil but never got around to using it because I then received the B+ and they seem to have fixed the boil temp issue. I see no reason why a Hot Rod wouldn't do well to supplement the boil, with one caveat, the boil may be too vigorous at full throttle. But you can use a speed controller to regulate the heat stick, found here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVYGPJQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Coincidentally, I suffered from the same symptom this weekend when I was testing my ebay B20 unit with a full brewday - in hindsight I probably should have used the heatstick but I wanted to see what the machine would do on its own. My B20 overshot the water volume pretty considerably and almost resulted in an overflow when it went to boil. I had to remove one gallon of wort with a pitcher and then I watched as the machine struggled to get over 200F. I am going to test the unit some more but I really think this is a software related issue and I will eventually get a new SD card and upgrade the software.

 

[Imhoppy]

Hey Nate, when I was having this issue I went out and bought a Hot Rod Heat stick to supplement the boil but never got around to using it because I then received the B+ and they seem to have fixed the boil temp issue. I see no reason why a Hot Rod wouldn't do well to supplement the boil, with one caveat, the boil may be too vigorous at full throttle. But you can use a speed controller to regulate the heat stick, found here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVYGPJQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Coincidentally, I suffered from the same symptom this weekend when I was testing my ebay B20 unit with a full brewday - in hindsight I probably should have used the heatstick but I wanted to see what the machine would do on its own. My B20 overshot the water volume pretty considerably and almost resulted in an overflow when it went to boil. I had to remove one gallon of wort with a pitcher and then I watched as the machine struggled to get over 200F. I am going to test the unit some more but I really think this is a software related issue and I will eventually get a new SD card and upgrade the software.

I have that speed controller and it works great to modulate the heat input. Be carefull when in the "VAR" mode as it really gets hot to the touch as you could burn your fingers if not cautious. Also, set it on a pot holder pad or something like that to insulate it from where you place it.

 

[Nate R]

Hey Nate, when I was having this issue I went out and bought a Hot Rod Heat stick to supplement the boil but never got around to using it because I then received the B+ and they seem to have fixed the boil temp issue. I see no reason why a Hot Rod wouldn't do well to supplement the boil, with one caveat, the boil may be too vigorous at full throttle. But you can use a speed controller to regulate the heat stick, found here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVYGPJQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Coincidentally, I suffered from the same symptom this weekend when I was testing my ebay B20 unit with a full brewday - in hindsight I probably should have used the heatstick but I wanted to see what the machine would do on its own. My B20 overshot the water volume pretty considerably and almost resulted in an overflow when it went to boil. I had to remove one gallon of wort with a pitcher and then I watched as the machine struggled to get over 200F. I am going to test the unit some more but I really think this is a software related issue and I will eventually get a new SD card and upgrade the software.

You know... it is so weird. I have been bumping up the grain and water to end up with closer to 6 gallons post boil (so i can leave sediments during drain).
The last few times i have done this i hit 207 to 208. But not 212.
I have hit 212 before... so not sure what is going on here.
I assume it is more water= less heat potential. Oh and it was hot as heck in the summer ( ac set to 76) and now it is like 68 or so... maybe that plays a role?

I will look into this Hot Rod.
Any particular model number? A quick search of Amazon yielded choice overload.


So also- kind of related- Sunday am i woke up early, heated my strike water to temp fast on the stove, and poured that into Brewie.
After it moved it to the mash tun, i loaded the sparge water into the boil kettle side.

So like 10 minutes or less... overflow in mash tun!! The machine appeared to be moving the sparge water (at room temp) to the mash tun.

Thank goodness i caught it.
The machine then ran a spotless full clean, so i am thinking my "bright" idea to pre heat strike water was not smart, or maybe i heated it too much.
I think maybe i confused it and a valve did or did not close on time.

Oh well. Football was on so i took it as a sign to pack it up. I got a great brew in saturday afternoon so that will do!!

