iSpindle - DIY Electronic Hydrometer

[ZeSlammy]

Howdy. I received some peltings/preforms to build some iSpindels but the majority have scuffs or scratches on them. The vendor indicates these are normal, is that what others have found?

Out of maybe 100 iSpindels I built so far, I had ONE pelting with a dent in the lid. They are otherwise pristine.

That being said, not sure it matters, it just means extra cleaning.

 

[Elvet]

Thanks. I have also spent a lot of time looking for a suitable, affordable, easily obtainable container and the 50ml centrifuge tube is the best option I have found so far. There are 100ml tubes on Amazon, but they have metal caps that don't look like I want them in my beer and you usually have to buy a bunch of them making them not too cost effective when you only want a couple and aren't sure if they will work. I have one that a non-food product came in and if I can find a plastic cap that fits it I might give it a try. The RAPT Pill container looks interesting, but I imagine, like the Tilt is is custom for them. It is getting close to a tempting price.

View attachment 720696

I've been looking into this myself - have you considered rigid plastic pipes with push-fit caps/bungs bought separately? Looking at eBay I can get 30mm clear acrylic tubes with an inner diameter of 28mm (or 28mm with inner of 26mm). These can be cut to length by hand and the bottom end sealed with food-safe sealant. I know off-the-shelf containers would be ideal but if we're going to the effort of hand-soldering boards then a little bit of DIY doesn't seem too extreme!

In terms of general requirements for a container:
As far as I can see from the iSpindel bill of materials, the Wemos D1 is the widest part in the tube with at 25.6mm. Ignoring wiring/solder/supports and using a 18650 battery you get to a weight of about 70g inside the tube.

To get the tube to float it will need to hold at least ~70cm^3 (70ml) of air plus enough to offset the weight of the tube itself. The original Petling XL bottle holds 105cm^3 (105ml) so to be close to that a 28mm inner diameter tube would need to be ~170mm long and a 26mm inner diameter tube ~200mm long

 

[DuncB]

The syringe holder in my picture above was 190mm long, widest 40mm at the top and then 29 mm until the taper at the bottom. It floated with all of the bulbous bit above the wort line. Because it was long I was able to get the battery and all the electronics ( except wifi antenna and induction chargin loop ) low down in the bottle. This helped with the tilting moment as the higher the mass in tube it needs counterbalancing at the far end to get that 25 degrees. Perspex tubing I considered as well, seemed expensive ( and quite heavy ) but if it was internally threaded and a lid designed to screw in could be very good.
I await your design.

 

[James_42]

I am interested too. Just be aware that although the widest component is the D1 mini, depending on how many parts you solder together and how you fit them together, you might need something a little wider. I have a little perf board that is exactly the same as the wemos d1 mini, but with the headers, accelerometer board, resistors, etc. it makes a sandwich that needs a wider tube than the D1 mini alone, which is why I was wondering which parts I could leave out.

 

[DuncB]

You need all of the parts I think. But variance available for the sled and battery holder.
You can reduce the post heights so that you have less separation between the boards. Or just solder the posts in such a way that you can't take them apart. Not too much of a problem. This will reduce the width by a few mm.

 

[kpietro22]

Hello everyone, I have a question related to flashing the d1 mini. I have built two ISpindels, both with the pcb from opensourcedistilling. Previously, both of my units were working/have been flashed, and I was able to connect to them via wifi. Original problem was with the gyroscope, receiving NaN values. I opted to swap out the gyroscope and as luck would have it, only one of the ISpindels will connect to wifi. My problem is in trying to flash the non working unit. When I power on the ISpindel, I see a solid blue light. After locating the firmware and pressing flash, the blue led blinks once and then turns off. It seems like the flash process is stalling. I can see in the nodemcu log that it says "Begin find ESP8266". I have also tried connecting it to Putty to see if I could find the problem, but it is just showing constantly refreshing gibberish. Battery is fully charged. Would some problem with the gyroscope completely throw off the boot process of the d1 mini? please help, I have been trying to build these for a few months now and have had individual problems with individual parts at each turn.

 

[ZeSlammy]

So what is the situation on the one you are trying to flash ? All elements are presents ? You put in a new Gyro ?
Putty sends data to the serial port ? Gibberish means you might not have the proper speed to dialog with your iSpindel.

 

[kpietro22]

@ZeSlammy all elements are correctly soldered. Both of them WERE working and transmitting WiFi before I swapped the gyros. Now that both of them have new gyros, only one will do WiFi. The other one shows a solid blue led when powered on. No matter how many times I press the reset button it stays solid.

