CraftBeerPi - Raspberry Pi Software

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chixxi

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Hello Everybody.

I Am not very active in this forum, but I am in the german home brewing forum (www.hobbybrauer.de). A while ago I posted about a software which I had found on this forum and how I adapted it (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=451059). I never really got to publish the version I made since it was not running very stable.

I'd like to bring your attention toi a new free brewing software available from a member of the german forum for the raspberry pi:
www.craftbeerpi.com
http://hobbybrauer.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=3959&hilit=raspberry

Some of the advantages I like:
- Very simple installation
- Automated temperature control for multiple kettles
- Automated fully configurable steps
- PID Control
- DS18B20 Sensors
- Supports different Outputs (USB-Plugs, GPIO, PiFace)
- The "plugin-approach" allows to implement different devices (like other sensors, outputs, devices, logics...) really simple
- Lots of people already working on "plugins" (example: for gas control)

Since I now using this software I will no longer work on the version I told you above.

Hope some of you might be able to use it or even contribute to it :mug:


Edit: Sorry, I guess this should have gone here...
 
Thanks for sharing the link and software. Looks like a good implementation.I might have to give it a try.
 
Could this be used as a replacement for Strangebrew Elsinore, for instance on the Hosehead controller?
 
Could this be used as a replacement for Strangebrew Elsinore, for instance on the Hosehead controller?


I don't see why it wouldn't work. Follow the readme for installation and it should work fine. Same hardware components supported it seems. Report back if you give it a try.
 
Following up on the question about Hosehead. I cloned the Craftbeerpi project and tried launching it. It was a terribly long set up process and ultimately I couldn't get passed the initial startup screen. When it asked if I wanted to check for updates it downloaded everything but I couldn't get it to launch. I tried using Chromium but maybe another browser is the recommended option. I'm going to try more tomorrow as the program looked promising, but I didn't have much luck with the 45-60 minutes I spent with it tonight.
 
The install script which is included does not only install all necessary requirements but also does a complete update of the os itself (sudo apt-get updaten / sudo apt-get upgrade). Depending of the number of updates required and your internet speed this can take quite some time on the initital setup.

For me this works with all browsers.

Is the software actually running? Did you try to start it manually, what was the output? Which initial startup screen are you takling about? I need some infos to be able to help ;-)
 
The initial startup screen was the same as shown on the /#install section of the craftbrewpi.com site: http://craftbeerpi.com/#install

I selected "y" and it started the upgrade process. That took 20 minutes or so and when it stopped I expected the program to be running. The installation instructions said, "The App is now avaibale under: http://:5000 im Browser aufrufbar." (sic)

But it wasn't running when I tried in Chromium (with and without my RPi IP address).

I'll try again tonight and report back with the output text and steps. I also was never prompted to "Autostart CraftBeerPi after boot" as per the installation instructions.
 
The install script which is included does not only install all necessary requirements but also does a complete update of the os itself (sudo apt-get updaten / sudo apt-get upgrade). Depending of the number of updates required and your internet speed this can take quite some time on the initital setup.

For me this works with all browsers.

Is the software actually running? Did you try to start it manually, what was the output? Which initial startup screen are you takling about? I need some infos to be able to help ;-)

So I installed Craftbeerpi again and ran all the necessary startup commands. I was then asked if I wanted to start CBPi automatically on boot up, which I accepted. When I rebooted my RPi, nothing happens. CBPi does not autostart and it doesn't even try to open the terminal.

When I manually try to start the server using, "sudo python runserver.py" from the CBPi directory, I get the following error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File 'runserver.py", line 3, in <module>
from flask import Flask
ImportError: No module named flask

I then reinstalled and chose not to autostart CBPi, and I'm prompted with a screen that says "Installation Finished" with a number of commands to start, stop and give status of the server.

When I try to run the "Start" command "sudo /etc/init.d/craftbeerpiboot start"
I get a "command not found" error.

Still can't get it to start the server or run the program.
 
Install craftbeerpi again with the autostart option, i would even remove it completly an pull it again from github. This should take much less time since the basic updates have already been made and all requirements (almost) have been installed.

Code:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File 'runserver.py", line 3, in <module>
from flask import Flask
ImportError: No module named flask
This actually means you are missing flask, I don't know why since it should be installed during the setup process. What is the output if you try to install it manually with:
Code:
sudo apt-get install python-flask

If this installs successfully try to run craftbeerpi again with manually an post the output:
sudo python runserver.py
 
The install script which is included does not only install all necessary requirements but also does a complete update of the os itself (sudo apt-get updaten / sudo apt-get upgrade). Depending of the number of updates required and your internet speed this can take quite some time on the initital setup.

