iSpindle - DIY Electronic Hydrometer

[smithsh]

Hi guys! I'm new here, but I've been brewing beer for 4 years. I assembled my first iSpindle and with the iSpindel_4.0 board from here.
I flashed the program 6.2.0 without problems. But the device freezes during calibration, the blue light was on constantly. I waited about 40 minutes, then just turned it off. After switching on, the LED flashes quickly about 2 times per second. Blinks at the same frequency as if flashing. Then I tried to clear everything according to the instructions. Cleaned and flashed programs 6.0.6, 6.1.3, again 6.2.0, all firmware are successful but after the switching On LED flashes again the same way, 2 times per second.
Maybe someone of you have encountered such a situation and can help me with this? I do not understand Arduino, I do everything according to the instructions, write to me more simply. Also I am very bad in English, I can’t read the whole forum, maybe there is already an answer there, but I can’t find it. Sorry and thanks

Mine did exactly this when I had a bad gyro board. If you go to the device information page, this usually shows up as reading "0.0" tilt angle. I actually had 3 bad gyro boards out of a box of 10, exhibiting the exact behavior you described. Replaced those boards and all is well now. Apparently it is a common problem.
There is something in this thread from a while back where someone posted the address of a supplier they have used and never got a bad gyro board, so you might look for that. If I was going to build 5 more of these I would buy 10 of the GY521 boards

 

[Seram]

Mine did exactly this when I had a bad gyro board. If you go to the device information page, this usually shows up as reading "0.0" tilt angle. I actually had 3 bad gyro boards out of a box of 10, exhibiting the exact behavior you described. Replaced those boards and all is well now. Apparently it is a common problem.

You're right, thanks.
Of the three of my collected devices, two do not show the angle, but show SG. And one shows the angle, but does not show SG. But all works correct on BrewSpy app!!!

Maybe someone will find it useful, but in one Russian forum, the guy who collected more than a dozen devices, advised me to buy modules only from LOLIN Official Store on AliExpress. There are Chinese "originals" parts

 

[Positronic_Matrix]

Do you happen to have a link to the parts list that would work with your board?

I just purchased all the parts from the links provided on the opensourcedistilling.com website here. I used a combination of Amazon and eBay sources, spending a total of $132 on the board and parts.

I (almost) have sufficient parts to build five units. (I need to spend an additional $12 to procure more Wemos D1 boards but left those out for now to spread the cost over time.) So the total cost to buy in with a minimum order on everything is about $144, which will build out five units.

Based on the material costs, the price of a single iSpindel is approximately $29. However, this is inflated due to multiple components that can only be ordered in quantity (e.g., resistors, switch, battery holder, rectifier). If I only had to buy the minimum amount of hardware, the total cost per unit would be approximately $23.

Note that the shipping times on some of these parts can be quite long. I ordered the parts at the end of Feb 2020, however some of the hardware will not arrive until the end Apr 2020 — two full months.

Edit: Fixed temperature-sensor price.

 

[smithsh]

The most expensive component is the thermometer, which accounts for approximately 20% of the cost. I’m going to see if I can source a cheaper one in the future, after I build a couple of these out.

Not sure where you bought the thermometers, but those should be one of the cheapest components at a few cents each. I thought I overpaid when I had to order mine from Amazon, and those were $8 for a pack of 5.

 

[Positronic_Matrix]

Not sure where you bought the thermometers, but those should be one of the cheapest components at a few cents each. I thought I overpaid when I had to order mine from Amazon, and those were $8 for a pack of 5.

Mine were $14 for a pack of 2. The price is just right out.

My approach was to buy the minimum possible of the more expensive parts to get this project going ASAP and then source the full build list cheaper on a site like Digikey. The end goal being to create a more affordable list (or kit), that delivers faster.

 

[gromitdj]

Mine were $14 for a pack of 2...

You can get them for $1.75 each @ Tayda Electronics, But they'll take a little while to get to you.

Cheaper on Aliexpress, but I've order the ones from Tayda and have had no issues.

 

[smithsh]

Mine were $14 for a pack of 2. The price is just right out.