 

[ZeSlammy]

Have you tried changing the baud rate at which putty dialog with the "solid blue" one ?
You remove the battery when you soldered ? (Silly question but I fried one iSpindel not doing that )

 

[kpietro22]

@ZeSlammy it was originally flashed with the most recent firmware at baud rate 115200. So in putty I switched it to the correct com port and respective baud rate. And yes I am certain that I removed the battery before soldering. Is there any line in the code that throws off the wemos startup if there is an issue with the gyro? I am trying to avoid buying a new wemos ad I know they take time to ship and I had this one connected to WiFi before ...

 

[Bobo1898]

I used the "search this thread" feature for keywords but didn't see anything on the subject. Forgive me if I missed it.

How are people's battery life? I've had battery issues with my iSpindel. My battery was dying within 9 days of fermentation.

While my device is typically inside a SS Brew Bucket, inside a fridge (with a glass door), it's 6 feet away from the modem. Thinking it was possible it was the signal strength, I put it directly next to the modem as a test and it still died within 9 days. Thinking this must be the battery, I replaced it.

Now, the new battery dies in 17 days. I understand it's not particularly good for these batteries to die, so I imagine it's lifespan will get worse over time.

I'm reporting data every 30 minutes, which I understood on the iSpindel website that it could last for almost 3 months. I may not need 3 months of use, but I'm at least hoping it can last through my primary fermentation schedule. I've double checked my data points on Ubidots and it's pretty much spot on every 30 minutes.

I thought maybe I'd query what other's battery usage is like? Is this out of the ordinary?

I'm using NCR18650B Li-ion MH12210 batteries.

This was not purchased pre-assembled. My buddy put it together for me and he followed the schematic/instructions on the iSpindel site. On the schematic, there's an option to use either a diode or a resistor. He ended up choosing the resistor because he had them on hand. But even then, he suggested this shouldn't affect power consumption.

 

[rsquared]

I used the "search this thread" feature for keywords but didn't see anything on the subject. Forgive me if I missed it.

How are people's battery life? I've had battery issues with my iSpindel. My battery was dying within 9 days of fermentation.

While my device is typically inside a SS Brew Bucket, inside a fridge (with a glass door), it's 6 feet away from the modem. Thinking it was possible it was the signal strength, I put it directly next to the modem as a test and it still died within 9 days. Thinking this must be the battery, I replaced it.

Now, the new battery dies in 17 days. I understand it's not particularly good for these batteries to die, so I imagine it's lifespan will get worse over time.

I'm reporting data every 30 minutes, which I understood on the iSpindel website that it could last for almost 3 months. I may not need 3 months of use, but I'm at least hoping it can last through my primary fermentation schedule. I've double checked my data points on Ubidots and it's pretty much spot on every 30 minutes.

I thought maybe I'd query what other's battery usage is like? Is this out of the ordinary?

I'm using NCR18650B Li-ion MH12210 batteries.

This was not purchased pre-assembled. My buddy put it together for me and he followed the schematic/instructions on the iSpindel site. On the schematic, there's an option to use either a diode or a resistor. He ended up choosing the resistor because he had them on hand. But even then, he suggested this shouldn't affect power consumption.

What is the mAh of your batteries? Signal strength could have something to do with it, but that still seems quite short. I ran a mead (in a plastic bucket, no refrigerator) for just over 2 months at 15 minute intervals on a 3500 mAh battery. I've got another brew going on that same iSpindel, this time in a chest freezer (still in a plastic bucket) and at the 13 day mark the battery is reporting 3.97 volts. For comparison, these batteries have a nominal 3.7 volt rating, but at full charge they are typically around 4.2.

 

[Bobo1898]

What is the mAh of your batteries?

Thanks for the response. If I'm not mistaken, I thought it was around 3400 mAh.

Signal strength could have something to do with it, but that still seems quite short. I ran a mead (in a plastic bucket, no refrigerator) for just over 2 months at 15 minute intervals on a 3500 mAh battery.

To further clarify the test I ran next to the modem----I fully charged the device and put it in distilled water in plastic tupperware, used for food, directly next to the modem---it still died in 9 days. I would hope signal strength wasn't an issue in this case, but maybe it's possible.

The full charge of these was also 4.2v. I think the nominal rating is around 3.6v according to a Panasonic stat sheet.

 

[BreeBrew]

Thanks for the response. If I'm not mistaken, I thought it was around 3400 mAh.



To further clarify the test I ran next to the modem----I fully charged the device and put it in distilled water in plastic tupperware, used for food, directly next to the modem---it still died in 9 days. I would hope signal strength wasn't an issue in this case, but maybe it's possible.

The full charge of these was also 4.2v. I think the nominal rating is around 3.6v according to a Panasonic stat sheet.

