iSpindle - DIY Electronic Hydrometer

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Then it's even easier, just shave down the bottom tab.
im was already all the way shaved down on my bottom tab on the jeffrey and i just shaved some off the top of the pcb too now seems i got one lid on tight.. perhaps this was the ticket... I still would be interested if the cap design could be improved at all. I found some custom bottle cap creators in openscad but I'm not the best at this stuff and I don't have a caliper so I doubt i can get accurate enough measurements to create a file to use as replacement caps or even start to modify to create a more rugged cap. Id definitley still be interested in this as a posibility as Im sure im not the only one who has broken a cap and now has a worthless tube ahaha data points since plopping it back on there seem stable now and make sense.. temp took a bit to stablize coming from out of the chamber. But it doesn’t look like it’s sinking anymore.
 

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I see... Cutting the corners of the cherry phillip pcb lets it sit a littler further in the tube which allows you to screw the lid on very tightly. I have had no leaking issues doing it that way. Not sure how the jeffery pcb sits but it may help that one too.
Excellent tip I did that on my second board with the cherry Phillip and the lid closes no issues at all. Awesome I got both the cherry Phillip and the Jeffrey floating together in the beer with my two working caps now to see how they behave and make sure neither leak.
 
Excellent tip I did that on my second board with the cherry Phillip and the lid closes no issues at all. Awesome I got both the cherry Phillip and the Jeffrey floating together in the beer with my two working caps now to see how they behave and make sure neither leak.
Ugh the Jeffrey one still leaks. It stopped reporting again so I fished it out I think this tube and lid combo is just bad. I’m going to wait until my new tubes arrive before I float this one again bad news is the leaking beer caused damage this time. It was running down into the switch caused it to gum up and break it. Verified with a load meter it wasn’t switching so I unsoldered the charger to kind of expose the switch to attempt to change it but it was too hard to change the switch I guess cause I screwed up those pads there probably cause it was difficult with the wemos in the way to unsolder cleanly that and IM terrible at Un-soldering . I need to get a wick my unsolder device is a suck tube thing and I’ve never gotten it to do a very clean job. After I couldn’t change the switch good news is with a new pcb I was able to at least save the charger and the gyro the wemos unfortunately did not live past my poor attempt at an unsolder... at least some components survived.
 
Any thoughts on whether or not this switch would work with the Jeffrey PCB?
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Apem/MHSS1105?qs=pNV45xh2Ia0pDJDMcFqmnQ==

The data sheet links are broken, but it looks right. The only measurement listed (switch travel) matches what I'm using, and I can't imagine the hole spacing being any different.

It is however missing the additional mechanical connections, so you would be relying on the three through hole solder joints to take the force of switching it on and off every time.
 
The data sheet links are broken, but it looks right. The only measurement listed (switch travel) matches what I'm using, and I can't imagine the hole spacing being any different.

It is however missing the additional mechanical connections, so you would be relying on the three through hole solder joints to take the force of switching it on and off every time.
Thanks. I may try some in a pinch. The ones with the mechanical supports take forever to get in.
 
Any thoughts on whether or not this switch would work with the Jeffrey PCB?
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Apem/MHSS1105?qs=pNV45xh2Ia0pDJDMcFqmnQ==

Here's the link to the manufacturer's data sheet:

Datasheet

The terminal spacing is 2mm, which means this switch should fit and work fine. Note that this switch only includes the switch terminals. It does not include the 2 frame PCB tabs on either side. You will leave those holes on the PCB empty. It will not affect the function of the switch. Those tabs provide some mechanical support and shielding, but neither should be that important for this use. The 3 terminal solder points should be enough.
 
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Diode ratings are maximums. 200mA 30V means that diode can pass up to 200mA of forward current and it can withstand up to 30V of reverse voltage. So, generally speaking, using a diode with higher voltage and current ratings won't matter.

However... The important thing about the diode in the iSpindel is that it's a Schottky diode. Schottky diodes have much lower forward voltage when conducting and switch much faster than standard diodes. So you can't use just any old diode that meets the voltage and current specs.
 
Diode ratings are maximums. 200mA 30V means that diode can pass up to 200mA of forward current and it can withstand up to 30V of reverse voltage. So, generally speaking, using a diode with higher voltage and current ratings won't matter.

However... The important thing about the diode in the iSpindel is that it's a Schottky diode. Schottky diodes have much lower forward voltage when conducting and switch much faster than standard diodes. So you can't use just any old diode that meets the voltage and current specs.

Thanks,
I forget to specify that it was still a Schottky diode. Just looking at a 200mA - 100V DO35 instead of the 200mA 30V DO35.
 
Just curious if I am the only one interested in doing this and if anyone can share their process if they have done it.

I have my iSpindels connected to brewers friend. It is nice to track the fermentation history with a specific batch. However, I am missing the quick dashboard to show gravity at a quick glance. I noticed that brewers friend has a post forwarding feature and I am intrigued if you can forward the data post requests coming into BrewersFriend over to ubidots. I am assuming the url would be something like things.udibots.com{token}
 
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Just curious if I am the only one interested in doing this and if anyone can share their process if they have done it.

