Brewometer kickstarter thoughts - digital bluetooth hydrometer

[EmDubeu]

Did you have to set anything else up for this? I see my Tilt, but can't connect to it.

Just worked with no setup for me. I don't really understand the app, so I can't be of much help.

 

[jimmayhugh]

This may have been addressed earlier in this thread, so sorry if this is a duplicate post.

I have a Tilt that doesn't signal the battery level like the new ones do. I was wondering if I could use a BLE scanning tool to read the battery level on the Tilt. On my android device, I downloaded an app called nRF Connect from Nordic. Once I opened this app and scanned for the Tilt, I was able to see the Battery Service value. The app showed my Tilt was at 60% battery and the Tilt's led on the bean started to flash green, indicating the nRF app was connected and reading the data.

So, now I'll just run this app before I drop the Tilt in a brew that I'm going to ferment. If the battery level is below 30%, I'll change out the battery.

Just be aware that the battery level is read from the "scratch" characteristics, which requires that the device connect to the Tilt, request the scratch value, read the scratch value, and completely shut down the connection to the Tilt. I suspect that my original code was disconnecting from the Tilt without closing the connection. This "open" connection is what I believe caused the excessive power consumption in the Tilt. It appears that the Android API covers both methods, while the Linux API does not.

Just food for thought.

 

[dschoemaker]

Just got mine today, works awsome.

Dave

 

[dfborn]

Have any of you guys had problems with it only intermittently logging to the cloud? Started a beer yesterday and it was logging fine and then last night it just quit posting. Still connected to the Tilt, just not uploading, or even posting comments from the settings to the sheet.

 

[user 204491]

Have any of you guys had problems with it only intermittently logging to the cloud? Started a beer yesterday and it was logging fine and then last night it just quit posting. Still connected to the Tilt, just not uploading, or even posting comments from the settings to the sheet.

Only time that has happened to me it has been wifi connectivity problems or sleep mode problems with the receiving device.

You need to make sure that the device you are using always stays powered on, doesn't go to sleep, and doesn't lock the screen (at least that's what I have to do on an iPad).

If that's not the case I'd check the wifi signal where you have the receiving device located.

 

[MerlinWerks]

Have any of you guys had problems with it only intermittently logging to the cloud? Started a beer yesterday and it was logging fine and then last night it just quit posting. Still connected to the Tilt, just not uploading, or even posting comments from the settings to the sheet.

Mine quit for most of the day yesterday until I discovered that the url had changed. Not sure where the change occurred, on the site or in my tablet. I'm the only one with access to the tablet.

 

[dfborn]

You need to make sure that the device you are using always stays powered on, doesn't go to sleep, and doesn't lock the screen (at least that's what I have to do on an iPad).

That's what I thought it might be. I adjusted the settings this morning so that it wouldn't go to sleep.

But it still hasn't resumed posting to the cloud.

 

[dfborn]

Mine quit for most of the day yesterday until I discovered that the url had changed. Not sure where the change occurred, on the site or in my tablet. I'm the only one with access to the tablet.

Do you mean that the url that you view it at changed (i.e. you had to begin going to a new page) or it needed to be changed in the settings of the app?

 

[MerlinWerks]

It needed changed in the app.

 

[user 204491]

That's what I thought it might be. I adjusted the settings this morning so that it wouldn't go to sleep.

But it still hasn't resumed posting to the cloud.

Try checking and unchecking the little box to log to the cloud.

If that doesn't work, force close the app and re-open it?

 

[dfborn]

Thanks for the help. It's back!

 

[KLucky_13]

recieved mine this week (in Belgium). Arrived with a dead battery. Bought 2 new batteries and poped a new one in yesterday. Today when I was testing my integration with Brewpi, the LED was already flashing red! (measured 2,74v with a voltmeter).

There might be something wrong with my unit

I emailed the guys from Tilt and I'm waiting a respons now..

On a positive note: It works perfectly well integrated in brewpi with a RP3 (build in bleutooth). RP3 is outside of the fridge and the tilt is floating in a SSbrewtech stainless steel CCT. That was what I was afraid of! But it picks up the signal anyway!

Now lets hope for a good outcome on the battery issue :-/ It seems I won't be using it for my next brew on tuesday

EDIT: Read some other comments in this thread about battery issues.. However, I think I already have the "new model" that flashes purple when the battery has been changed and red or green after getting it out of sleep mode.