My approach was to buy the minimum possible of the more expensive parts to get this project going ASAP and then source the full build list cheaper on a site like Digikey. The end goal being to create a more affordable list (or kit), that delivers faster.

I understand the reasoning, because I did the same for my first D1 mini. Had to pay something like $8.99 to get it from Amazon just to get one working while I waited on the $3 ones from China.
I'm just wondering what part number you are ordering for the thermometer, because that is outrageous for something so tiny with no electronics. Here is a link to the ones I got...looks like they sell in a 10 pack for $10 now...with one day shipping https://www.amazon.com/Eiechip-DS18...sr_1_3?keywords=ds18b20&qid=1582812087&sr=8-3

 

[Positronic_Matrix]

I understand the reasoning, because I did the same for my first D1 mini. Had to pay something like $8.99 to get it from Amazon just to get one working while I waited on the $3 ones from China.
I'm just wondering what part number you are ordering for the thermometer, because that is outrageous for something so tiny with no electronics. Here is a link to the ones I got...looks like they sell in a 10 pack for $10 now...with one day shipping https://www.amazon.com/Eiechip-DS18...sr_1_3?keywords=ds18b20&qid=1582812087&sr=8-3

Oh my. I looked up my order and it’s actually 10 pieces of DS18B20 for $14. So I bought 20 of them thinking it was two. Thus their price is $1.40 apiece. I have thermometers, people. I shall measure everything.

I updated my predicted cost per unit in the post above to reflect the lower price of the temperature sensor. It’s now ($23 min, $29 max, $144 total initial outlay).

 

[BreeBrew]

I bought 10 pieces of the temp sensor at 41 eurocents a piece including shipping. Downside: it takes a couple of weeks.

#Aliexpress € 2,71 13%OFF | 10Pcs DS18B20 To-92 Temperatuursensor Thermometer Temperatuur Sensor 100% Nieuwe Oorsprong
https://a.aliexpress.com/_dXcCzKR

 

[bscuderi]

Finally got around to building 3 last night using the cherry Phillip 4.0 board. I Couldn’t get the battery conversion factor dialed in and that’s when I realized I used 220 ohm resistors instead of 220 kohm resistors guess I didn’t notice the k. Hopefully I didn’t do any damage. I ordered some 220 kohm from mason when they get delivered I’ll heat up the old ones and pop them off. How likely did I do any damage. They seemed fine just read a higher than actual battery voltage even with the max conversion factor set. I’ll just not turn them on again until I get the right part.

 

[jimdkc]

Finally got around to building 3 last night using the cherry Phillip 4.0 board. I Couldn’t get the battery conversion factor dialed in and that’s when I realized I used 220 ohm resistors instead of 220 kohm resistors guess I didn’t notice the k. Hopefully I didn’t do any damage. I ordered some 220 kohm from mason when they get delivered I’ll heat up the old ones and pop them off. How likely did I do any damage. They seemed fine just read a higher than actual battery voltage even with the max conversion factor set. I’ll just not turn them on again until I get the right part. View attachment 669483

If you didn't let any of the magic smoke out, you may still be good to go!

 

[twistedterrainbrewery]

I'm keeping an eye on this one. I like it!

 

[Seram]

Well, out of five possible devices, only three work...
Two have been swimming for å week. I am very pleased with the accuracy

 

[Hopmonkey]

I have built a few of theses and find them to work very well. I wasn't expecting the accuracy. Well surprised.
It's great to have data from inside the fermenter.

What are people using as the data storage?
Brewspy seems good.

My thought was to send the data to an sql database and use a graphing library to display the results.
This keeps everything "in-house" and allows me to control it end to end.

Has anyone has success sending the data to php/sql?
I ran into a few issues.

cheers
Hopmonkey

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

I have built a few of theses and find them to work very well. I wasn't expecting the accuracy. Well surprised.
It's great to have data from inside the fermenter.

What are people using as the data storage?
Brewspy seems good.

My thought was to send the data to an sql database and use a graphing library to display the results.
This keeps everything "in-house" and allows me to control it end to end.

