HOWTO - Make a BrewPi Fermentation Controller For Cheap

[daveMN]

Very cool! I'll give it a try when I get a chance.

 

[yttriummelt]

Late to the thread and ready to ask silly questions...setting up my electric brewery with an Arduino Yun and wondering if I can use BrewPi Remix with just the Arduino (which has onboard wifi, Linux, and web server) or do I also need the RaspberryPi?

 

[LBussy]

Late to the thread and ready to ask silly questions...setting up my electric brewery with an Arduino Yun and wondering if I can use BrewPi Remix with just the Arduino (which has onboard wifi, Linux, and web server) or do I also need the RaspberryPi?

I thought the YÚN was discontinued?

Anyway, from what I understand of the premise, it might work. That said there's never been any testing that I know of, and it's not what I would consider a supported platform. If the installer works, great! If not, I'm likely not going to put a lot of effort into figuring out why. No snarkiness, just practicality.

 

[yttriummelt]

The Yun Rev 2 rose from the ashes!

Thanks for quickly considering the possibility. It may be worth a try.

 

[LBussy]

BrewPiLess comes close to this on a single chip. It's not the same, but inspired by and born from BrewPi.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Is this something that might be of interest?
Lightweight justice for your SBC!

 

[LBussy]

Is this something that might be of interest?
Lightweight justice for your SBC!

I downloaded it and loaded it up. Not impressed. First of all, it defaults to a root login. It's 2020, root is not for logging in. It also did not support the wpa_supplicant settings, so there was no headless operation available after the first boot. Finally, I tried three times to get the damned wireless running and it will not for whatever reason. I don't care why. I should not have to work this hard at it.

At this point, if you can't afford an SD card big enough to run Raspbian, maybe this is the wrong pastime.

 

[daveMN]

Very cool! I'll give it a try when I get a chance.

Well, I gave it a try, and with all my noob enthusiasm ended up with this error:

Installed /usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/aioblescan-0.2.5-py3.7.egg
Processing dependencies for aioblescan==0.2.5
Finished processing dependencies for aioblescan==0.2.5

***Script doDepends.sh complete.***

Searching for default web location.

Found /var/www/html in /etc/apache2/sites-enabled/000-default*.

Using '/var/www/html' for web directory.

Web directory is not empty, backing up the web directory to:
/home/pi/2020-08-0621:36:52-WWW-Backup
mkdir: cannot create directory ‘/var/www/html’: Permission denied

Cloning web site to /var/www/html.
fatal: could not create work tree dir '/var/www/html': Permission denied

*** ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ***
-------------------------------------



See above lines for error message.
Setup NOT completed.

Further up the install, I also found this Apache error as well:

Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi apachectl[9842]: AH00558: apache2: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.1.1. Set the 'ServerName' directive globally to suppress this message
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi apachectl[9842]: (98)Address already in use: AH00072: make_sock: could not bind to address [::]:80
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi apachectl[9842]: (98)Address already in use: AH00072: make_sock: could not bind to address 0.0.0.0:80
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi apachectl[9842]: no listening sockets available, shutting down
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi apachectl[9842]: AH00015: Unable to open logs
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi apachectl[9842]: Action 'start' failed.
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi apachectl[9842]: The Apache error log may have more information.
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: apache2.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: apache2.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Aug 06 21:30:06 raspberrypi systemd[1]: Failed to start The Apache HTTP Server.

My first mistake was using "install.brewpiremix.com" instead of "upgrade.brewpiremix.com" as per the instructions above. The first error is different than the "fatal: A branch named 'master' already exists.," error above, so before I start pushing more wrong buttons, I figured I'd stop and ask what else I screwed up first. First thought is to run the uninstaller script then reinstall with the upgrade command.

 

[LBussy]

Well, I gave it a try, and with all my noob enthusiasm ended up with this error:

We can fix ya up.

What was the state of the system before you started? Was it running a version of BrewPi? If so, which one? Was it running Fermentrack?

If you were trying the BrewPi over Fermentrack, then the "install" was the right path. If that was the direction you took, I'd like to see the whole install log. I'll drop you a PM with my address.

 

[daveMN]

We can fix ya up.

What was the state of the system before you started? Was it running a version of BrewPi? If so, which one? Was it running Fermentrack?

If you were trying the BrewPi over Fermentrack, then the "install" was the right path. If that was the direction you took, I'd like to see the whole install log. I'll drop you a PM with my address.

Thanks Lee! I should be able to PM that to you tonight.

 

[disney7]

Hey guys, I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction here.

I have two identical BrewPi setups that I built years ago. They've been working flawlessly for forever.

They're built using the old BrewPi.com kit, with Raspberry Pi 3's, Arduino's, and have the LCD panel and rotary encoder.

Since I brewed last (probably back in March), the graphs have stopped working on both. If I start a new brew, the graph will display once after I click the "refresh" button that comes up when you start a new brew, but if I reload the web page or refresh from the browser, the graph will never display again. Interestingly, the graphs work for "previous brews" just fine.

I suspect it has something to do with the google.com/jsapi (which is referenced by the code) that has changed recently, but I'm not sure.

Any suggestions on where I could start looking to fix it?

I don't think I'm running the latest version of BrewPi that Elco released. I've compared, for example, my index.php main page against the latest (circa 2018) on the Git repository and they're different. I noticed the latest version didn't reference externally to google.

Is there any easy way to update to the latest BrewPi that supported my hardware? Looks like docs.brewpi.com is dead now.

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

 

[LBussy]

Have you been stopping and re-creating new brews each time?

