HOWTO - Make a BrewPi Fermentation Controller For Cheap

[wd16261]

Correct, it needs to "learn" the inertia in the system in the beginning.

Correct. as a matter of fact, you do not need a Beer temp probe when using Fridge Constant.

We'll get there.

When I've had this issue it's been bad connections to the board from the sensors.

I had the problem again with another USB cable so its something else. Could it be that the cable of the temperature sensor is too long? It was 3 meters but I've cut it to 2,5m.

 

[day_trippr]

I have almost three dozen ds18b20 probes, all of them 3 meters long. No issues.
Are you running the probes on 5V or 3.3V?
Unless you have a DVM, don't assume the root cause of the problem is not using USB power to run the Arduino...

Cheers!

 

[wd16261]

I have almost three dozen ds18b20 probes, all of them 3 meters long. No issues.
Are you running the probes on 5V or 3.3V?
Unless you have a DVM, don't assume the root cause of the problem is not using USB power to run the Arduino...

Cheers!

The probes are connected to 5V but I don't know what DVM means.

 

[day_trippr]

digital voltage meter.
To measure the 5V on the Arduino with it connected via USB.
fwiw, I found most USB cables - even 18" long models - from RPi to Uno resulted in the 5V level on the Uno sitting around 4.75 volts.
That's why all of the Unos and Megas I run use a 9V wall wart supply connected to the coaxial power input...

Cheers!

 

[LBussy]

Is there a way to change the monikers "beer", "fridge" on the LCD / web UI Display? I can certainly just know that the "Fridge" temp is the temp of my unitank probe, and that another probe, beer, room, or other is my glycol but I certainly would like the ability to have the display relate to my reality if possible.

Anything is possible. Generally speaking, the code is FULL. When I did the I2C changes I ended up having to remove some random letters here and there from strings to keep from crashing. So, while possible, I've got a low threshold for pain when it comes to making that sort of change. Allowing user customization would be more trouble than it's worth but if I get a stroke of brilliance, figure out how to use fewer letters AND can come up with something that will make universal sense ... I'll give that a tentative "maybe."

 

[curruscanis]

Anything is possible. Generally speaking, the code is FULL. When I did the I2C changes I ended up having to remove some random letters here and there from strings to keep from crashing. So, while possible, I've got a low threshold for pain when it comes to making that sort of change. Allowing user customization would be more trouble than it's worth but if I get a stroke of brilliance, figure out how to use fewer letters AND can come up with something that will make universal sense ... I'll give that a tentative "maybe."

Thanks, if there is anything I can do to help and not make it worse I will be happy to.

 

[LBussy]

Right now, obvious terminology aside, using the chamber sensor in fridge constant should be a very good indication of what we can easily pull off. Test if you can in situ (with water of course) and see what you get.

Once the functionality is nailed we can worry about changing strings.

 

[LBussy]

@curruscanis - Any additional results using this in Fridge Constant? Aside from the visuals of course.

 

[awoitte]

I totally thought BrewPi was for attractively listing/displaying all of your brews on the iPad/TV that so many people have done...

Can someone help me what that is referred to as on this site? I know I've seen it around =)

 

[Bigdaddyale]

I totally thought BrewPi was for attractively listing/displaying all of your brews on the iPad/TV that so many people have done...

Can someone help me what that is referred to as on this site? I know I've seen it around =)

RaspberryPints
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...spberrypints-digital-taplist-solution.456809/

 

[day_trippr]

Or the current thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...spberrypints-digital-taplist-solution.487694/

Cheers!

 

[LBussy]

As much as I hate to listen to my own voice (and I have not yet) I thought I would drop this here in case anyone is interested.

Colter Wilson is doing a series of brewing podcasts and he interviewed me a short time back for BrewPi Remix. Here's the link.

 

[LBussy]

A little teaser of some work I've been doing. The formatting is not completely done, but you get the idea. I'm just awake on a work call and I thought I would share.

 

[BrewCityBaller]

I am brewing an NEIPA with kveik that needs to run hot. I set up a profile that has the beer running at 90°F for most of the time. However, once active fermentation died down the system can no longer hold the beer at 90°F. Instead, the fridge temp is being calculated at 86°F. I am assuming it has to do with the PID control, but I would love your input. Any thoughts on how to boost this a little higher?

 

[day_trippr]

The fridge max temperature setting limit defaults to 86°F...

Cheers!

 

[BrewCityBaller]

The fridge max temperature setting limit defaults to 86°F...

View attachment 651721

Cheers!

You, my friend, are a lifesaver. Thank you!

 

[LBussy]

Here's wishing all of the BrewPi family a very happy Thanksgiving. May your teams win, your dinner rolls never run out, and your turkey be juicy and delicious.

 

[day_trippr]

eeeew!

Yes indeed, Happy Holidays to all!

 

[Car Ramrod]

Happy Thanksgiving to yall too.

I'm messing with my third box and I'm at an wall. Every thing works except for one led when the switch is on auto. LED works when the switch is on manual. I've checked the wiring...could it be the switch?