I have my iSpindels connected to brewers friend. It is nice to track the fermentation history with a specific batch. However, I am missing the quick dashboard to show gravity at a quick glance. I noticed that brewers friend has a post forwarding feature and I am intrigued if you can forward the data post requests coming into BrewersFriend over to ubidots. I am assuming the url would be something like things.udibots.com{token}

I do something similar to this but i use Fermentrac, which is a great piece of software if you have ispindels or diy brewpi devices. It is the same concept. I connect my ispindel to log the data to fermentrac and fermentrac has a forwarder setup that sends the data to brewers friend. Works very well and is pretty simple to setup.
 
I do something similar to this but i use Fermentrac, which is a great piece of software if you have ispindels or diy brewpi devices. It is the same concept. I connect my ispindel to log the data to fermentrac and fermentrac has a forwarder setup that sends the data to brewers friend. Works very well and is pretty simple to setup.
I am going to try this route.
 
Hi Guys
Have been using Ispindel for a while now and am working on a fully sealed one with induction charger. All seems to be good but wondering is there a way that the reset action can be performed with a reed switch.
I am using the mikmonken 2.1 motherboard and a D1 mini.

The jeffery motherboard has 2 pins on it that are shorted to allow reset.

Any ideas?

Second question is i want to use an ispindel just for remote temperature monitoring of some fridges at work, will it still work if the accelerometer is left out for these special builds?

Thanks

Duncan
 
Hi Guys
Have been using Ispindel for a while now and am working on a fully sealed one with induction charger. All seems to be good but wondering is there a way that the reset action can be performed with a reed switch.
I am using the mikmonken 2.1 motherboard and a D1 mini.

The jeffery motherboard has 2 pins on it that are shorted to allow reset.

Any ideas?

Second question is i want to use an ispindel just for remote temperature monitoring of some fridges at work, will it still work if the accelerometer is left out for these special builds?

Thanks

Duncan
I can answer the second question but would be interested in answers to the first question! No, you can't leave out any hardware without modifying the software. First thing the programme does is to check out the hardware and won't complete the boot process until it does.

Chris
 
I can answer the second question but would be interested in answers to the first question! No, you can't leave out any hardware without modifying the software. First thing the programme does is to check out the hardware and won't complete the boot process until it does.

Chris

Thank you Chris

We'll wait to see if anyone can answer the first question.
I have sent this question to a few other forums and will update this one if I get any info.

regards

Duncan
 
There are tiny (thus very low current) "rolling ball" switches available. They're the environmentally safe version of a classic mercury switch in function. One might be positioned so standing the 'Spindle on its head shorts the Reset signal...

Cheers!
 
There are tiny (thus very low current) "rolling ball" switches available. They're the environmentally safe version of a classic mercury switch in function. One might be positioned so standing the 'Spindle on its head shorts the Reset signal...

Cheers!
Thanks for this.

If I got one of these "rolling ball" switches do i put it in place of the normal reset switch?

Does the reset switch that is currently there work by breaking the circuit or making a circuit?

thanks

Duncan
 
Hi Guys
Have been using Ispindel for a while now and am working on a fully sealed one with induction charger. All seems to be good but wondering is there a way that the reset action can be performed with a reed switch.
I am using the mikmonken 2.1 motherboard and a D1 mini.

The jeffery motherboard has 2 pins on it that are shorted to allow reset.

Any ideas?

The Jeffry reset closes a circuit between the RST and G pins on the D1 mini. This just duplicates the function of the reset switch on the D1 itself.

I'm not familiar with the mikmonken board, but it if those aren't broken out anywhere on the board, you should still be able to wire a reed switch connected directly to the D1.
 
The Jeffry reset closes a circuit between the RST and G pins on the D1 mini. This just duplicates the function of the reset switch on the D1 itself.

I'm not familiar with the mikmonken board, but it if those aren't broken out anywhere on the board, you should still be able to wire a reed switch connected directly to the D1.

Thank you

Does it matter about the MM board?

The G pin seems to go up to the GND on the accelerometer and via another pin on the back of the D1 down to the motherboard. The RST on D1 goes down to RST on the MM board.
Could i test this by putting a wire on the RST and another on G pin on the D1 and then touch them together?

When you say closes a circuit does that mean the electricity flows or stops?

I'm thinking the reset switch makes a circuit not breaks the circuit. If so I would need an always open reed switch ( ie no circuit) for normal activity of the Ispindel which I complete the circuit to reset it, is that correct?

Can I replace the reset switch with the reed or ball switch I'm wondering?

thanks

Duncan
 
The switch on the Mikmonken board is not a reset switch. It is an on/off switch that cuts the positive 5v line from the LiPo charger to the Wemos.
Yes that's true.

I'm just interested in a different method of triggering the reset on the D1 mini by replacing the reset switch on the D1 or inserting elsewhere a reed switch that could do this, maybe the motherboard is a red herring here.

