I am starting to think that the device will not transmit updates at the specified interval unless value(s) have changed, which makes sense from a battery saving perspective
Kegland Rapt Pill floating hydrometer temperature monitor
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It's half the price and allows you to monitor temp & fermentation progress. I've never used an iSpindle so I cannot compare
The pill is $60. Where do you see the iSpindle for $30?
Pill from Kegland : https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100....store_pc_allProduct.8148356.1.550c4139PsGyKa
iSpindle from most places : iSpindel - Smart WiFi Tilt Hydrometer
iSpindle from most places : iSpindel - Smart WiFi Tilt Hydrometer
Sorry, I was thinking of the Tilt which goes for ~$135, not iSpindle. Give it a try and let us know your experience.
Pretty cool that it's open source
Pretty cool that it's open source
I tried to look up ispindle to compare. I cannot find real product info, a review, or one listed for sale. .....So ...advantage Pill.
Edit: The link above was posted while I was searching. Seems interesting, but my guess is that its development potential won't keep pace with Kegland. But I agree I'll gladly read and consider whatever feedback users have to offer on it
Edit: The link above was posted while I was searching. Seems interesting, but my guess is that its development potential won't keep pace with Kegland. But I agree I'll gladly read and consider whatever feedback users have to offer on it
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I have used the iSpindle for a few months and it does what it says very well (Temp & SG) and a big plus is it can be intergrated with Brewfather - would not pay 2 x for the Pill for the same monitoring
Not sure about half price since it's £38gbp which is about $48us, plus shipping outside GB. Probably the same price since Ali is free shipping.
There is the video from Kegland below with some info. One benefit that I see is that the Pill is manufactured by a company, hopefully with a level of QA and support behind it (though likely made in China like much of the Kegland products) where iSpindle are more crowd sourced and assembled by a range of different people.
I don't think any of these products can be legally sold in the US due to patents by Tilt.
First batch finished up fermenting. This thing is awesome
I ordered one last month. Was estimated to arrive yesterday. Near as I can tell it's been stuck at Customs since April 21st. No eta just, "Sorry, logistics delay, we will delivery it to you as soon as possible." 
Mine sat there for the majority of the 3 weeks as well.
It shipped from China within 1-2 days, and once in the US through customs it travelled from LA to me in NJ in 2 days. So it sat there for 2.5 weeks. It was exactly 3 weeks from ordering to my door.
KegLand needs to make these available from MoreBeer
It shipped from China within 1-2 days, and once in the US through customs it travelled from LA to me in NJ in 2 days. So it sat there for 2.5 weeks. It was exactly 3 weeks from ordering to my door.
KegLand needs to make these available from MoreBeer
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Peeps in the US interested in the rapt pill should look for Canadian homebrew shops that deliver to US. Price at most is $80 cdn so if shipping is less than $50 cdn would be cheaper than Ali and would be way quicker as well.
https://homebrewjunction.com/products/rapt-pill?_pos=1&_psq=rapt&_ss=e&_v=1.0
https://homebrewjunction.com/products/rapt-pill?_pos=1&_psq=rapt&_ss=e&_v=1.0
I'm in my first batch with the pill and it started off great, but has not transmitted any data for 18 hours. I see the signal at -85dbm is kind of weak. I wonder if the wifi signal from my router is weak to the pill.
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That seems to be the issue with a few similar FB posts in the Rapt group there.
My Pill arrived a few days ago, and I charged it overnight. The red battery light was off when I woke up today, but I don’t have a USB-C cable get it on my network. I’ll see if I have one tomorrow at work, but I also ordered one from Amazon.
I typically ferment less than five feet from my router so my signal strength shouldn’t be an issue. Can’t wait to try mine.
*Oh, and make sure you’ve downloaded the latest firmware.
What cable did you use to charge the battery? I thought you could only use a USB C cable to charge.
Yes, to use the built in charging you just connect a USB C cable to a USB C charger.