Has anyone has success sending the data to php/sql?
I ran into a few issues.

cheers
Hopmonkey

I too investigated the PHP/MySQL route. Then I discovered Fermentrack which is written in Python but does everything I wanted: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...rewpi-www-replacement-for-raspberry-pi.649303

 

[Hopmonkey]

I too investigated the PHP/MySQL route. Then I discovered Fermentrack which is written in Python but does everything I wanted: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...rewpi-www-replacement-for-raspberry-pi.649303

Thanks for the quick reply, and the link. I'll take a look.

Were you able to get data to the database?
I currently have my recipes and brew data in my database. I would like to link this data in as well.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Anybody know where I can find the 4.0 Gerber files

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

Thanks for the quick reply, and the link. I'll take a look.

Were you able to get data to the database?
I currently have my recipes and brew data in my database. I would like to link this data in as well.

I never went that far down the PHP path before I came across Fermentrack. I use BeerSmith so it was never an issue for me to connect the recipe to fermentation data.

 

[Hopmonkey]

I never went that far down the PHP path before I came across Fermentrack. I use BeerSmith so it was never an issue for me to connect the recipe to fermentation data.

Yeah, I use beersmith as well. I put my recipes in a database to make them easier to search thru. With a click of a button, I can have the recipe from beersmith to sql.
If I want all recipes with a specific ingredient, I can run a query. I really don't like how the recipes are saved (some bastardized version of xml). It makes it impossible to search for specific parameters.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

Anybody know where I can find the 4.0 Gerber files

Bottom of this post at PCBway: https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/iSpndel_4_0.html

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Bottom of this post at PCBway: https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/iSpndel_4_0.html

I tried that but it wouldn't let me load-"Sorry, the author doesn't allow others to download the files."

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

I tried that but it wouldn't let me load-"Sorry, the author doesn't allow others to download the files."

I apologize. I was very sure that I had downloaded them from there before.

Looks like he deleted them from his GitHub. I think the RAR file is still available in this commit: https://github.com/cherryphilip74/iSpindel-PCB/tree/4324b6a314d2ef0845d63ae496183e6908edbab9

Though that seems to be a slightly older version.

 

[IanJ]

Does anyone know if the XL or XXL preforms can fit into a 6 gallon Better Bottle neck?

Dimensions/specs posted in various places seem to have conflicting information about it. From what I've read it won't fit in a glass carboy, however those openings are about 1/4-1/2 inch smaller I believe.

 

[jimdkc]

I bought these XL Preforms on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/132379354446

I just measured one with a caliper. Diameter at widest point is: 1.697 Inches or 43.1 mm

This is around the raised ring just under the cap. You could (in theory) probably sand or grind that raised ring off and get the size down to about: 1.616 Inches or 41.1 mm (The diameter of the cap.)

(Definitely won't fit in a glass carboy!)

 

[IanJ]

I bought these XL Preforms on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/132379354446

I just measured one with a caliper. Diameter at widest point is: 1.697 Inches or 43.1 mm

This is around the raised ring just under the cap. You could (in theory) probably sand or grind that raised ring off and get the size down to about: 1.616 Inches or 41.1 mm (The diameter of the cap.)

(Definitely won't fit in a glass carboy!)

Awesome, thanks! Those were the ones I was looking at, and seemingly the only reliable place to buy.

So I don't have an accurate measuring device beyond a few rulers, but from what I can tell the ID of an unused 3 gallon BB is approximately 1.75" so theoretically those should fit without any shaving needed, but if it comes to that, grinding the lip with a dremel or fine grit sand paper, maybe even melting it with a heat gun or something to keep it smooth and avoid harboring bacteria, would be super easy.

Think I'm going to order the parts and see how it goes, at best I'll have one that works for me, and at worst I'll have some completed pieces to sell/give away to others because I can't use em

Now, to decide on which PCB to go with...