There isn't a need to turn the ispindel off when sealed or charging ( using a reed switch or other method) according to universam1, though it is a longer term goal once the always on reed switches arrive.

regards

Duncan
 
For one example of the "rolling ball" switch: Tilt ball switch.

173-03.jpg


This one weighs one gram, but there are bazillions of different versions in the wild, some even smaller/lighter...

Cheers!
Th
For one example of the "rolling ball" switch: Tilt ball switch.

173-03.jpg


This one weighs one gram, but there are bazillions of different versions in the wild, some even smaller/lighter...

Cheers!
Thanks for this. Useful link as well.

We did discuss these on page 24 when I broached the idea of a mercury tilt on off switch and found out they were a bit old hat ( and dangerous) . It was thought this could be a problem with high gravity beers with the ispindel floating more towards horizontal. Consequently interest in reed switch.

Can I solder this into the convenient looking holes on the other side of the reset switch on the D1 mini board? or do i need to take the switch off and attach it there? On the left in this picture.

Thanks

Duncan
ESP8266-WeMos-D1-Mini-pinout-gpio-pin.png
 
From what has been posted it's clear you want to short the two pads - and there's no need to remove anything, you can have the two "switches" in parallel with no problems at all.

But, clearly, "orientation matters", when mounting the ball switch wrt what you want to accomplish. Without knowing the particulars - some switches will close with the ball at the bottom but I expect others will close with the ball at the top - you'll first want to experiment with an ohmmeter to glean how a particular switch operates then orient the switch wrt the PCB so it only closes with the whole 'Spindle assembly in some extreme "not operating" orientation (like, totally inverted as I mentioned earlier)...

Cheers!
 
From what has been posted it's clear you want to short the two pads - and there's no need to remove anything, you can have the two "switches" in parallel with no problems at all.

But, clearly, "orientation matters", when mounting the ball switch wrt what you want to accomplish. Without knowing the particulars - some switches will close with the ball at the bottom but I expect others will close with the ball at the top - you'll first want to experiment with an ohmmeter to glean how a particular switch operates then orient the switch wrt the PCB so it only closes with the whole 'Spindle assembly in some extreme "not operating" orientation (like, totally inverted as I mentioned earlier)...

Cheers!
Great

I'll give it a go and update the forum.

Thank you
 
I am going to be moving away from Ubidots. In the near future they are going to be deprecating Ubidots for Education. This is/was their free version that allowed you to download the data. The future version of the free account will not let you download the data. In fact, on my last ferment I wasn't able to download the data from the Ubidots for Education account. I will likely just use my iSpindel connected to fermentrack and BrewPi Remix.

If you're not interested in downloading the data, Ubidots does have a nice graphical interface to view the data, however.
So in the future if I replace my battery and need to check configuration/calibration what site should I use if ubidots is taking away free version?
 
fermentrack on a pizero works great for me. You can even update the firmware of your ispindels from your web app.
I do use fermentrack on a Pizero but I wasn’t sure if I could use that but now that I think about it I’m hitting myself in the head with a 2x4 😫for asking such a dumb question. Of course I can run thru calibration step wort in there. Yes I am a 🤡
 
We did discuss these on page 24 when I broached the idea of a mercury tilt on off switch and found out they were a bit old hat ( and dangerous) . It was thought this could be a problem with high gravity beers with the ispindel floating more towards horizontal. Consequently interest in reed switch.

As it was said you don't need to remove existing RESET switch. Just wire your switch between RST and Ground pads either on ESP itself or on board. However I'd recommend to install NO reed switch and use magnet to initiate a reset . Something like this should work fine - https://www.amazon.com/Cylewet-Normally-Magnetic-Induction-Electromagnetic/dp/B01NBPDU04/
 
No, you can't leave out any hardware without modifying the software. First thing the programme does is to check out the hardware and won't complete the boot process until it does.

Chris

If source code is available it's very easy to remove check for accelerometer.
 
So in the future if I replace my battery and need to check configuration/calibration what site should I use if ubidots is taking away free version?

They will still have a free version that you can use to view the data and dashboards. You just won't be able to download and save any data from the site.
 
I have been using Brewspy for a while now. It's an app on your phone, not for computers, but that is not an issue for me. But you can download your data, compare fermentations etc. It's a one time pay for the app.
Screenshot_20200926-001709_BrewSpy.jpg
 
I have been using Brewspy for a while now. It's an app on your phone, not for computers, but that is not an issue for me. But you can download your data, compare fermentations etc. It's a one time pay for the app.

I'm using Ubidots which seems to work great, although I would prefer an app on my mobile device (especially since someone on this thread suggested Ubidots will be going away from education). I think BrewSpy is only for Android phones. Anyone use an app for iPhone? I was thinking about forwarding the Ubidots data via Blynk since they have a mobile app but if Ubidots is moot, will need something else.

Forgive me, but side question with Ubidots. My dashboard has a widget for gravity. Can I create a widget that gives me specific gravity instead of Plato?
 
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