Thanks all!!! Not to get all touchy-feely huggy-hippy-dippy but this thread has really become my favourite!!! Lots of people helping each other out to keep this little wonder going!!

 

[Still Brewn]

The last few times i have done this i hit 207 to 208. But not 212.
I have hit 212 before... so not sure what is going on here.
I assume it is more water= less heat potential. Oh and it was hot as heck in the summer ( ac set to 76) and now it is like 68 or so... maybe that plays a role?


So also- kind of related- Sunday am i woke up early, heated my strike water to temp fast on the stove, and poured that into Brewie.
After it moved it to the mash tun, i loaded the sparge water into the boil kettle side.

So like 10 minutes or less... overflow in mash tun!! The machine appeared to be moving the sparge water (at room temp) to the mash tun.

External temperature plays a role in that and so does liquid volume. Sticking closer to a 5 gallon volume should bring up your temps. But note, even though your temps is 207-208 you should be getting a good boil and significant boil off. Many of the other machines out there including pico brews don't use the traditional rolling hard boil. Even at 207-208, my machine at least, has a rolling boil comparable to what I use to do on my stovetop. Also make sure your lids are closed that has a huge effect on temperature.

I make sure not to stir the grains during sparge so the machine gets a good grain bed that will filter out most of the trub, additionally I stir the boil kettle during sparge so any bits get suspended and deposited on the grain bed and filtered out. I go to all this trouble just so I can drain everything into my fermenter.

To get my water up to temp in a hurry I just use the household hot water and add my campden tablet (1/4). I preheat the machine by running a short clean with hot water right before I start the brew. We have the perfect water for darker beers. Most of the time doing it this way gives me just enough time to grind my grains. I have had to pause it a couple of times because I am slow.

It shouldn't have been moving the sparge water before mashing was finished let alone at room temp and if it had an overflow on the mash tun side maybe you added the sparge water too soon. It does go through a couple of drain cycles when moving the water from the boil kettle to the mash tun when using it in automated mode.

 

[kh54s10]

Out of curiosity I went to the Brewie website. It looks fully functional and allowed me to add a Brewie + to the cart. I would never buy one, but are they still in business?

 

[Nate R]

Out of curiosity I went to the Brewie website. It looks fully functional and allowed me to add a Brewie + to the cart. I would never buy one, but are they still in business?

Probably not.
No answers from support.
Website was down and up over and over.
Seems to be up strong now.

Our speculations are above.

 

[HarkinBanks]

You know... it is so weird. I have been bumping up the grain and water to end up with closer to 6 gallons post boil (so i can leave sediments during drain).
The last few times i have done this i hit 207 to 208. But not 212.
I have hit 212 before... so not sure what is going on here.
I assume it is more water= less heat potential. Oh and it was hot as heck in the summer ( ac set to 76) and now it is like 68 or so... maybe that plays a role?

I will look into this Hot Rod.
Any particular model number? A quick search of Amazon yielded choice overload.

Here is the link to the Hot Rod heat stick:

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/hotrodrtu.htm

I had it bent 170 degrees, but 90 or straight works just fine, depending on your possible other intended uses. 1650 ULWD element with the 15amp plug so you can use the speed controller I linked before.

As suggested in another post, I suggest keeping finished volume to 5 gallons for many reasons: boilovers, overflows, better boil/boiloff rates.

 

[c06u]

Taiwan items came in, nicely packed, shipping cost was maybe a bit less then if you were sending something from the US to Taiwan, also have now done a complete cycle on two eBay machines, all cleaning cycles, test brew and full brew, no problems after the simple pump repairs (cleaned machining fragments in pump body)

 

[Still Brewn]

Taiwan items came in, nicely packed, shipping cost was maybe a bit less then if you were sending something from the US to Taiwan, also have now done a complete cycle on two eBay machines, all cleaning cycles, test brew and full brew, no problems after the simple pump repairs (cleaned machining fragments in pump body)

What? No pictures?