That seems like a bad idea. Can you confine your updates to specific packages? Some people might want to keep certain packages from upgrading (some of which might have nothing to do with your software but will slow down the install process and could frustrate users) but might not have them locked. Even something like sudo aptitude safe-upgrade (which can still upgrade a lot of things that are unrelated to your software) would be better than just a blind sudo apt-get upgrade, leave that for the user to do manually.
 
That seems like a bad idea. Can you confine your updates to specific packages? Some people might want to keep certain packages from upgrading (some of which might have nothing to do with your software but will slow down the install process and could frustrate users) but might not have them locked. Even something like sudo aptitude safe-upgrade (which can still upgrade a lot of things that are unrelated to your software) would be better than just a blind sudo apt-get upgrade, leave that for the user to do manually.

I am not the developer of this software which means I do not really have an influence on such things.

Currently the script asks you if you want to update, so at least you get warned ;-)

Details can be found here:
https://github.com/Manuel83/craftbeerpi
 
this seems like a really great option. when looking at the install portion go the website it just says you can use relays or solid state relays does this mean that it'll directly interface with an SSR or am I going to need to get relay boards to drive the SSR's?
 
The new version 2.1 which is coming soon wil support different hardware devices. This includes using GPIO or PiFace for directly driving the SSR's as well as some USB plugs. If you want to drive other hardware just write to the developper, is open for everything and does also support new hardware if you test it for him.
 
This looks really awesome. I tried to google translate the original board but it was a terrible translation and my german is non existent. When will 2.1 be available, rough date estimate, i know when you don't get paid for things like this it's ok to have a floating release timeline. I will be keeping an eye on this as it seems to be the best implementation of a pi in a brewery. Great hopes here, great work!
 
Definitely pretty cool! Just installed it and it works great. haven't played with it for too long but would love to see if it would trigger pumps, alarms and the such. I'll have to compare it to Elsinore since that's the other package I'm considering for my brewery.
Thanks for bringing this to us!
 
Definitely pretty cool! Just installed it and it works great. haven't played with it for too long but would love to see if it would trigger pumps, alarms and the such. I'll have to compare it to Elsinore since that's the other package I'm considering for my brewery.
Thanks for bringing this to us!

The CraftBeerPi website says it can control the entire process including loutering and whirlpool. I assumed that meant it had switch controls for a pump, is that not the case?

I couldn't get the software running on my Hosehead.
 
I've only played with it for a short time. I see where I can trigger a heating element and agitator(I can replace to pump) based on the temp but I don't see a manual "Pump on" style option. Love the clean interface though...
 
Hi,

on Sunday broke the git master. Fixed the code on github and now the version 2.1 should be working.

Please try to clone the master.

git clone https://github.com/Manuel83/craftbeerpi

If you find any issues please report them via git hub. Even if there are some issues writte in germen feel free to add your issues. I will try to fix them as quick as possible.

Please let me know if its working now.
 
Great! Thank you for your awesome work! I didn't find a change log for the .1 rev. Can you expound on changes?
 
I did a quick reinstall of 2.1 and things seemed to be fixed. Although I'm mainly playing around with it until my Pi cobbler arrives so I've not tested any actual functionality. I've also started comparing this to SBE. I do like how CraftBeerPi has an easier install and most settings are done via the webpage. One the plus side for both SBE and CraftBeerPi there are no "special" boards needed, everything seem to be easily configured, and graphing is available. Given how both software packages are configurable I would think you could run both SBE and CraftBeerPi on the same RPi and just switch between packages. that may be my next thing to try out.
 
Hi

These are the major changes for the version 2.1

- For each kettle you can select a different automatic logic (Overshoot, PID, Fermentation)
- Standard Interface for custom automatic logic implementation. This makes it easy to add your custom logic with a few lines of code.
- Internal recipe book
- Additional hardware can be controlled. (Pumps, valves, ...)
- A buzzer informs you about step updates
- Small User Interface changes
- New setup wizard

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Craftbeerpi seems to be very stable. This has been running for about 3 days. The large spike is when first booted and I held probe to see response. The small rises and falls are due to nightly room temp falls right by my window where the probe is located.

View attachment 1462108721168.jpg
 
Thanks for this positiv feedback. I have never tested the software that long. :)
For the next version I'm planning a fermentation module. The current version is measuring the temperature every 5 seconds which generates a lot of data. For fermentation a bigger interval seems to be good.
 
