BrewPi@ESP8266, no need of RPI and Arduino.

[pocketmon]

Is there anyway to change the gpio's using the .bin? I cannot for the life of me get Arduino to work for me (I would just edit config.h) i get so many errors i don't know where to start.

Short answer: NO.

Only by carefully design, you can change hardware configuration without rebuilding the image. It is a common practice in mass production but rarely used for DIY project.

I can build the binary for you if you can specify clearly the hardware configuration. I am worry about involving in a blind remote debugging, though.

 

[blmcga]

I just want to try Brewpiless on Sonoff and see how it does.

Temp sensors to gpio 14 (vs current D6 gpio 12)
Relay to gipo 12 (vs current D5 gpio 14 &/or D7 gpio 13)

 

[Mikmonken]

Did anyone try to use this system with battery or powerbank? Just for temperature logging? I have a nice place without electricity in the basement and seems to be stable in temperature and I would like to log a temperature of bucket there to test
Should 2000mah powerbank be good? I know there is no deep sleep implemented etc but maybe without it it does not drain a lot of battery?

I used a big powerbank 20,000mah and it lasted a week and a bit of logging, but it was doing no more than logging, i.e. it wasn't toggling relays or anything which might drain it a bit more?

 

[Thorrak]

Did anyone try to use this system with battery or powerbank? Just for temperature logging? I have a nice place without electricity in the basement and seems to be stable in temperature and I would like to log a temperature of bucket there to test
Should 2000mah powerbank be good? I know there is no deep sleep implemented etc but maybe without it it does not drain a lot of battery?

Link for the curious. This ties out with the times that @pocketmon and @Mikmonken

If you just wanted to log temperatures (and were comfortable coding up something) you could potentially get weeks of logging from 2000mah -- so long as you implemented sleep modes. The problem with doing this in BrewPiLess is that while asleep, the web portal is inaccessible (which kind of defeats the purpose of BrewPiLess).

Still though - If you were willing to switch between power banks, @Mikmonken 's suggestion of a 20000mah bank isn't a bad one so long as you got two.

 

[terragady]

Link for the curious. This ties out with the times that @pocketmon and @Mikmonken

If you just wanted to log temperatures (and were comfortable coding up something) you could potentially get weeks of logging from 2000mah -- so long as you implemented sleep modes. The problem with doing this in BrewPiLess is that while asleep, the web portal is inaccessible (which kind of defeats the purpose of BrewPiLess).

Still though - If you were willing to switch between power banks, @Mikmonken 's suggestion of a 20000mah bank isn't a bad one so long as you got two.

Yes you are right, simple logging to file with deep sleep would be better, i do not know how to save log in internal storage of ESP and how to recover it later for analysis, there is also no WiFi connection in my basement so no logging to IoT service I will dig some projects on web to see if i can get something like this.


EDIT: I will use arduino and sd card for logging simplier and I have code already

 

[pocketmon]

I just want to try Brewpiless on Sonoff and see how it does.

Temp sensors to gpio 14 (vs current D6 gpio 12)
Relay to gipo 12 (vs current D5 gpio 14 &/or D7 gpio 13)

If you want to sacrifice the ability of OTA update for logging space, the storage space can be 512k, which is good for at least one month log.

Get the binary on the GitHub.com:
https://github.com/vitotai/BrewPiLess/tree/master/bins

 

[blmcga]

If you want to sacrifice the ability of OTA update for logging space, the storage space can be 512k, which is good for at least one month log.

Get the binary on the GitHub.com:
https://github.com/vitotai/BrewPiLess/tree/master/bins

Oh nice! The .bin you gave me for the sonoff has been working great so far! But yes space is going to run out ill try the 512 soon.

 

[blmcga]

Doesn't get much cheaper & easier!

 

[Thorrak]

Doesn't get much cheaper & easier!

How did you hook the temp sensor up to the sonoff?

 

[blmcga]

The sonoff has header pin spot that gives access to a gpio so I added header pins to the board then soldered a socket with leads and a 4.7k resistor to an audio jack.

Easier way would be to just buy the Sonoff TH as it has the audio jack built in.

 

[blmcga]

Same spot used to flash with ftdi232.

 

[froot]

Doesn't get much cheaper & easier!

If you put a resistor on that stereo plug you'll be able to hot plug and play with out risk of blowing the sensors.