 

[hrafnkell]

I just got a few too and the first one I tried seems to have a dead battery. Gonna try the others and see if I have more luck with them.

recieved mine this week (in Belgium). Arrived with a dead battery. Bought 2 new batteries and poped a new one in yesterday. Today when I was testing my integration with Brewpi, the LED was already flashing red! (measured 2,74v with a voltmeter).

There might be something wrong with my unit

I emailed the guys from Tilt and I'm waiting a respons now..

On a positive note: It works perfectly well integrated in brewpi with a RP3 (build in bleutooth). RP3 is outside of the fridge and the tilt is floating in a SSbrewtech stainless steel CCT. That was what I was afraid of! But it picks up the signal anyway!

Now lets hope for a good outcome on the battery issue :-/ It seems I won't be using it for my next brew on tuesday

EDIT: Read some other comments in this thread about battery issues.. However, I think I already have the "new model" that flashes purple when the battery has been changed and red or green after getting it out of sleep mode.

 

[Vandulus]

I was having problems with logging my current batch and didn't realize they released a whole new app. At first I thought it was due to setting it up on a new iPad or upgrading to iOS 10, but am just downloading the Tilt Hydrometer app and am hoping that fixes the disconnection problems.

 

[doug293cz]

I replaced the battery on my unit, screwed the caps on as tight as I could, and went to sanitize it for my latest batch. Left it in a bucket of Star San solution overnight, and the next day found it on the bottom of the Star San bucket. It had taken on enough solution via a leak, that it sank. Has anyone else had an issue like this? Any suggestions on making sure the seals are leak proof after a battery change? I rinsed the insides in clean water, and dried it thoroughly. Haven't checked yet to see if it still works.

Brew on

 

[BrunDog]

I replaced the battery on my unit, screwed the caps on as tight as I could, and went to sanitize it for my latest batch. Left it in a bucket of Star San solution overnight, and the next day found it on the bottom of the Star San bucket. It had taken on enough solution via a leak, that it sank. Has anyone else had an issue like this? Any suggestions on making sure the seals are leak proof after a battery change? I rinsed the insides in clean water, and dried it thoroughly. Haven't checked yet to see if it still works.

Brew on

I had what appears to be a similar-ish issue, but not as bad as yours. I changed the battery, sterilized, then put in my Oktoberfest. When I took it out, I noticed a fog on the inside, so it obviously took on some liquid.

 

[dfborn]

Did you guys have any of what appeared to be rust from the weights in the Tilt?

 

[doug293cz]

Did you guys have any of what appeared to be rust from the weights in the Tilt?

Yeah, my weights definitely picked up some rust by getting wet. I don't think the weight change is enough to significantly affect the calibration tho.

Brew on

 

[doug293cz]

I replaced the battery on my unit, screwed the caps on as tight as I could, and went to sanitize it for my latest batch. Left it in a bucket of Star San solution overnight, and the next day found it on the bottom of the Star San bucket. It had taken on enough solution via a leak, that it sank. Has anyone else had an issue like this? Any suggestions on making sure the seals are leak proof after a battery change? I rinsed the insides in clean water, and dried it thoroughly. Haven't checked yet to see if it still works.

Brew on

I let the guts air dry for a few days, and then put in the oven at 125 - 130˚F for about an hour to drive out any water trapped in nooks and crannies. Just put a battery in to test functionality. Seems to work ok. Now I need to reassemble, and check the calibration. I think I'll put a little keg lube on the threads and "O" rings, unless someone knows that's a bad thing to do.

Brew on

 

[hrafnkell]

I have a python script running every 60 seconds to get values from the tilt and it seems the battery is dead after ~24 hours of use - Fresh battery.

Not sure if I'm doing something wrong (checking too frequently?) These are broadcast messages, aren't they? So doesn't matter how often my script runs?

Awesome device, but I'm hoping I'm doing something wrong that explains this issue I'm having...

 

[hrafnkell]

I let the guts air dry for a few days, and then put in the oven at 125 - 130˚F for about an hour to drive out any water trapped in nooks and crannies. Just put a battery in to test functionality. Seems to work ok. Now I need to reassemble, and check the calibration. I think I'll put a little keg lube on the threads and "O" rings, unless someone knows that's a bad thing to do.

Brew on

Probably shouldn't have done that. Drying electronic devices is always best in rice or similar desiccants. Heat will cause evaporation to creep into crevices where it shouldn't creep and could cause more damage. You might get away with it, just remember it next time. Works great on phones and pretty much any device that got wet.