ETA: nevermind Found it. The switch to d5 had come unplugged

 

[LBussy]

Could be, or more likely the way the switch is wired. What wiring plan did you follow and/or what configuration are you going for?

 

[Car Ramrod]

Could be, or more likely the way the switch is wired. What wiring plan did you follow and/or what configuration are you going for?

I found it. The one of the wires came off the D5 prong.

 

[LBussy]

Nice!

 

[skidmark]

Here's wishing all of the BrewPi family a very happy Thanksgiving. QUOTE]

And, to you and yours, Lee! I give thanks for all you do for us!

 

[LBussy]

Almost there ... getting closer ...

And the secret Easter-egg in this image is how screwy the temps are where I work. No this is not in a fridge.

 

[LBussy]

Announcing: BrewPi Technology Uplift / Feature Release 0.5.4.0

I had intended that 0.5.4.0 be a pure feature release. That plan was derailed by the fact that Python 2.x is being sunset by the Python Software Foundation. In case you are not aware, the main BrewPi Remix scripts are written in Python. Sunsetting means that they will not improve it anymore after that day. Even more importantly, if someone finds a security problem in it, it will not be fixed. Because of this, I took a considerable amount of time porting to Python 3. Because security is exceedingly important, you should upgrade to BrewPi Remix 0.5.4.0 as soon as possible.

Notable changes in this release:

• Porting scripts to Python 3
• Add support for Tiltbridge (*1)
• Add support for iSpindel (*2)
• Add a "status board" to indicate:
  • Tilt Temp (I am not going to track 801 different temps in the chart when we control temperatures from the DS18B20's)
  • Tilt Battery (age in weeks)
  • iSpindel Temp
  • iSpindel Battery (in VDC)
• Removed Bleacon in favor of a branch of Aioblescan
• UI Uplift: Fresh(er) look for the web interface

Existing users of BrewPi Remix 0.5.3.0 and above may upgrade with:

sudo /home/brewpi/utils/doUpdate.sh

If you are not on version 0.5.3.0 or above, use the following command to upgrade to the latest version:

curl -L upgrade.brewpiremix.com | sudo bash

This must be run from within your /home/brewpi directory or from each chamber directory in multi-chamber mode.

1. To add Tiltbridge, you must have the tiltColor configuration set in your config.cfg in the format tiltColor = Purple. This is identical to Tilt configuration. Point Tiltbridge to the brewpi-api.php file as it's target. This is currently listed as "Fermentrack" within the Tiltbridge configuration, but maybe @Thorrak will address that aesthetic matter in issue #13 in the Tiltbridge project. If you are using a multi-chamber configuration, point the Tiltbridge at the multi-api.php in the root of your website, and it will forward all Tilt beacons to all of the configured chambers. In that case, the tiltColor tells the instance which one to read.
2. To add iSpindel, you must have the iSpindel configuration set in your config.cfg in the format iSpindel = iSpindel-Yellow. The name or color used is configured within the iSpindel configuration portal. Point iSpindel to the brewpi-api.php file as it's "HTTP" service type on port 80. More information may be found in the iSpindel documentation. If you are using a multi-chamber configuration, point the iSpindel at the brewpi-api.php in the directory corresponding to the chamber you wish to serve.

Enjoy.

 

[LBussy]

Announcing: BrewPi Bug Squashing Realease 0.5.4.1

First of all, I'd like to thank whoever it was who answered: "Yes" to enable "Tilt" when they installed but didn't have a Bluetooth dongle in their Pi. It let me load-test my Sentry account and ferret out a new way to crash. Over 5,000 errors later in my Sentry dashboard (which shot me off of the free version by the way) and I have a fix.

I have pushed this fix along with a few others to 0.5.4.1 in Scripts (I did not increment Tools or WWW.) As always, existing users of BrewPi Remix 0.5.3.0 and above may upgrade with:

sudo /home/brewpi/utils/doUpdate.sh

If you are not on version 0.5.3.0 or above, use the following command to upgrade to the latest version:

curl -L upgrade.brewpiremix.com | sudo bash

This must be run from within your /home/brewpi directory or from each chamber directory in multi-chamber mode.

Changes are:

• Add in Sentry SDK
• Get rid of Tiltbridge spam when Tiltbrodge goes out of range
• Extend iSpindel timeout from 300 to 1800 seconds in case iSpindel is configured for < 30 mins
• Fix scipy errors
• Prevent reinstalling every package
• Give better error message on GitHub failure
• Removed Pastebin from install list (deprecated)
• Fix Aioblescan error when no Bluetooth ratio is present and Tilt is configured
• Fix process does not exist error during upgrade

 

[Thorrak]

I told you that it was only a matter of time before you got kicked off.

 

[LBussy]

Yeah but it was one dude Or dudette I guess. One person for sure.

 

[LBussy]

I'd also like to announce that with the release of 0.5.4.0, BrewPi Remix supports Brew Bubbles.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

https://docs.brewbubbles.com/en/latest/