 

[froot]

also it'd be nice to know the gpio pinout on this sonoff with the 2 power out lets

 

[blmcga]

If you put a resistor on that stereo plug you'll be able to hot plug and play with out risk of blowing the sensors.

I have a 4.7k on the header socket.

 

[ame]

If you put a resistor on that stereo plug you'll be able to hot plug and play with out risk of blowing the sensors.

The resistor is on the host side. I plug and play my sensors all the time.

 

[blmcga]

The resistor is on the host side. I plug and play my sensors all the time.

AME - Aircraft Maintenance Engineer?

 

[ame]

AME - Aircraft Maintenance Engineer?

If you like.

 

[blmcga]

If you like.

Just asking about your user name...

 

[ame]

Just asking about your user name...

Ok.

 

[pocketmon]

Same spot used to flash with ftdi232.

This seems to be a good solution for those who don't need display and heating control if flashing it can be easier.

Taking the time to collect parts and relatively higher risk into consideration, this is definitely a far more CHEAPER and easier solution.

Simplicity is one of my design guideline although sometimes I go too far by adding features gradually. My initial intention of this project was running it on a ESP01 with 1M flash and viewing from phones. Therefore, I avoid jQuery and support remote logging instead of local logging at the beginning.

 

[blmcga]

This seems to be a good solution for those who don't need display and heating control if flashing it can be easier.

Just to clarify, i'm using mine for heat control with no issues so far. Sonoff route would only be good for single stage temp control, heat or cool.

 

[pocketmon]

Just to clarify, i'm using mine for heat control with no issues so far. Sonoff route would only be good for single stage temp control, heat or cool.

My bad. I have been living in places that doesn't need heating and though cooling by default.

 

[froot]

This seems to be a good solution for those who don't need display and heating control if flashing it can be easier.

Taking the time to collect parts and relatively higher risk into consideration, this is definitely a far more CHEAPER and easier solution.

Simplicity is one of my design guideline although sometimes I go too far by adding features gradually. My initial intention of this project was running it on a ESP01 with 1M flash and viewing from phones. Therefore, I avoid jQuery and support remote logging instead of local logging at the beginning.

Feature creep the enemy of all Dev.

 

[terragady]

so we were talking about how much power it drains and it is quite a lot so in terms of one year for example it would be few bucks? Right?

 

[pocketmon]

so we were talking about how much power it drains and it is quite a lot so in terms of one year for example it would be few bucks? Right?

It's a very complicated problem.

The strength of WiFi signal, the traffic on your LAN, the route to the server if you are using remote logging, and power adapter used all affect the number of power consumption.

It does matter when battery is used as power supply, but usually nobody cares when it is plugged. I bet it costs less than that you waste in your house by forgetting to turn off lights or other things.

Regarding the requirement of a "temperature blackbox", there are ways to reduce power to minimum. However, BrewPiLess isn't designed for it.

 

[Thorrak]

so we were talking about how much power it drains and it is quite a lot so in terms of one year for example it would be few bucks? Right?

Let's do the math. 150mA * 24 hours * 365 days * 5v = 6.57 kWh

At New York City prices (which are horrendous - don't move here - I miss North Carolina's energy prices) I pay $0.35/kWh -- so yeah, $2.30/year.

 

[ame]

Let's do the math. 150mA * 24 hours * 365 days * 5v = 6.57 kWh

At New York City prices (which are horrendous - don't move here - I miss North Carolina's energy prices) I pay $0.35/kWh -- so yeah, $2.30/year.

Let's not do the math for the heating or cooling element.

 

[Thorrak]

Let's not do the math for the heating or cooling element.

The math becomes easy once you make the one-time investment in an extension cord long enough to hook up to your neighbor's house.

 

[day_trippr]

Until you get caught, of course.
Then the math gets quite a bit more complicated

 

[HairyJamie]

Can someone provide me with some guidance on how to get the logging directed to ThingSpeak?

I have a channel set up with beer temp, beer setting, fridge temp, fridge setting.

I'm not sure of the strings for data type and format.

Also, is it possible to log out the room temp too?

Thanks!

 

[terragady]

it is pretty self explanatory on github readme. Try this out.

 

[HairyJamie]

it is pretty self explanatory on github readme. Try this out.