The battery in the iSpindel doesn't just die. At, I think, 3.2V it starts reporting every hour instead of what is set if that is below an hour.
At 2.5V the iSpindel puts itself off.
So if your battery just dies, there's probably something wrong with the TP4056, that is the part the battery is attached to and that controls charging, prevents overcharging and that shuts the iSpindel down if voltage is to low. That is if you have the right TP4056 installed, the one with protection.
There are also TP4056's without protection, they are used with protected batteries. You have a battery without protection so you need the TP4056 with protection. If you have the right one installed then there is maybe a shortage somewhere, I would check the soldering first. These are the right TP4056's, they have 6 holes. The wrong ones have only 4 holes.

 

[DuncB]

@Bobo1898

Just checking that you have the interval for signalling set to 1800 seconds? that is half an hour.
If you have it set for 30 seconds battery life will be poor.

 

[Bobo1898]

The battery in the iSpindel doesn't just die. At, I think, 3.2V it starts reporting every hour instead of what is set if that is below an hour.
At 2.5V the iSpindel puts itself off.

Maybe "die" was the wrong terminology? Perhaps it's putting itself off then. It gets down to 2.5 or 2.6v within the 9 day period on the old battery. And then 17 day period with the new battery. In both cases, it's no longer reporting or "on" at that point.

If you have the right one installed then there is maybe a shortage somewhere, I would check the soldering first. These are the right TP4056's, they have 6 holes. The wrong ones have only 4 holes.

I'm attaching an image of mine. Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears to be the one with protection.

@Bobo1898
Just checking that you have the interval for signalling set to 1800 seconds? that is half an hour.
If you have it set for 30 seconds battery life will be poor.

I do have it set to 1800 intervals, but it's a good question anyhow.

 

[HarryB]

How are people's battery life? I've had battery issues with my iSpindel. My battery was dying within 9 days of fermentation.

While my device is typically inside a SS Brew Bucket, inside a fridge (with a glass door), it's 6 feet away from the modem. Thinking it was possible it was the signal strength, I put it directly next to the modem as a test and it still died within 9 days. Thinking this must be the battery, I replaced it.

Now, the new battery dies in 17 days. I understand it's not particularly good for these batteries to die, so I imagine it's lifespan will get worse over time.

A couple of possible points on battery life...

1. There are lots of fake 18650 batteries around, they need to be sourced from reliable sources. In the UK, I bought my 3400mAh from Torchy.

2. When running, there should only be an occasional flash from the iSpindel at the time it transmits a data batch. If the LED on the gyro is constantly lit, that will seriously reduce your run time. The simple way to prevent that, is to simply snip through the middle of the LED with some small snips to break the component, rather than attempt to desolder.

I use the above 18650 and my iSpindle runs for many weeks reporting every 10 minutes. I have yet to even find how many weeks it will run on a single charge. I don't think it makes any difference to battery life, how far it is from your wifi access point - the iSpindel just blindly fires off a batch of data and hopes it gets through.

 

[BreeBrew]

Maybe "die" was the wrong terminology? Perhaps it's putting itself off then. It gets down to 2.5 or 2.6v within the 9 day period on the old battery. And then 17 day period with the new battery. In both cases, it's no longer reporting or "on" at that point.
I'm attaching an image of mine. Correct me if I'm wrong but it appears to be the one with protection.

You have the right one and it seems to operate in the right manner like switching it off when it gets down to 2.5V. However, there seems to be no solder at all at B- that could be a problem. It honors your mate that he soldered this together "the old way". Nowadays there are more elegant solutions with less hassle to put it together, like the PCB attached. I have one left with the resistors and diode already soldered on to them and I am happy to send it to you but as I am EU based and I dove in to this I thought "I'll put it in an envelope and send it which will cost 4 euros" but it isn't allowed anymore to send goods in an envelope and frank it as a letter. They will just confiscate it, the US wants to know what is in it before it is send and I should send it as a package with a customs declaration form CN22, and that costs 11 euros(about 13,50USD). And then to think I had these made in the US a couple of years ago at pcbs.io.

I use the above 18650 and my iSpindle runs for many weeks reporting every 10 minutes. I have yet to even find how many weeks it will run on a single charge.

I also use the same battery and it runs at an interval rate of 15 minutes for about 80 days before it shuts itself off.

 

[NeoBrew]

I don't have a horse in this race as I've sort of reached my saturation point with complexity of brewing for me and DIY, but with all the work you are going through trying to find the perfect tube, why don't you design and make your own? It would be relatively simple to mock up a prototype, create a silicone mold, and cast a food safe epoxy resin enclosure. You would even be free of the constraints of the cylinder shape.

 

[HarryB]

I don't have a horse in this race as I've sort of reached my saturation point with complexity of brewing for me and DIY, but with all the work you are going through trying to find the perfect tube, why don't you design and make your own? It would be relatively simple to mock up a prototype, create a silicone mold, and cast a food safe epoxy resin enclosure. You would even be free of the constraints of the cylinder shape.

