hosehead electronic brewery controller

[burnzy2191]

Has anyone else seen this controller. I'm looking for peoples thoughts since I am new to brewing.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/brewtronix/hosehead-electric-brewery-control-eh

http://brewtronix.com/

 

[aangel]

Looks good, with a few limitations.

1 - It's dependent on Strangebrew Elsinore - freeware - the software maker and the hardware maker are not working together and thus support or future enhancements are not something that can be predicted
2 - Running on a 240V 30A circuit means it can only power one 5500W element at a time (power draw 5500W/240V=22A)

Anything else I can mention isn't really germane at this price point.

If you want a 2-3 vessel, electric setup with automation limited to temperature control & wort transfers, this is a very good thing.

 

[user 101620]

1 - It's dependent on Strangebrew Elsinore - freeware - the software maker and the hardware maker are not working together and thus support or future enhancements are not something that can be predicted

Yup, I've had a conversation with the person running the Kickstarter. Elsinore has a self updating/check for updates feature which means the software support should always be available (assuming the creator is using git to set it up).

I'm not using a massively complex system for Elsinore, a lot (most) of the features I've added are not features I use, but I very quickly hear back from people when they find a bug, and I fix them as quickly as I can. For instance, I found a bug when recording a video about how to use Elsinore (you'll see it in this video: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9F_RP89-7M[/ame]) and I fixed it quickly afterwards.

And since all the "add-ons" i'm working on (like a pH sensor) is designed primarily to use the one-wire bus, it's easy to expand on using the existing connections on hosehead.

 

[jar]

Has anyone bought one of these? It looks great, but I'm hesitant to send $425 in to the ether after getting burned on a bunch of kegging equipment.

 

[cliffhanger1821]

I bought one and just received it in the mail yesterday but haven't had the chance to hook it up. Hopefully in about a week I will be fully up and running and be able to post a review. It is a really nice looking controller though, professional looking and was very well packaged.

 

[Bassman2003]

I just purchased one. The owner called me a few times and was very nice to deal with. I am looking forward to getting it into use. I see it as a great deal compared to the other options on the market. I won't brew until Jan. so I will not be much help for your now though.

 

[Grayskyrider]

Any updates?

 

[Bassman2003]

I will have some updates in a few weeks.

 

[biertourist]

I have thought this thing is just great value and a great feature set and form factor since the Kickstarter launched. BUT the fact that it's based on StrangeBrew Elsinore gives me pause.

THEN I saw what BrewPi is about to release with the BrewPi Spark and I pretty much forgot about every other system...


They haven't made it available for sale YET but should any day now. The problem is that come March they're moving to Spark Photon which will be faster and cheaper.

BrewPi is changing in dramatic ways and looks to be ideal if you want to go fully automated and not have any manual control options, IMHO. You should be able to get INSANE control and customization for the money...


http://www.brewpi.com/introducing-brewpi-spark/

 

[aangel]

Yeah, Elkoe's up to crazy awesome shenanigans. I'm really looking forward to seeing the fruits of his labors, especially now that with Brewtroller on hiatus, there's a gap in the brewing automation world.

 

[djcorbetto]

He's even working on a system for automatically take specific gravity readings

 

[RonR]

I received my Hosehead2 controller today. I plan on wiring it up tonight. Can't wait to give it a try. It's a well built unit.

 

[SBBC]

Also just received the Hosehead 2. Completing wiring this weekend, hoping to get everything online and tested in the next few days. Solid build, connectors, etc. Looking forward to a test run.

 

[decoleur]

Any updates from the people with hoseheads? I got concerned about running a 5500W element off the 20a element plugs. What elements are you using and how does it work for you?

 

[RonR]

I started testing tonight. I've got a 4500 watt Blichmann boilcoil in my HLT and a 3750 watt boilcoil in my boil kettle. The boilcoils ship with 10 gauge wiring. It was a job to get them in the 20amp plug. It's designed for 12 gauge wire. Had a few 30 amp gfic breaker trips. Can't figure it out. Everything started out fine. Took 9 gallons of water to 174 degrees in no time flat in my HLT. I pumped it into my boil kettle and fired up that element and couldn't get it to boil. The breaker had tripped. Fooled around with it for awhile and finally got it to boiling. Something is not exactly right. I'll figure it out tomorrow.

 

[SBBC]

Tested this weekend...after everything was wired up and assembled, initial boot up and server start was a breeze. Fired the first element at 100% to bring about 7 gallons of water to a rolling boil in a very respectable time. Powered down the boil element and the problem came when I fired the HLT element.. Started out good and got to about 170 and then my element went out. No breaker trip and verified 220 on the terminals of the element. Shut everything down and ohmed out the element. The element shows a short. At this point it just looks like a failed element. Replacement on the way. Other than that I thought the User interface was good and am looking forward to a real brew (hopefully next weekend) if my new element gets he in time.

 

[RonR]

Did some testing with my hosehead2 last night. Installed stainless tee's and compression fittings for the sensors on all three kettles. Trimmed back the heat shrink some so that the probes went in the tee's far enough. Used one of my pumps to recirculate the water in the HLT. Overshot my temperature by 1.2 degrees. That's pretty respectable.
Still getting a random breaker trip. I think I have it narrowed down to the pigtail for the boil kettle. Going to work on that tonight.

 

[joutlaw]

Thanks for the update on this controller. I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on it, but would like to hear more feedback. It's a relative bargain for what you get and it definitely satisfies my techy side.

 

[RonR]

Tonight I plan to enter adjustments to the temperature sensors based on an accurate thermometer I have. Will probably try my first electric brew session tomorrow.
Last night I installed a herms coil in my HLT and checked it for leaks.