 

[jimmayhugh]

I have a python script running every 60 seconds to get values from the tilt and it seems the battery is dead after ~24 hours of use - Fresh battery.

Not sure if I'm doing something wrong (checking too frequently?) These are broadcast messages, aren't they? So doesn't matter how often my script runs?

Awesome device, but I'm hoping I'm doing something wrong that explains this issue I'm having...

Are you reading the advertisements broadcasts, or are you using GATT to access the device?

 

[doug293cz]

Probably shouldn't have done that. Drying electronic devices is always best in rice or similar desiccants. Heat will cause evaporation to creep into crevices where it shouldn't creep and could cause more damage. You might get away with it, just remember it next time. Works great on phones and pretty much any device that got wet.

I beg to differ. I used to work in the electronics industry. Circuit boards are often washed with water (with added cleaning agents), and dried with hot air. There are some components that are water sensitive, but not common surface mount components like found on the tilt board.

Brew on

 

[BrunDog]

I beg to differ. I used to work in the electronics industry. Circuit boards are often washed with water (with added cleaning agents), and dried with hot air. There are some components that are water sensitive, but not common surface mount components like found on the tilt board.



Brew on

I agree. Water doesn't get driven into components with hot air, it's given an avenue to evaporate.

 

[hrafnkell]

Are you reading the advertisements broadcasts, or are you using GATT to access the device?

I'm using the iBeacon python code posted earlier in the thread. Here's my code, that uploads the data to data.sparkfun.com.
http://pastebin.com/MUyAg040

And the library is here:
https://github.com/switchdoclabs/iBeacon-Scanner-

Increasing the count in parse_events to 30 seems to work for me. Apparently there's a lot of iBeacon noise where I am, and it was making the tilt not appear in the list except sporadically. Waiting longer for the tilt to broadcast made it pop up. But I'm not sure if this is broadcast or what?

 

[ame]

Probably shouldn't have done that. Drying electronic devices is always best in rice or similar desiccants. Heat will cause evaporation to creep into crevices where it shouldn't creep and could cause more damage. You might get away with it, just remember it next time. Works great on phones and pretty much any device that got wet.

Sorry, rice is probably the worst thing you can put your wet electronics or cellphone in.

 

[LBussy]

Whenever I have an electronics piece that gets submerged I follow these steps:

1. Remove the battery and/or power
2. Rinse with distilled vinegar diluted 50:50 with distilled water
3. Rinse with distilled water
4. Dry in a warm oven

This process roughly follows that which the circuit boards follow when they are manufactured in an automated fashion. They go through what looks like a dishwasher where flux is removed and a final distilled water rinse is done right before entering a tunnel of forced warm air.

The vinegar helps remove any minerals that may deposit from hard water which would cause shorts later on. Distilled water keeps them off while rinsing the vinegar.

I've done a complete iPhone toilet submersion in this manner, plus several other brands over the years. I remediated a computer which was in a fire and subject to smoke and water damage in the same way.

Rice might work as a desiccant, but heat is better. Maybe if for some reason you can't split the case on something, packaging with desiccant is a better way to go. I'm not convinced though. It's not going to be as good as opening the thing up, getting it rinsed well and then drying properly.

Plain old clay kitty litter makes a good desiccant after it is baked at a low temp to dry it. I have another hobby where keeping things dry is a must. I have a half a plastic tub of kitty litter in which I store things along with humidity indicator strips. Not failed me yet and it's a lot cheaper than buying desiccant.

 

[jimmayhugh]

I'm using the iBeacon python code posted earlier in the thread. Here's my code, that uploads the data to data.sparkfun.com.
http://pastebin.com/MUyAg040

And the library is here:
https://github.com/switchdoclabs/iBeacon-Scanner-

Increasing the count in parse_events to 30 seems to work for me. Apparently there's a lot of iBeacon noise where I am, and it was making the tilt not appear in the list except sporadically. Waiting longer for the tilt to broadcast made it pop up. But I'm not sure if this is broadcast or what?

OK, as I've mentioned before, my PythonFu is not strong . It appears that the code you're using does indeed do an inquiry, which requires more power that simply intercepting the advertisement broadcasts.

If you want to see how I do it, take a look at my github

 

[day_trippr]

"How To Take The LE Out Of BT4LE"

 

[dfborn]

Installed a brand new battery and it appears to have died after a mere five weeks. Using it with the stock app and cloud sheet. Can't connect to it with either my iPhone or the android I use to have it upload to the cloud. It's been awol since about 6am yesterday.