I had a charger for a flash light that uses the same type of battery and used that to charge the battery. My battery level I don't think is accurate now in the telemetry feed so I'd avoid doing this
I had a charger for a flash light that uses the same type of battery and used that to charge the battery. My battery level I don't think is accurate now in the telemetry feed so I'd avoid doing this
I have a USB-C Lenovo laptop charger That I can plug into an outlet to charge the Pill, but not into my laptop to configure the Pill on my home network.....unless I'm not understanding the directions. They're a bit ambiguous. If I'm understanding correctly I need a USB-C to USB-A cable
You configure the device on a web-based interface after connecting it to your home network. It is not done over USB.
After connecting the device to a USB charger, it becomes discoverable as a network. You connect to it, enter the password, and you can then manage the device.
You don't need any specific variation of USB a/b/c to USB C, you just need a means of getting a USB C charge plug to the device -- what's on the other end doesn't matter.
After connecting the device to a USB charger, it becomes discoverable as a network. You connect to it, enter the password, and you can then manage the device.
You don't need any specific variation of USB a/b/c to USB C, you just need a means of getting a USB C charge plug to the device -- what's on the other end doesn't matter.
Thank you!! Bad assumption on my part. I've now got it registered and the firmware updated.
Glad you figured it out. You should now be able to go to RAPT Cloud on any device and access your Pill to check status of an ongoing brew, start a new brew, end an active brew, etc.
I moved my router next to the fermentation chamber and I'm getting readings again.
One other thing - I never saw the green LED light up any time during setup or handling. The only LED I saw was the solid red while charging. The device is working, but I thought I would see the green LED flash a ready signal or something.
I think mine did but don't recall, the instructions tell you what each light status indicates.
Once running, I believe it only lights up green when transmitting data
Once running, I believe it only lights up green when transmitting data
The RAPT Pill features two onboard LEDs CHARGING LED (RED): • Solid Red when plugged into USB type-C - Charging • Light Off when plugged into USB type-C –Fully Charged ESP LED (GREEN): • Slow Green Flashes – flashes when the captive portal is enabled and the Pill is searching for a Wi-Fi network. This will happen when the Pill is plugged in to USB-C the first time • Medium Green Flashes (roughly 2 per second) – The Pill is connected to Wi-Fi and active (plugged in via USB-C) • Fast Green Flashes – Movement detected while active (plugged in via USB-C) • Solid Green – when the device is awake and submitting telemetry (typically on for 20-30 seconds)
kigerbrewing
Active Member
Thank you for the link. I order this last week and it arrived in 7 days. After a few issues (battery terminals needed to be bent out to make better contact with the battery), I already have it in a 3 gallon test batch of pale ale and it is working perfectly. I'm fermenting in a fermzilla which is inside a refrigerator and the signal varies from fair to strong.
That is quick. The price looks to be about the same as Ali Express with the current exchange rate before shipping. Was shipping free?
kigerbrewing
Active Member
Shipping was around $15.00 I believe and I think the total came to $78.00 US.
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Did you calibrate it first? My first and only brew so far went as expected with this
Mine worked as expected also. I followed the instructions for simple single-point calibration in water.
I have yet to use mine in a brew but I did put it in a bucket of distilled water to make sure it would transmit and log data. It did, but the reading was way off. I then ran a calibration and retried it, and after that it read spot-on, 1.000
I have one running in a batch of Mexican Lager in my fermentor right now. It works perfectly and integrated well with Brewfather.
It does not appear to me that you can get an immediate reading from the pill. You just have to wait for it to transmit at its set interval. Can anyone confrm this is true, or is there a way to force a current reading. One thing I like more about the Tilt is the ability to get a real-time reading.
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I can't confirm whether or not there is a way to force a current reading. However when you can connect to the portal, if I remember correctly you can set how often you want the device to transmit. The default is every hour. Which is what mine is doing right now. While it is in use, I can't reconfigure it.... AFAIK.
The less often it has to transmit the longer the battery will last. Mine hasn't been charged in over two months and it still is showing over 98% battery remaining. And it's been in constant use.
Yes, you can actually see a live reading.
When the RAPT Pill is connected to your home network, enter the IP address that your routers DHCP server assigned to it into any web browser on your network.
Then click on Diagnostics on that page. It will show you everything, but the temp will be in Centigrade instead of Fahrenheit.
Yes, you can change your settings while it is in use. See the above post but instead of clicking on Diagnostics, click on Settings.
Thanks for the info! How do I click on diagnostics? My browsers just show that they can't open the page / unable to connect.