 

[bscuderi]

So I went for the first actual run of actual use on my ispindels In a beer and it was a failure. I planned on using two step calibration just floated in water and then on my beer with a known og once I switched to normal mode i would get one reading communicated with fermenttack but then it wouldn’t come out of deep sleep on the interval. I never noticed cause in my testing I never thought to tAke it beyond the first reading as it communicated like it was supposed to and thats all I thought to test besides the configuration mode. I thought maybe it was just the one device so I threw a second one in the same brew and same thing. Where can I start for troubleshooting this one? I used the cherry Phillip 4.0 and the bat 43 diode. when I get back from my trip I’ll reheat the solder points on reset and d0 as well as the diode spot. Is there any other multimeter tests I can run to see where me my issue is? Bad batch of diodes or boards? I’m pretty sure I lined the strip on the diode up with the picture on the board.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

So I went for the first actual run of actual use on my ispindels In a beer and it was a failure. I planned on using two step calibration just floated in water and then on my beer with a known og once I switched to normal mode i would get one reading communicated with fermenttack but then it wouldn’t come out of deep sleep on the interval. I never noticed cause in my testing I never thought to tAke it beyond the first reading as it communicated like it was supposed to and thats all I thought to test besides the configuration mode. I thought maybe it was just the one device so I threw a second one in the same brew and same thing. Where can I start for troubleshooting this one? I used the cherry Phillip 4.0 and the bat 43 diode. when I get back from my trip I’ll reheat the solder points on reset and d0 as well as the diode spot. Is there any other multimeter tests I can run to see where me my issue is? Bad batch of diodes or boards? I’m pretty sure I lined the strip on the diode up with the picture on the board.

You'll need to go back and follow the Easy method (I) calibration steps (https://github.com/universam1/iSpindel/blob/master/docs/Calibration_en.md) to make sure the iSpindel is actually working correctly. Set your update interval to 20 seconds. Then enter all of the values in Fermentrack.

Once I ran through calibration I ran a 3 day test with the iSpindel reporting to Fermentrack every 20 seconds. Upon completion of the 3 day test, I reset the interval to 900 seconds and used it in an actual ferment. That went perfectly. I ran a second iSpindel in another ferment a few weeks later, that one didn't work correctly at all. Even though It worked perfectly in the 3 day test. I ended up having to reflash it with info from this post: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/...tronic-hydrometer.598187/page-19#post-8366882 and reset all of the settings to get it working again.

Also check the iSpindel info on the configuration screen to make sure the gyroscope is working correctly. I had the gyroscope fail on one of mine. Caused all kinds of chaos when I stopped receiving updates and didn't think to check the info.

 

[kdw2pd]

Does anyone happen to have some random components they'd be willing to sell me? I need 1 each of: D1 mini, BAT43, battery charger, toggle switch, and Petling bottle?

Bought parts for a group order, and ended up with odd numbers of a couple of components.

 

[pocketmon]

So I went for the first actual run of actual use on my ispindels In a beer and it was a failure. I planned on using two step calibration just floated in water and then on my beer with a known og once I switched to normal mode i would get one reading communicated with fermenttack but then it wouldn’t come out of deep sleep on the interval. I never noticed cause in my testing I never thought to tAke it beyond the first reading as it communicated like it was supposed to and thats all I thought to test besides the configuration mode. I thought maybe it was just the one device so I threw a second one in the same brew and same thing. Where can I start for troubleshooting this one? I used the cherry Phillip 4.0 and the bat 43 diode. when I get back from my trip I’ll reheat the solder points on reset and d0 as well as the diode spot. Is there any other multimeter tests I can run to see where me my issue is? Bad batch of diodes or boards? I’m pretty sure I lined the strip on the diode up with the picture on the board.

First of all, check if your iSpindel does wake up or not by watching the LED on D1 mini board. You could set the report period to a shorter time.

 

[kdw2pd]

What container are people using for the test in pure water, and for the easy sugar calibration? I don't have any containers that are both wide and deep enough for the iSpindel to float freely other than fermenters. It's currently sitting at 27.4 degrees in 63 degree tap water in the fermenter without weights after offset calibration, so pretty close there. I could fill up 5 gallons of 1.085 sugar wash, then pour half out and refill to 5 gallons for each dilution step, but if there was a better option I'd take that first.