Ideal functionality of fermentation temp controller

[Homer1013]

Hello all,

I am a newb here and was wondering if you could send me some feedback?

I am in the process of developing a temp controller for my fermentation cooler. I have my own ideas of ideal functionality, but would love to hear what y'all have to say. What would you want your ideal temp controller to do or offer?

Thanks!

 

[day_trippr]

Greetings, @Homer1013, and welcome to HomeBrewTalk

Have you taken a look at either BrewPi or one of its derivatives (Fermentrack, for one example) wrt functionality?

They each support controlling a ferm chamber cooling and heating function using quasi PID algorithms, provide multiple control options (eg: control the chamber temperature based on chamber air temperature, or control the chamber temperature based on beer (fermentor) temperature), and also provide control using "Profiles" that allow programming time-based up/down temperature slopes.

Might give you some ideas...

Cheers!

 

[Homer1013]

Greetings, @Homer1013, and welcome to HomeBrewTalk

Have you taken a look at either BrewPi or one of its derivatives (Fermentrack, for one example) wrt functionality?

They each support controlling a ferm chamber cooling and heating function using quasi PID algorithms, provide multiple control options (eg: control the chamber temperature based on chamber air temperature, or control the chamber temperature based on beer (fermentor) temperature), and also provide control using "Profiles" that allow programming time-based up/down temperature slopes.

Might give you some ideas...

Cheers!

Thanks for the info!

I have been working on some of those same things with mine.
I really like the idea of having profiles that can be saved via microSD
I am planning on having a small display that you can scroll through options and set up profiles.

I will definitely have to look into those

 

[day_trippr]

Consider storing profiles on, say, your PC, and upload them when needed, rather than deal with an SD card (and all of its vulnerabilities). Most of the issues I've seen over the years here with monitor/control devices that rely on SD cards are in fact SD card failures.

fwiw, the paradigm BrewPi and Fermentrack use actually send control data from a host system that follows the actual profile - the profile isn't passed to the controller, it's kept local and when a ramp is needed the host sends each target temperature for the particular point in time, while the controller just updates to the next target temperature and applies heat/cold as necessary...

Cheers!