Is there a way to export or copy the temperature data for plotting in excel or adding to a brewing log? Is the temp data written to a file?

It might be nice to have an overlay of the mashing process with the temp measured.
 
I received the same request from german CBP users.
Currently the data is stored in-memory only. I will add a simple csv export next days. Then you can import the data into excel or what ever tool you like.

Next important step is to improve the documentation.

- How to setup kettles
- How to setup recipes
- How to connect the hardware
- How to implement custom automatic logics
- How to add custom thermometer
- Documentation for HTTP REST and WebSocket Interface. This allows to develop a custom UI or maybe a native smartphone app.


Feature ideas for version 2.2
- Database migraiton script
- Simplfy update procedure
- Export of recipe book
- Speed control for agitator (PWM)
- Water Flow Sensor
- Fermentation dashboard
 
Here a video about CraftBeerPI

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zM2dnFyB5w&feature=youtu.be[/ame]
 
Thanks for this positiv feedback. I have never tested the software that long. :)
For the next version I'm planning a fermentation module. The current version is measuring the temperature every 5 seconds which generates a lot of data. For fermentation a bigger interval seems to be good.

It will be better if it can measure temperature even every second for better control calculation? But Maybe it doesnt necessarily need to save it all, you can save every 10th string for example.

And BTW i do not think you should connect SSRs to the GPIOs directly unless you want to fry something :) BC337 transistor is good idea, but then you need external power supply (12V?), I do not work with RPi so I am not sure but maybe you can use 5V pin to drive SSR from transistor.
 
Unti now it was sufficient to measure very 5 seconds but maybe its good idea to have config parameter for that. The default would be 5 seconds. The temperature control depends on the selected control logic. But the good thing is that it's really easy to implement anew custom logic. In this custom logic its up to you how often you check the temperature.


Yes, it's a good idea to place a transistor in between. Some people are asking for a custom PI shield. It would be more then welcome to get some support on this. :)
 
You can adopt some Ardbir PCBs as it will be similar and even easier because you dont have to wire LCD. But I do not know if you would like to have shield for RPi or just connector on the cable. The only problem what I can think off is a power supply, because you need microUSB for RPi and power for "shield". Both actually can be 5V but I do not know how much current raspberry is taking and how to wire it with mUSB and I do not see any other VIN port. Other idea is to power board (shield) from 5V pin from Raspberry but again I do not know how much current you can get from there.
You will need probalby still 3 different potentials, 5V for Pi and maybe PCB if there is enough current, 12V for pump and PCB if not from 5V and 230V for SSR-HEATER

I do not get all those logic setups :) but probably standard PID is the best for mashing? Something other for fermnetation.
 
this looks great Manuel, Thanks so much for putting in the time and effort with this. Once i have the parts for my recirculating system, I look forward to using your program!
 
CraftBeerPI 2.1 offers a HTTP {REST} API. That gives other software programs the possibility to communicate with CraftBeerPI. For example a brew recipie planning tool can push data directly into CraftBeerPI.
The API is documented by using Swagger.io. With Swagger you can generate a CraftBeerPI REST client for your favorite programming language.

CraftBeerPI {REST} API: http://craftbeerpi.com/api/#/

For the version 2.2 CraftBeerPI will support the import of Beer.xml from BeerSmith

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/craftbeerpi
 
Hi Manuel,
Does craftbeerpi support servo output for controlling gas valves? If it does, then I'm in!

:ban:
 
I loaded this onto a Pi today and it's pretty cool!

Sehr Gut!

(Can someone send me the Fritzing part file for the waterproof DS18B20??)
 
@Jrubins
Can you post me a link to the gas values you are using?

@atoughram
Here you will find the waterproof db18b20 for firtzing
http://domoticx.com/printplaat-ontwerp-fritzing-onderdelen/

I'm using a servo with multi rotation, 1520uS is closed and 650us is open.
Arduino code here (bugs and all): https://github.com/jrubinstein/brew-PID-propane/tree/automatedBIAB_v1

The other solution that's similar (in python for the Rpi) is from @tob77: https://github.com/tob77/BrewNpi/blob/master/brewNpi.py

His approach uses servoblaster to write to the servo and a separate gas solenoid valve.

There are a few things that matter for using propane:
1. controlling the flow of the gas using a servo rather than the on/off of a valve or electric element
2. igniting the gas when the valve is opened
3. detecting when the flame is present

I forked your repo, but, frankly, I don't have the programming chops that you do, so my efforts are unlikely to work as well :)

Thanks,
JR
 
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