BrewPi Remix – What’s Old is New Again

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I use Wago connectors to connect wires without soldering or crimping. Pretty handy for work you might need to take apart again.
I mentioned that in my post #753. The factory tips on the DS18B20 sensors are so short that I find the wago nuts clamping down on the rubber outside sheath instead of the copper wires, I stripped a number of them and resoldered longer ends on, but that is really tricky not to strip the very fine copper wires also.
 
The factory tips on the DS18B20 sensors are so short that I find the wago nuts clamping down on the rubber outside sheath instead of the copper wires, I stripped a number of them and resoldered longer ends on, but that is really tricky not to strip the very fine copper wires also
I use these on my wire ends:
1678453082981.png


The temp sensor wires are very fragile, so I fold them over and insert that into the ferrules and crimp that. Very durable.
 
My ongoing problem....
Just trying to figure out what causes BrewPiRemix and less often Fermentrack, to loose the running script. I have a decent router signal and I unplugged my router extender to eliminate that as a cause
One strange thing also happens when I do a - sudo systemctl restart brewpi and then a refresh
Most of the time the script will start up first restart, but sometimes I have to command a restart a second time to get it moving
But here is the strange part - When I do get back to a running Script, my Beer Profile that I always run, shows up in the top header, BUT the lower part of the tabs where you can change to Constant or whatever, now misteriously changes to "Beer Constant" = 20F ???
Many times when this happens, the Green light is constantly on, on the Pi, and It is almost impossible to open up a Terminal window to kill it.
It is as if, the Pi is in and endless Sub-Routine in the program, and the CPU is maxed out so bad, it can not let another process start
Not sure what command I can issue, to get a constant running print out on the screen, to see what happeded the moment the cpu went into an endless loop? I had no choice a couple times, but to pull the power cord, and this usually awalys leads to a broken SD card, reformat, and start ALL over! Maybe @Thorrak over "There", can chime in, on this? Thanks
Any suggestions appreciated...
cannotconnecttoscript.png
 
Last edited:
Last edited:
So does one crimp those terminals on, then plug the crimped terminal end into a WAGO connector - and it actually makes solid reliable contact? 🤔
Yep.

What you young'uns go through to avoid using a soldering iron :D
Well, two issues with that.
  1. The three hair-thin strands of copper in those leads still are not very large in diameter; the ferrule "bulks" that up a bit making a more reliable connection with the various physical connectors.
  2. The above-mentioned three strands of copper will break at the solder point. I know this is a religious debate among people but all I know is I have seen it happen to me and I prefer a mechanical connection for these.
 
I had soldering issues w several of the temp probe “wires”. They were kinda more electron cloud than actual atoms of copper. Sorta Schroedinger’s wires. But my eyes are also old.
 
I prefer to just crimp on an RJ11 or some molex pins and use a molex .100 connector. The molex pins do mean you need a good wire stripper though.

Oh, and the RJ11 means you need some of those and a RJ11 crimper. LOL (they are pretty cheap though) I'm also not afraid to solder them.
 
I prefer to just crimp on an RJ11 or some molex pins and use a molex .100 connector. The molex pins do mean you need a good wire stripper though.

Oh, and the RJ11 means you need some of those and a RJ11 crimper. LOL (they are pretty cheap though) I'm also not afraid to solder them.
These are all great ways to beef up the tiny tips! Thanks! I never deal with such small gauge wire in my business, so this is all nice to know.
 
I do use RJ11 and RJ45. I still use a lot of ferrules any time I need to make a mechanical connection with stranded wires. For instance, using them makes connecting the AC voltage to the relays in those little crimp blocks very secure.

I have a 3D printer that uses a ton of wattage and bad connections often lead to melted connections or worse. If it works well there, it will work well here.

The tiny XLR are great because the provide a soldered connection + a strain relief to keep those wires from bending. Expensive compared to other solutions, but worth it when your project goes to it's "final home."
 
Yep.


Well, two issues with that.
  1. The three hair-thin strands of copper in those leads still are not very large in diameter; the ferrule "bulks" that up a bit making a more reliable connection with the various physical connectors.
  2. The above-mentioned three strands of copper will break at the solder point. I know this is a religious debate among people but all I know is I have seen it happen to me and I prefer a mechanical connection for these.
Do you cut off the factory (very short) soldered tip, then strip off a longer section of naked wires, and insert the naked wires into the ferrules, or solder the newly skinned wires, and then insert into a ferrule for crimping?
I would think that these super fine gauge wires, would still not make a very positive connection inside the crimped ferrules without first re-soldering on a new longer tip. I never used these before, so just asking so I do not have to redo them again during a fermentation run....
It looks like @day_trippr has a better source to buy his temp probes, as mine have fewer strands than his, pictured above, and mine are so fine, you do need the Hubble Space Telescope to take a picture
 
Do you cut off the factory (very short) soldered tip, then strip off a longer section of naked wires, and insert the naked wires into the ferrules, or solder the newly skinned wires, and then insert into a ferrule for crimping?
I fold over the factory tinned ends and slip the ferule over that and crimp. “So far so good.”
 
How do you delete Chamber(s) "Arduino" UNO Controller, from a Mult-Chamber set up?
Also, I could not find in the Documents, How to rename ("friendly" name), of the Chamber UNO Controller?
I am trying to find out why I have occasional RPi losing the running Script, and was trying different Controllers, to see if I could find the problem.
I do not see anyway in the GUI to do this, and not sure what command to issue in the Terminal
 
Craft Beer and Brewing magazine just sent me an email about a new Accubrew Fermentation Monitoring System...
Looks like an expensive Tilt/iSpindle setup... LOL @Thorrak
Does look sweeet though!
Curious how they get the signal from this long Tri Clamp well ?