 

[applescrap]

Thats what I use, a 5500 watt brew hardware hot rod dunked in a 15 g kettle bobby is a great guy. Amazing really. That wont start the boil alone very well but it will finish it, iirc. Honestly a less powerful one might not be the worst solution. But a controller for that cant be too hard to come by.

Here is the link to the Hot Rod heat stick:

https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/hotrodrtu.htm

I had it bent 170 degrees, but 90 or straight works just fine, depending on your possible other intended uses. 1650 ULWD element with the 15amp plug so you can use the speed controller I linked before.

As suggested in another post, I suggest keeping finished volume to 5 gallons for many reasons: boilovers, overflows, better boil/boiloff rates.

 

[HarkinBanks]

A major tip for anyone fiddling with these machines:

Always have water in both the boil tank and the mash tank!!!

That goes for developer mode or when upgrading software or the microcontroller.

Last night I decided to update the software and microcontroller in my eBay B20. Bought a new 16gb SD card and flashed the 3.1.2 image just fine. Swapped the cards and booted up several times. All good. Next I SSH into the unit and try to run the microcontroller update and get all sorts of timeout errors but they are running, and running, and timeout, and timeout. I let it go for a while and then smell burning. I think it’s the circuit boards or something but nope, it’s the mash tun element dry firing! I had the lids down and never thought an update would fire the elements. I switched off and poured water in the tun as quickly as I could. Everything still works thankfully but the bottom of the tun is now warped slightly and discolored.

So word to the wise, again, always have some water in the unit when testing to prevent a dry fire.

 

[Ajes]

A major tip for anyone fiddling with these machines:

Always have water in both the boil tank and the mash tank!!!

That goes for developer mode or when upgrading software or the microcontroller.

Last night I decided to update the software and microcontroller in my eBay B20. Bought a new 16gb SD card and flashed the 3.1.2 image just fine. Swapped the cards and booted up several times. All good. Next I SSH into the unit and try to run the microcontroller update and get all sorts of timeout errors but they are running, and running, and timeout, and timeout. I let it go for a while and then smell burning. I think it’s the circuit boards or something but nope, it’s the mash tun element dry firing! I had the lids down and never thought an update would fire the elements. I switched off and poured water in the tun as quickly as I could. Everything still works thankfully but the bottom of the tun is now warped slightly and discolored.

So word to the wise, again, always have some water in the unit when testing to prevent a dry fire.

Or maybe just disconnect the ssr’s from the mcu when fiddling with it.
Glad to hear it’s still working.

 

[Blazinlow86]

It's really a great well though out machine. cheers

 

[HarkinBanks]

 

[Still Brewn]

View attachment 648925

Exactly..... looking for problems just so she can comment negatively.


Cheers

 

[Blazinlow86]

Exactly..... looking for problems just so she can comment negatively.


Cheers

If it wasn't for problems this thread would be history. What a great machine. Cheers

 

[cubsfan16]

I guess I just don’t get the motivation to troll. Absolutely zero post value.

This is a awesome valuable thread, let’s keep it going.

I think it’s safe to say at this point the thread is for people that have already bought units not those looking to research before buying.

 

[Nate R]

I guess I just don’t get the motivation to troll. Absolutely zero post value.

This is a awesome valuable thread, let’s keep it going.

I think it’s safe to say at this point the thread is for people that have already bought units not those looking to research before buying.

+1
However, i would add that at these prices ($600-$1,000) new buyers will be researching too!

 

[Ajes]

And they should. Its not a mchine for everyone.
I for one got a lot of info out of this thread, before buying -particularly since I bought after the company went silent.
However, if youre willing to mess around with it, and can get it on a good deal, theres nothing quite like out there.
Ive been very happy with my purchase.