Current efforts seem limited to my branch, BrewPi Remix. The docs (including legacy docs) are at BrewPi Remix Documentation — BrewPi Remix 0.5.3 documentation

 

[disney7]

Yes, each time I'll stop the brew at the end of fermentation and create a new brew when I start fermenting a new batch. Occasionally I'll SSH in and delete some of the old brews.

It was interesting that they both stopped displaying the active graph at the same time. I use one ferment chamber more often than the other, so they have vastly different numbers of previous brews stored on them. (maybe 15ish on one and half that on the other)

Its working and controlling the ferment chamber temp perfectly, as always. I just can't see the graph data. The web page has the LCD readout info at the top and the settings for mode at the bottom, but just a big empty white space where the graph should be.

I don't mind grabbing a new SD card and doing a new installation. Is the Remix install still working fully for everyone?

Thanks!

 

[LBussy]

Well, I'm the guy that maintains it so I'm sort of biased - but I think yes, it's pretty clean. Especially on a new SD card.

One major change you will see is that multiple chambers are supported. Be on the lookout for that and you can set it up as such during the install.

 

[disney7]

Well, I'm the guy that maintains it so I'm sort of biased - but I think yes, it's pretty clean. Especially on a new SD card.

One major change you will see is that multiple chambers are supported. Be on the lookout for that and you can set it up as such during the install.

Dude, you are frickin' awesome for keeping this project alive.

 

[LBussy]

Here to help and give back a little - I've received a lot from the community.

Are you in Maryville, MO?

 

[disney7]

Here to help and give back a little - I've received a lot from the community.

Are you in Maryville, MO?

No, a little further east in TN.

 

[LBussy]

Close!

Let me know if you have any issues setting up. If you're a bit more advanced than Noobs, I have also written a tool to enable Headless. With Raspbian's new imager, and then Headless Pi, setup is a breeze.

Then of course - the magic:

curl -L install.brewpiremix.com | sudo bash

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I have numerous BrewPi "classic" instances running - most for many years now - and graphing same as always.
If there's an issue it doesn't seem likely to be found at the google end...

Cheers!

 

[disney7]

That's interesting. I've tried many different browser (Chrome, FF, IE, Edge, Safari) and all have the same issue. Any chance you can check your index.php in the /var/www folder and see if it has any references to google.com/jsapi? That is the only thing that I could quickly find that seemed related to the graph generation and was external. Nothing else should have changed on my installs.

 

[day_trippr]

Zero instances of 'google' anywhere to be found.
Pretty sure BrewPi uses dygraphs js for graphing
http://dygraphs.com
Cheers!

 

[disney7]

My "classic" install must be older than yours.

I'm pretty sure my install is from late 2013 or early 2014.

 

[day_trippr]

[shrug] Installed 0.2 on March 2, 2014. Upgraded through 0.2.4 to 0.2.10 over the years...

Cheers!

 

[disney7]

[shrug] Installed 0.2 on March 2, 2014. Upgraded through 0.2.4 to 0.2.10 over the years...

Cheers!

Well, beats the heck out of me then. I'm installing a fresh download of Raspi and BrewPi Remix right now. If that doesn't work, then something really weird is afoot.

 

[LBussy]

Any chance you can check your index.php in the /var/www folder and see if it has any references to google.com/jsapi?

pi@mule:/var/www/html $ grep -rn . -e "google.com/jsapi"
pi@mule:/var/www/html $

Might be an old version of the chart?

https://www.sitepoint.com/community/t/what-is-this-for-http-www-google-com-jsapi/339683

 

[disney7]

Mine has:

<!-- Load scripts after the body, so they don't block rendering of the page -->
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-1.9.1.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-ui-1.10.3.custom.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-ui-timepicker-addon.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/jsapi"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/spin.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/dygraph-combined.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
// pass parameters to JavaScript
window.tempFormat = <?php echo "'$tempFormat'" ?>;
window.beerName = <?php echo "\"$beerName\""?>;
window.profileName = <?php echo "\"$profileName\""?>;
window.dateTimeFormat = <?php echo "\"$dateTimeFormat\""?>;
window.dateTimeFormatDisplay = <?php echo "\"$dateTimeFormatDisplay\""?>;
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/main.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/device-config.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/control-panel.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/maintenance-panel.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/beer-chart.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="js/profile-table.js"></script>

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I use the google graphing js api in my temperature logger so I did have an inkling what to look for. And best as I can remember the BrewPi plot functionality has been consistent since my first installation - and quite different from what I've gotten out of Google...

Cheers!

 

[disney7]

I got Remix running on my ancient Raspberry Pi with no problems and it works great... plus the graphing works now.

Not too much work and now I have an up to date OS and a modern BrewPi install. Win-Win.

Now I just have to wait until the lager in my other ferment chamber finishes so I can upgrade the other one.

Awesome work Remix guys! Can I send you some beer or something?

 

[LBussy]

Seeking help from the community!

I'm looking for a set of data files, preferably from a long-running batch (or two or three.) Maybe a lager? Something with Tilt would be ideal. I want to do some performance comparisons and to be honest, I don't keep my old log directories around. If you have such an archive and don't mind zipping it up and PMing me with it, I'd appreciate it very much.

If this post is still here, I'm still looking!

 

[skidmark]

OK, I seem to have messed something up ...

Started a new batch of beer. I realized that I had left BPR still logging from the last brew. Clicked "stop logging". Now, I am trying to start a new log, but when I try to change the name of the Fermenting beer, I first get a dialog box:

"You are currently not logging data.
What would you like to do?
Start new brew"

So, I enter the new beer name, and click "Start new brew", and instantly get this:

"Error: Could not receive reply from script"

A reboot didn't help. What am I missing here?