EDIT - The $295 looks super good/sensor, but what is the expensive long term "Subscription" to monitor the cheep sensors??
 
Last edited:
How do you delete Chamber(s) "Arduino" UNO Controller, from a Mult-Chamber set up?
Run the uninstaller , it will give you the option to remove one chamber.

Also, I could not find in the Documents, How to rename ("friendly" name), of the Chamber UNO Controller?
I think the only way will be to edit the config.cfg file.
 
I think the only way will be to edit the config.cfg file.
Where can I find this folder/file, or line in the script? I have two controllers with the same name, which is not helpful to see if any of them may be bad, causing problems with lost script communication with the Pi.
 
Should be in: /home/brewpi/{chambername}/settings/config.cfg

The line should be: "chambername = Foo"

After you are done, you will want to issue the command "sudo systemctl restart {chambername}"
 
Craft Beer and Brewing magazine just sent me an email about a new Accubrew Fermentation Monitoring System...
Looks like an expensive Tilt/iSpindle setup... LOL @Thorrak
Does look sweeet though!
Curious how they get the signal from this long Tri Clamp well ?

EDIT - The $295 looks super good/sensor, but what is the expensive long term "Subscription" to monitor the cheep sensors??
Ahh, yes. Modern software. Subscriptions as a Service.

No idea how an optical gravity sensor works though. Would be interesting! The only thing that seems missing from Fermentrack/TiltBridge is alerting. I think I know how to fix that…
 
I run BPR v0.8.0 and Gravitymon v1.3.0beta3 (iSpindel).
In config.cfg, I have defined this line:
iSpindel = gmon-blu
which corresponds to the name of the Gravitymon unit.
Everything is fine, but in the Date/Time table on the right side, I never get historic values of "iSpindel SG" when I drag the cursor across the timeline.
I've tried other settings in config.cfg too, but end up with script not starting.
The only "wrong" thing I have spotted so far, is that the SG line in the chart is green and iSpindel SG dot in the Date/Time table is red. Colours of all the other values corresponds.
Any clues? Anything missing in config.cfg?
 

Attachments

  • 20230314-0850.png
    20230314-0850.png
    146.6 KB · Views: 0
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BREWPI !!
March 19, 2014
FuzzeWuzze posted the first time here on HomeBrewTalk, his rebuild of Elco's BrewPi
@day_trippr , @Thorrak , @LBussy
, and Others, have taken this on, made it much better, and started other really awesome brew projects.
The rest of "us", are just here (at least I am), to try and take what they worked sooooo hard for , and attempt to duplicate it ourselves in our brewery.
Anyway - Happy Birthday BrewPi !
Hope FuzzeWuzze is still out there and in good health....
Ed Bloom, North of Pittsburgh, PA out in the Country, brewing away!!
 
None of this would exist without Elco, and his decision to make BrewPi open source. It’s been a fun project to tinker at the edges of, and has absolutely resulted in better beer (at least for me!)
This DEFINATELY, has resulted in better beer, and lots of medals, for me also!
I remember haveing to stick thermometers in the beer, and using an expensive $300 infrared scanner (when they first came out in the 1990's), to try and track (on paper), my fermentation temps...... Stone Ages!
Thanks YOU ALL, so much, for sharing this with us! For me, it was not trying to save $300, it was to try and make the best beer possible. The $35 Raspberry Pi, was a wallet killer ! LMAO !
 
This DEFINATELY, has resulted in better beer, and lots of medals, for me also!
I remember haveing to stick thermometers in the beer, and using an expensive $300 infrared scanner (when they first came out in the 1990's), to try and track (on paper), my fermentation temps...... Stone Ages!
Thanks YOU ALL, so much, for sharing this with us! For me, it was not trying to save $300, it was to try and make the best beer possible. The $35 Raspberry Pi, was a wallet killer ! LMAO !
Hey man - that $35 raspberry pi has been selling for a lot more on eBay as of late! It’s been cheaper to pick up SFF Intel-based PCs, which feels crazy when you think about it!
 
Hey man - that $35 raspberry pi has been selling for a lot more on eBay as of late! It’s been cheaper to pick up SFF Intel-based PCs, which feels crazy when you think about it!
I just ordered one from Amazon a few days ago for $49.99 !!!

MazerPi Raspberry Pi 4 4GB Max Kit - 64GB Edition, Raspberry Pi 4 Case with Fan, 20W 5V 4A Raspberry Pi 4 Power Supply with ON/Off Switch, HDMI Cable for Pi 4B (4GB RAM)​

And the price went up to $229 sometime between March 14, 2023 and just now!!! WTF!!!
I do not know if that was a mistake, or they are trying to HOSE us all now, since they realize they can charge whatever they want . I think the reason for the huge shortage, is that they are being diverted to Ukraine for Drones and other equipment.The Raspberry Pi Foudation, say it is NOT there fault, but they are trying, and unable , to keep up with the demand. They (Raspberry.ORG) are selling the R-4 for $35, but almost everyone is marking them up to what ever the market will pay now.
I should have bought 100 of them, and retired on the windfall profits..... Not sure if I am getting a clone junk, or the real deal ?
EDIT --
I rechecked Amazon again, and Amazon is F'ing us now. I can have it tomorrow for $229 (in stock), but when I ordered it last week, it was April 5 to April 26 delivery (from China of course...). So, there you have "It"
 
Last edited:
Back
Top