I don't think that using standard ready to use electronic modules, the size can be reduced. The small PET is a perfect size to house what we have, the only way to make it smaller would be to use custom electronics, which would be very expensive.

 

[Bobo1898]

A couple of possible points on battery life...

1. There are lots of fake 18650 batteries around, they need to be sourced from reliable sources. In the UK, I bought my 3400mAh from Torchy.

2. When running, there should only be an occasional flash from the iSpindel at the time it transmits a data batch. If the LED on the gyro is constantly lit, that will seriously reduce your run time. The simple way to prevent that, is to simply snip through the middle of the LED with some small snips to break the component, rather than attempt to desolder.

1. This is very likely. All the parts were bought from AliExpress EXCEPT the batteries and the whatever he had on hand. The batteries were bought on Amazon from who knows where? Oddly enough, or not surprisingly, old link to these batteries doesn't have them as a product anymore, which further suggests this is the problem.

2. Yeah the LED is never on constantly so I don't believe this is an issue. I have a feeling this all pointed back to the battery.

It honors your mate that he soldered this together "the old way".

Haha I'm sure he'll dig this.

You have the right one and it seems to operate in the right manner like switching it off when it gets down to 2.5V. However, there seems to be no solder at all at B- that could be a problem.

I have one left with the resistors and diode already soldered on to them and I am happy to send it to you but as I am EU based and I dove in to this I thought "I'll put it in an envelope and send it which will cost 4 euros" but it isn't allowed anymore to send goods in an envelope and frank it as a letter. They will just confiscate it, the US wants to know what is in it before it is send and I should send it as a package with a customs declaration form CN22, and that costs 11 euros(about 13,50USD). And then to think I had these made in the US a couple of years ago at pcbs.io.

Thanks for the kind suggestion. Probably no need to send it. In regards to the lack of solder at B-, I may investigate the battery side first before looking at replacing the PCB.

 

[LBussy]

the only way to make it smaller would be to use custom electronics, which would be very expensive.

At the risk of sounding like every other dude on the Internet who corrects other people on the Internet (A.K.A: Cunningham's Law): You could go with a bare ESP8266 module, and then the max-width goes from 25.7mm to 16.1mm. While I suppose that could be considered "custom electronics," you're making a circuit board anyway and could go ahead and add the other necessary components. Since there's no serial circuit, you would have to use a test/burning fixture but and potentially some other changes, but I don't think it's correct to say there's no way to get smaller.

 

[DuncB]

Has anyone on this forum tried / built one of these?

https://www.diyhomebrewers.com/2021/03/repetidor-ispindel-con-display-oled.html
Translate it from Spanish and it looks like a useful addition for the price.

 

[LBussy]

Maybe I'm just being a dense American - but why would you need a repeater for something that's already on WiFi?

 

[DuncB]

Seems to be for people who don't want to go on web access and don't want to use a device to read the data off such as laptop yet do want to have a device to read! Making a solution for a non problem.
Personally I'm happy with brewspy and not having to run to the fridge to get a reading.

 

[BreeBrew]

Has anyone on this forum tried / built one of these?

https://www.diyhomebrewers.com/2021/03/repetidor-ispindel-con-display-oled.html
Translate it from Spanish and it looks like a useful addition for the price.

I didn't build one but I did buy one overhere:
http://www.nautilis.eu/en/portfolio-item/nautilis-ispindel-relay/

Maybe I'm just being a dense American - but why would you need a repeater for something that's already on WiFi?

Because my fermentation chamber is an old fridge standing in my shed at the end of the garden 50 feet from the back of my house with armed concrete walls with the central router at the front of the house. I could do without but then I have a lot of gaps in between the reports of the iSpindel and I also just like a cool gadget
However, if you have a situation like mine and on top of that, you ferment in a stainless steel fermenter then you probably will need one. You can also buy a cheaper regular repeater but this is so much cooler.

 

[BreeBrew]

And the thingy in action:

 

[DuncB]

@BreeBrew
Saw the nautilus on David Heath channel.
It does all you want by the sounds of it.
I just reconfigured a spare router as my relay with a cable connection but my brewery isn't in an old pill box or bunker by the sound of it's construct.

 

[DuncB]

However no relay can help my ispindel at the moment as it sank when I put some pressure on the ferment. Thought the router had gone down at first.
So my first NEIPA is double dry hopped and spindelled and cold crashing at the moment.
Soldering iron is going to have to come out again.

 

[LBussy]

Lithium dry hopping. Yum!

I guess that makes sense, and having a local display is handy. Lord knows I have come to depend on my TiltBridge display.