Brewometer kickstarter thoughts - digital bluetooth hydrometer

[Arbe0]

So anything with Bluetooth 4.0 including my PC will work?

just looked and it seems it has to run on iOS or Android which of course PC's don't run on those.
It would be nice if it ran off of Wifi.

 

[doug293cz]

So anything with Bluetooth 4.0 including my PC will work?

just looked and it seems it has to run on iOS or Android which of course PC's don't run on those.
It would be nice if it ran off of Wifi.

WiFi uses too much power. Battery life would be totally unacceptable if the Tilt communicated with WiFi. Even full Bluetooth uses too much power, which is why the Tilt only broadcasts "beacons" (I think that's the right term.)

Brew on

 

[Arbe0]

good to know Doug. thanks

 

[Arbe0]

will it be able to communicate while in a ball lock keg which would be inside a chest freezer?

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

will it be able to communicate while in a ball lock keg which would be inside a chest freezer?

worked for me when I had my SS BrewBuckets in a chest freezer,so it should work in a keg with no problem.

 

[EmDubeu]

I was messing around with adding an email alert to my Tilt Hydrometer Cloud sheet (google sheet), and I came up with the following script.

If my Tilt hasn't responded within a specific amount of time, a status on my sheet will change to "Stopped". My script is looking at the status field for changes and will notify me via email when there is a change.

Here's the script that needs to be added:

function Email(e) {

var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActive();
var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("Report");
var valueToCheck = sheet.getRange("B19").getValue();
var rangeEdit = ss.getActiveSheet();
var recipients = "[email protected]";
var message = '';

{
message = sheet.getRange('B19'+ sheet.getActiveCell().getRowIndex()).getValue()
}

var subject = 'Fermenator Status Change: ' + valueToCheck + '';
var body = ' Fermenator status chaged to: ' + valueToCheck + ' ' ;
MailApp.sendEmail(recipients, subject, body);

};


Here's my version of the Tilt Hydrometer Cloud sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ax7zJedDYJd3fK8plBWHHn2lNkG1isyJXFQO8rE2H6M/edit?usp=sharing

You'll also need to set up your script to run from a trigger, with an On Edit from spreadsheet event.

 

[raysmithtx]

I was messing around with adding an email alert to my Tilt Hydrometer Cloud sheet (google sheet), and I came up with the following script.

If my Tilt hasn't responded within a specific amount of time, a status on my sheet will change to "Stopped". My script is looking at the status field for changes and will notify me via email when there is a change.

Here's the script that needs to be added:

function Email(e) {

var ss = SpreadsheetApp.getActive();
var sheet = ss.getSheetByName("Report");
var valueToCheck = sheet.getRange("B19").getValue();
var rangeEdit = ss.getActiveSheet();
var recipients = "[email protected]";
var message = '';

{
message = sheet.getRange('B19'+ sheet.getActiveCell().getRowIndex()).getValue()
}

var subject = 'Fermenator Status Change: ' + valueToCheck + '';
var body = ' Fermenator status chaged to: ' + valueToCheck + ' ' ;
MailApp.sendEmail(recipients, subject, body);

};


Here's my version of the Tilt Hydrometer Cloud sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ax7zJedDYJd3fK8plBWHHn2lNkG1isyJXFQO8rE2H6M/edit?usp=sharing

You'll also need to set up your script to run from a trigger, with an On Edit from spreadsheet event.

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I have copied your spreadsheet to my Google drive and now I'll try to figure out how to implement it. I don't have a lot of Excel experience but I did notice that your script did copy over.

 

[Arbe0]

how about temperature? I lager a lot and the temperature is normally about 50 F. for fermentation would that effect the Gravity readings or anything else?

 

[ame]

how about temperature? I lager a lot and the temperature is normally about 50 F. for fermentation would that effect the Gravity readings or anything else?

Yes, temperature must be taken into account when measuring SG. The hydrometer has a temperature sensor on-board which is used in the SG calculation.

 

[sbartelski]

So anything with Bluetooth 4.0 including my PC will work?

just looked and it seems it has to run on iOS or Android which of course PC's don't run on those.
It would be nice if it ran off of Wifi.

Make sure that your BT 4.0 includes BLE (Low Energy), not sure that all devices that run BT 4.0 automatically have BLE. But I could be wrong, maybe a BT guru can set me right

 

[sbartelski]

.....
I did mention to them that looking back at my fermentation tracking it doesn't look like this has always been a problem and may have started about the time they released an update to their app. No response on that either, but maybe this is something that will be silently corrected with an app update......

I use an add-on to BrewPi instead of their app and am pretty happy with the results. I did notice on the prior brew that there is a sharp dip in SG when cold crashing, although the SG did rise over time back to where it should have been (according to the refractometer)

Stefan

 

[sbartelski]

will it be able to communicate while in a ball lock keg which would be inside a chest freezer?

Worked for me, although I did add an extension USB cable to mt RPi so I could hang the BT dongle inside the freezer, for reliability

Stefan

 

[sbartelski]

I would love to get a tilt but all I have is a tablet to view the info. The one I have is a Samsun Galaxy Tab 4 8.0, and has blue tooth but not sure if it has the 4.0 Bluetooth. It would be nice if the tilt was wifi ready... or is it?
Also would the Tilt be usable from a ball lock keg in a chest freezer?

next thought...is there a wifi or Bluetooth device for the Mash to keep track of the mash temperature?

You can check device compatibility here

Stefan

 

[rickbath]

I would like to know if is there a way to check the battery level for the Tilt. Perhaps in hours / days left if possible?