Thanks - I was following Vito's blog post but have now switched to the GitHub pages and am happily logging out now.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Same spot used to flash with ftdi232.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mz5sCAvDAY&t=1271s[/ame]

 

[pocketmon]

Can someone provide me with some guidance on how to get the logging directed to ThingSpeak?

I have a channel set up with beer temp, beer setting, fridge temp, fridge setting.

I'm not sure of the strings for data type and format.

Also, is it possible to log out the room temp too?

Thanks!

I forget to include the room temperature because I never use one.

It is included in the preview branch (no pre-built image, though):
https://github.com/vitotai/BrewPiLess/tree/preview

This is how the setting should be:

1. copy the "Write API KEY" of your channel from ThinSpeak.com. Let it be XXX in the following example.
2. go to logging setting, and set the settings as the picture but with format as

api_key=XXX&field1=%b&field2=%B&&field3=%f&field4=%F

assuming you have
field 1 for beer temperature
field 2 for beer setting
field 3 for fridge temperature
field 4 for fridge setting.

Check the description for detail and the notion for room temperature:
Readme@github

 

[Mikmonken]

Today I got a comment from the creator of iSpindle, Sam.

I am happy to collaborate with him to make BrewPiLess "compatible" to iSpindle.

Accepting the data from iSpindle and putting gravity readings in the chart isn't a big deal. It could be done in the time of one beer.

Sam has an aggressive proposal: changing the temperature according to gravity reading instead of time. It's surely doable and interesting. However, I am very bad at UI design and need your inputs. Please let me know how you think about it.

Reading more into iSpindle and trying to get an understanding as to how it will all come together, will the temp probe on the iSpindle remove the need for thermowell?

By that I mean will iSpindle floating in the FV connect remotely to brewpi and communicate with the fridge temp probe to keep at the right temperature? I'm guessing it may not as it would have a massive impact on the battery life of the iSpindle.

 

[pocketmon]

Sam wants to use the sensor of iSpindle as input to BrewPiLess. He tested with 15sec report period and claimed that it lasts for two weeks. He proposes to use one minute.
I am going to do that after the following issues are clearly addressed:
1, the PID parameters. I know less about PID, but I guess it should be different from that used for connected sensors.
2, fall back policy. In case of lost connection for any reason, connected sensors should be used. Issue#1 makes this more complicated.

Therefore, my first release will not use the temperature reading from iSpindel in temperature control.

I already finished the code but get stuck by the issue that the ESP8266 is not stable in softAP and station mode. I hope I can find a solution for that.

 

[HairyJamie]

Can anyone help out with getting a small OLED to work as the display?

I changed 224 and 225 of config.h to read

#define BREWPI_OLED128x64_LCD 1
//#define BREWPI_IIC_LCD 1

Then got compilation errors saying that SSD1306.h didn't exist.

So I installed the Adafruit SSD1306 library but still no joy.

EDIT: Never mind! My config adjustments worked, just needed the right libraries installed!

 

[Mikmonken]

Sam wants to use the sensor of iSpindle as input to BrewPiLess. He tested with 15sec report period and claimed that it lasts for two weeks. He proposes to use one minute.
I am going to do that after the following issues are clearly addressed:
1, the PID parameters. I know less about PID, but I guess it should be different from that used for connected sensors.
2, fall back policy. In case of lost connection for any reason, connected sensors should be used. Issue#1 makes this more complicated.

Therefore, my first release will not use the temperature reading from iSpindel in temperature control.

I already finished the code but get stuck by the issue that the ESP8266 is not stable in softAP and station mode. I hope I can find a solution for that.

So a two wemos system?

 

[pocketmon]

So a two wemos system?

TWO, if the one in iSpindel counts.

The one that runs BrewPiLess runs as a station and an AP. iSpindel connects to BrewPiLess, and BrewPiLess can process or forward the data to clouds. Since iSpindel might be inside of a stainless fermenter or/and fridge, the distance that its WiFi can reach might be limited. Connecting to BrewPiLess nearby is a brilliant idea - if it works.

 

[gezzanet]

I'd go for 2 min. I've been using 2 min logging for brewpi for many ferments and it's fine. I did it because I built an excel file to dump the log data into that I use to generate and interrogate graphs. Excel files get too big with lots of data points. When I use it to monitor mash temps I reset to the lowest time period.