 

[Ajes]

Hey.
I brewed a rusty rex some time ago (sourced ingredients myself) and the brew went fine. I think I had an OG of 1.048.
I think I set the fermentation chamber around 20 degrees celcius. Around 10 days it was at 1,015, and stayed there for the next few days, so I presumed it was done. It's somewhat higher than what beersmith suggests for FG, though.
I've coldcrashed it, and forcecarbonated.
However, I don't think it tastes very nice - I'm not sure it's diacetyl I'm tasting ('cause I've only read that it's supposed to have a buttery taste), but I wonder if this beer is on the right track, or somethings off??

 

[HarkinBanks]

Hey.
I brewed a rusty rex some time ago (sourced ingredients myself) and the brew went fine. I think I had an OG of 1.048.
I think I set the fermentation chamber around 20 degrees celcius. Around 10 days it was at 1,015, and stayed there for the next few days, so I presumed it was done. It's somewhat higher than what beersmith suggests for FG, though.
I've coldcrashed it, and forcecarbonated.
However, I don't think it tastes very nice - I'm not sure it's diacetyl I'm tasting ('cause I've only read that it's supposed to have a buttery taste), but I wonder if this beer is on the right track, or somethings off??

I brewed that recipe a while back and mine definitely finished drier than 1.015. What yeast did you use? I used US-05 and it finished around 1.010. The beer was decent, with a mild amber sweetness but not buttery at all. Also, how long has it been? The recommended wait is about 30 days for this beer.

 

[Ajes]

Same yeast for me. It fermented for about 10 days, then I tried quick carbonating it. Guess maybe I have to (sigh) wait. ;-)

 

[Ajes]

A few thoughts on sanitizing:
I know there's a sanitizing clean program on the machine. I'm cautious about using it, 'cause I got VERY hard water, and it will leave limescale around. I can use a bit of coffee-machine descaler to balance it out, but I am a bit worried about running acidic water through the plate chiller.
I don't think this in itself is a problem though - it sounds like the machine is pumping the wort through the hoses during the boil.
But, at the end of the brewing, after cooling, the wort is pumped out through the outlet hose. I can sanitize the hose outside the machine in starsan, but what about the hose inside? I know the machine first empties the hop compartments, but I wonder whether this is hot enough at this point(The cooling also cools down the machine) to effectively sanitize the internal hoses.
What are you guys' thoughts?

 

[Still Brewn]

I know the machine first empties the hop compartments, but I wonder whether this is hot enough at this point(The cooling also cools down the machine) to effectively sanitize the internal hoses.
What are you guys' thoughts?

Although I have never taken the temperature of the wort coming out of the hop cages after a brew I know it is still quite hot an is enough to raise the temperature of 5 gallons of cooled wort by a few degrees. I usually pause the draining after the first few seconds of wort draining just to make sure that the line is sanitized by the hot wort coming from the cages.

 

[Qunaki]

You have to remember that defeats the only reasons to have a brewie. It's only advantage over all the other methods to brew is that its supposed to be able to brew thousands of batches hands off without fiddling with equipment. If it cant do that it's pointless. Cheers

Exactly, spot on. I we babysitting it, we can use any regular equipment.

Today I brewed another stout. Now boilover. Third time using my stainelss wireloops. Still to early to tell if it does the trick.
Wasn't around until 20 min before finish (exept for water inlet issue in the begining.

Still want something like the sentinell.
And "brewie.org" to run and comapny too. Seems like it¨s all down right now.

 

[Qunaki]

The recommended wait is about 30 days for this beer.

By then it´s gone

 

[Qunaki]

I usuallypause the draining after the first few seconds of wort draining just to make sure that the line is sanitized by the hot wort coming from the cages.

I use StarSan on the hose. Just do full drain and use a "fruit filter cage with filter" to handle the remaining trub . directly into the bucket.

When I brew, I brew. When Brewie brew, Brewie brews by himself.
We share each others brews and ocasionally drinks together too, but he let´s me have it almost all.
Nice friend, my brewie.