iSpindle - DIY Electronic Hydrometer

[terragady]

oki doki, I will try it next time, means tomorrow

 

[gromitdj]

I went through the whole calibration procedure with sugar and water. Measured 5 or 6 different densities/angles. Input them into the calibration tool. The first time I used it I felt that the Krausen that was present was enough to negate all that effort. Plus the next time I took the lid off and charged it, the plain water angle shifted enough that it probably wasn't accurate any longer anyhow.

The procedure I use is plenty accurate for what I expect to get out of the device.

 

[pocketmon]

Some more information to share. It's clear that formula from OG and water is good enough in most case.

Chart with formula from two additional calibrating points:

Chart with formula from only OG and water:

The effect of krause is also shown in the charts, around "08 Aug" and "10 Aug".

I fermented in a keg and use co2 to get sample. The ZigZag around 08 Aug seems to be caused by sample taking. However, the reporting period is 10 minutes while it took only 1 minutes to get my sample. It's not simply caused by bumping but effect of krausen.

This is by far the most acute moving I've seen. I think the reason is that it is a hefeweizen, which is known to have thick krausen. Other charts I have have less than 0.001 changes.

 

[terragady]

quite different but acceptable, mashing now, will do water+OG thing as well. So I need to activate "calibrate iSpindel" in logging and enter tilt in water and then OG at the main page?

 

[pocketmon]

quite different but acceptable, mashing now, will do water+OG thing as well. So I need to activate "calibrate iSpindel" in logging and enter tilt in water and then OG at the main page?

You have to input OG as SG. OG is used to calculate attenuation and ABV only.
I don't assume that the log starting from the begging. Current SG might NOT be the OG when starting LOG.

 

[terragady]

Started

is SG already corrected for temperature if I set it in option? Because I entered 1.057@20 manually but it momentally switched to 1.058

 

[der_Missionar]

Sorry for my ignorance, it sounds like you are re-calibrating this with each batch and each recharge?

Just wondering if it's more frustration than what its worth. The tech/cool factor is absolutely there... but...

 

[gromitdj]

With my method, it's not that difficult. If you utilize either the BrewPiLess or Fermentrack systems, it sounds like calibration is included in the software.

I like what i get out of it, and feel that it was worth the time and effort.

 

[terragady]

With my method, it's not that difficult. If you utilize either the BrewPiLess or Fermentrack systems, it sounds like calibration is included in the software.

I like what i get out of it, and feel that it was worth the time and effort.

Yes you were right, it seems that it works and is nice I am not using fermentrack, I do not like the idea of having another device (RPi) involved. BPL is as simply as it is and I like it, works awesome, author is awesome and responsive and helpful.

 

[LeeH]

HELP HELP HELP!

I'm trying to follow the instructions to the letter but they just marry up to what I'm looking at on my screen.

I have my formula from excel of 0.02721389*tilt^2 - 2.562205192*tilt + 59.91984454

STEP 8. Now you can fill in the formula from Excel. De parts in the formula shown as (tilt) has to be replaced. To do so click on insert variable and choose tilt. Give the newly created variable a name that does make sense, i.e. Density or Plato

What I'm looking at after 'derived' and adding 'tilt' is this!

So what am I supposed to do with that?

 

[LeeH]

Anyone?

 

[gromitdj]

You type in the formula in that field. Inserting the Tilt variable in the appropriate places.

 

[gromitdj]

Image of how I put it into my account below:

 

[julesd]

I think it gets a bit lost in translation, you're not short circuiting the wemos as such by removing the diode.

But by removing the diode you are preventing the wemos accidentally drawing power from the USB (whilst flashing) and the lipo powering it. Which knowing how sensitive the wemos is to over powering will stop the chip getting fried.

So does this mean I can leave the diode in place if I never plug it in while the charger/custom ispindel board is plugged in? If I need to reprogram, I can just unplug these?

 

[gromitdj]

No, the wemos will crash and burn if you don't remove it. At least mine did when I forgot...

 

[julesd]

No, the wemos will crash and burn if you don't remove it. At least mine did when I forgot...

Hmmm ok... I guess I have no choice then. I just don't understand why that is.

(P.s. nice avatar.. split, yeah?)

 

[gromitdj]

I'm not sure. I know it's a problem when the charger is plugged in. It may have burned up when I had it plugged in. I just figured that since it was being committed to this project, there was no significant reason not to remove it.

Also, I would assume it's a split with the semaphore. The vehicle is not mine, but I wish it was (it's an internet pic). I'm a huge fan of the VW Beetle. My first car was a '73, and I still own it.

 

[pocketmon]

I don’t really understand why, but Sam, the creator of iSpindel, did say that he have burned a few d1 mini’s by plug the usb with battery connected without removing the diode.

 

[flintoid]

has anyone had issues where their device starts to not report tilt? I've brewed a few times successfully with my iSpindel, but now it appears to not report the angle (it reports 0 degrees). I did manage to plug in the Wemos D1 to my USB charger before properly connecting it to the USB charging port. Perhaps I fried my gyro?

Or is there a minimum battery voltage that I need? It's reporting 4.144V right now, which seems low.

Or do these gyros sometimes die?

 

[terragady]

1.144V is veeery low, surprises me that ESP even powers up

 

[flintoid]

I'm glad I asked. I thought it seemed low. That's probably my issue.

 

[terragady]

I would say 3V is a kind of minimum for Li-ion bateries

 

[flintoid]

My apologies- I just rechecked and I had a severe brain fart- it's 4.144V. IIRC I think the ideal charged voltage is 4.2v on the battery.

I may have broken the gyro somehow. I'm recharging it as the krausen hasn't formed yet so at least I can see if it's a voltage issue.

and before I gum up this thread, I cycled the power while recharging it, and it now is reporting properly again. Weird.

 

[terragady]

4V14 is fine

 

[phreaky]

So I'm having a bit of trouble getting my spindel up and working, and can't figure out why. I have tried 3 different D1 minis, and tried several different versions of the firmware, but can not get it to show the ispindel config network. It does show a "farylink_XXXXXX" network, but I am unable to get a connection to that network using a laptop, tablet, or phone. Any thoughts on what I've got going on, or how I can get them working?

 

[kfladseth]

So I'm having a bit of trouble getting my spindel up and working, and can't figure out why. I have tried 3 different D1 minis, and tried several different versions of the firmware, but can not get it to show the ispindel config network. It does show a "farylink_XXXXXX" network, but I am unable to get a connection to that network using a laptop, tablet, or phone. Any thoughts on what I've got going on, or how I can get them working?

Have you tried to load the firmware using the micro-usb? D1 mini does not support OTA firmware update out of the box as far as I know. After you have loaded the first iSpindel firmware using usb, OTA updates are possible.

 

[phreaky]

Have you tried to load the firmware using the micro-usb? D1 mini does not support OTA firmware update out of the box as far as I know. After you have loaded the first iSpindel firmware using usb, OTA updates are possible.

Installing via USB is the only way I have tried so far.

 

[XBOXHACKER]

I was in the middle of designing my own iSpindle PCB and sled, when I can across this thread.

Gonna follow along and see how it goes.

 

[Kevwaller]

ive been trying to calibrate my ispindel for a while now, the excel sheet doesn’t load but the calibration tool does, can I use the formula generated?

 

[terragady]

yes of course, why not? I found that calibration is not needed really, 2 point formula is enough, water tilt and OG tilt