 

[jimmayhugh]

I would like to know if is there a way to check the battery level for the Tilt. Perhaps in hours / days left if possible?

Way back in the early part of this thread, there was described a way to read the battery level using bluetooth tools in linux. The downside to the method seems to be excessive battery drain, killing the battery in a week or so.

Feel free to peruse the thread for the info.

 

[AF1HomeBrew]

Love the Tilt, but dang it forgot to throw the two I own into two beers I fermented a few weeks ago. Another dimension of having all of these gadget's I guess.

 

[rickbath]

Way back in the early part of this thread, there was described a way to read the battery level using bluetooth tools in linux. The downside to the method seems to be excessive battery drain, killing the battery in a week or so.

Feel free to peruse the thread for the info.

Oh damn... that would kinda suck if it drains batt in about a week

 

[rickbath]

As i am starting my next batch of brew, i replaced the battery of my tilt and when i attempted to pair it with my phone... it does not seem to recognize it

 

[rickbath]

I've got it to work after leaving it for about 30 odd minutes.

I have an additional question... as im integrating this with my network monitoring system..(pushes the value to the sql table which is how the monitoring system grabs the data by running a sql query).

I was wondering if is it possible to have an OG column instead of manually remembering it.


As i am also looking to input the brewname within a column, if i define the following will that work ?

$brewname = "Belgium Blonde";

$sql= "INSERT INTO `device`(`name`,`mac`,`time`, `sg`, `temp`, `abv`) VALUES('$brewname','$tiltStr','$now','$sgStr','$tempStr','$abvStr')";


Or i might just input the brew name as a db (perhaps to create a new db for each brew) or if you guys have any recomendations.


Let me know... thanks

 

[ame]

I've got it to work after leaving it for about 30 odd minutes.

I have an additional question... as im integrating this with my network monitoring system..(pushes the value to the sql table which is how the monitoring system grabs the data by running a sql query).

I was wondering if is it possible to have an OG column instead of manually remembering it.


As i am also looking to input the brewname within a column, if i define the following will that work ?

$brewname = "Belgium Blonde";

$sql= "INSERT INTO `device`(`name`,`mac`,`time`, `sg`, `temp`, `abv`) VALUES('$brewname','$tiltStr','$now','$sgStr','$tempStr','$abvStr')";


Or i might just input the brew name as a db (perhaps to create a new db for each brew) or if you guys have any recomendations.


Let me know... thanks

Wouldn't the OG be the first SG result when you query the database? And the FG is the last one, when you order by date. No need to store them separately, but it would be advisable to double-check the readings with a hydrometer and make a note with pen and paper.

 

[rickbath]

I know that would be a way to gather the OG but due to how data is queried, it runs a query to obtain the last row

 

[rickbath]

An alternative which im thinking of is to modify the line and manually input the oglevel within $oglevel

$oglevel = "1.050"; (using this as an example)

$sql= "INSERT INTO `device`(`name`,`mac`,`time`, `og`, `fg`, `temp`, `abv`) VALUES('$brewname','$tiltStr','$now','$oglevel', '$sgStr','$tempStr','$abvStr')";

 

[ame]

I know that would be a way to gather the OG but due to how data is queried, it runs a query to obtain the last row

Can you modify the query?

Sticking OG in there, by hand, for every row is extremely inelegant. I suppose you don't always have a choice though.

 

[rickbath]

Yeah, im trying to find ways around it.. still thinking if there is a better way...

 

[jimmayhugh]

Way back in the early part of this thread, there was described a way to read the battery level using bluetooth tools in linux. The downside to the method seems to be excessive battery drain, killing the battery in a week or so.

Feel free to peruse the thread for the info.

Found it

 

[jimmayhugh]

Yeah, im trying to find ways around it.. still thinking if there is a better way...

In my Raspberry Pi PHP code, I use a query to get the first gravity reading:

$sql = "select abv from device";
$rowVal = mysqli_query($link, $sql);
echo "rows = ",mysqli_num_rows($rowVal)."\n";
if(mysqli_num_rows($rowVal) > 0)
{
  $firstRow = FALSE;
  $sql = "select sg from device order by time asc limit 1;";
  $rowVal = mysqli_query($link, $sql);
  $row = mysqli_fetch_assoc($rowVal);
  $ogStr = (float) $row["sg"];
  echo "\$ogStr = $ogStr\n";
}else{
  $firstRow = TRUE;
}

Then I compare the current sg with the first sg and store it in the current entry:

  if($firstRow == TRUE)
  {
    $abvStr = 0.0;
  }else{
    $abvStr = (float) (((float) $ogStr - (float) $sgStr) * (float) 131.25);
  }

 

[TorMag]

Anyone know a good way to get the ends unscrewed? I need to change the battery and they screwed em in too tight.

 

[jimmayhugh]

Anyone know a good way to get the ends unscrewed? I need to change the battery and they screwed em in too tight.

I use rubber gloves, gives me a little more traction.

 

[rickbath]

I had the same issue before when i tried opening using my bare hands. Rubber gloves worked like a charm.

 

[EDF713]

Question for anyone using the Tilt. I got mine yesterday and tested it in a glass of water, and it worked fine. However, I could never get the indicator light to blink. After setting it upright, then laying it on it's side, once I got a red flash. What have others seen?

I'm hoping that I did not receive a new unit with a dead battery, or that getting jostled around between Santa Rosa and Houston didn't use up all its juice.