 

[user 101620]

Tonight I plan to enter adjustments to the temperature sensors based on an accurate thermometer I have. Will probably try my first electric brew session tomorrow.
Last night I installed a herms coil in my HLT and checked it for leaks.

Elsinore supports temperature calibration, not all the temperature probes are 100% perfect (based on thermowell, glue, etc... used during manufacture)

 

[RonR]

Here is the followup post for my HoseHead2 running StrangeBrew Elsinore. I put approximately 12 gallons of water into my HLT. I have a Blichmann 4500 watt BoilCoil in the HLT. I fired up the 220 volt on the Hosehead and began to heat my strike water. I was seeing an increase in temperature of five degrees per minute. The hosehead overshot my strike temperature by about one degree. I can tweak that if needed, but one degree is good for me. I began to transfer the water to my mash tun which is a 10 gallon cooler. I recirculated through my herms coil just to test for leaks and to get use to priming my pumps. I wdid a mashout and was able to get to a 170 degrees in just a minute or two. I then pumped nine gallons to the boil kettle. It's a 15.5 gallon converted keg. It has a 3750 watt Blichmann BoilCoil in it. I would have just bought another 4500 watt BoilCoil, but it was too big in diameter to get into the 12 inch opening in the top of the keg. I switched on the element in the boil kettle and was able to get 168 degree 'wort' to boiling in just under 35 minutes.
I then run it through my new CounterFlow Wort Chiller, The "ExChilerator" 25' MAX by BrickRiverBrew.com. I was able to chill my 'wort' to 65 degrees using my tap water in just a few minutes.
I had no problems today. No tripped breakers. I believe that maybe my ground was not tight enough in one of my pigtails and it was causing the GFCI breaker to trip. It had nothing to do with the HoseHead controller.
So, do I recommend the Hosehead 2? You bet. The price is good and the system is highly configurable. It works great. You can set it up for the equipment you have now and tweak the system as your equipment changes. The only drawback would be if you want to do back to back brews. You can only use one element at a time with this controller.
Now it's time to put together a recipe and brew one for real. Cheers

 

[crane]

No tripped breakers. I believe that maybe my ground was not tight enough in one of my pigtails and it was causing the GFCI breaker to trip.

A loose ground connection will not cause a GFCI to trip. The GFCI monitors the current going through the 2 hots and neutral. If the amount of current flowing in one direction doesn't equal the return current on the other lines then it trips. During normal operation the ground connection doesn't carry any current on it. It's only there for when bad things happen. Theoretically you could operate without a ground at all and the GFCI wouldn't know the difference. My guess is that one of then hots in the pigtail isn't secured properly and after securing the ground connection you haven't had it wiggle around to touch something else. You could also have one tiny strand of wire that didn't get crammed in the hole with the rest of them and that one stand is able to make contact with another wire or screw in the pigtail and that could cause the current leak.

I would suggest going over all of your connections again to make sure they are 100% solid. Use a multimeter to measure continuity will you wiggle the cord coming out of the pigtail to make sure that all the connections maintain continuity and that none of them short together. The fact that you have had your GFCI trip and you found one bad ground connection means your rig is not safe to operate.

 

[RonR]

I would suggest going over all of your connections again to make sure they are 100% solid. Use a multimeter to measure continuity will you wiggle the cord coming out of the pigtail to make sure that all the connections maintain continuity and that none of them short together. The fact that you have had your GFCI trip and you found one bad ground connection means your rig is not safe to operate.

That's what I did. I checked all wiring and made sure everything was tight. It seems to have worked.

 

[SBBC]

Finally got around to a full test run today with my new EHERMS powered by the hosehead 2. Everything went very well. Missed my mash in temp by a couple degrees (must have been the unseasonably cold temps in my garage) but quickly was able to pull it up and equalize at 153 recirculating through the coil in my HLT. No tripped breakers, and all hardware and connectors supplied with the unit did just fine. I was nervous going into a brew for the first time on an all new system but ended up having one of the best brew days in a long time. I got great support when I had a few questions, emails were answered (within minutes) and even a phone call or two. I am very happy with this purchase and addition to my brewery.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

The thing that concerns me most about a hosehead, is watching his opening the box video you can see that he is only using 25A SSR's. I wonder why he decided to go so low? Because of the big fans? He doesnt even have heatsinks on any of them so i can only assume the fans and the case itself are capable of sinking all the heat? Still though pulling 22ish Amps off a 25A SSR seems like it will wear the SSR out fast no?

 

[RonR]

You're able to monitor the SSR temps from the interface. You can even set it up to shutdown if it gets above a certain temp. I've never seen mine go above 125 degrees.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

What are the dimensions of the hosehead box?

 

[RonR]

Probably 14 inches deep. 2 inches high and 8 inches wide. That's my best estimate.

 

[RonR]

First real brew day with the Hosehead2 and Strangebrew Elsinore. As you can see from the attachment, the system runs pretty cool, under 125 degrees. Mash temp is right on. So far, I am a happy camper. Brewing an All Day IPA clone.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

So i was pricing out what it would cost to basically make my own headhead2 and came upon something i hope im just misunderstanding.

Basically looking at the spec's for every Neutrik powercon connector says its only rated for 20A.

I think its a pretty well known thing that a 5500W Camco element pulls nearly 23A at 100%(which is why you need 50A if your using both elements at the same time)

That seems like a pretty big design flaw that could be potentially dangerous? Or am i just missing something?

Also not really a fan of the 25A SSR's which are the absolute bare minimum you can use on a system like this, especially when a 40A SSR is like $2 more.