PicoBrew Zymatic

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adguyer said:
Nevermind, Both sides were air bound. I put 1 PSI into both sides then the pumps started working. I think they just needed to get wet. But I am getting lots of server errors. I didn't try my other machine to see if it is on their side. After a few re-tries, it works.
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That's what I would have recommended. The pumps are diaphragm pumps and they will stick if they dry out with any wort residue on them. It sounds like it needs a really good deep cleaning and overnight soak.
 
It actually was almost spotless. 3 small floaters with a clean cycle with cascade! I think they just got bound. I had to get creative putting 1 PSI on the step filter drain...
 
Looking for some help... My Zymatic had been working great after I added the catch-can and topped off the glycol, but then all of a sudden I start getting all these server errors, fatal error 7 and fatal error 1 again. So, I tear it all down again, top off the glycol, do an overnight deep clean, etc., but it is not improving. The biggest problem seems to be the server errors, which keep it from ever brewing a recipe. I even moved the Wi-Fi router next to the Zymatic. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
ipsonse said:
Looking for some help... My Zymatic had been working great after I added the catch-can and topped off the glycol, but then all of a sudden I start getting all these server errors, fatal error 7 and fatal error 1 again. So, I tear it all down again, top off the glycol, do an overnight deep clean, etc., but it is not improving. The biggest problem seems to be the server errors, which keep it from ever brewing a recipe. I even moved the Wi-Fi router next to the Zymatic. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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I'm a computer guy. Always in fortune 500 companies. If you are still getting server errors, and the router is close by, just plug in a network cable. Eliminate WIFI being a potential issue. Fatal errors from what I've seen are temp sensor variations related to air pockets in the heating loop. It sucks that these machines have to get the recipes from a web database, then also when starting a brew or clean, it needs a connection to the internet to also upload a data log. This new machine I bought keeps giving me server errors on WIFI, after 4 or 5 retires it goes through. But, I do not have a hard-wired cable close enough to get plugged directly in. I have a second machine that I need to finish putting in the reservoir in. The second machine I keep running PBW through with the step filter and line sample port removed and I can't believe that chunks or wort residue is still coming out. It was crystalized in the lines and I ran a brush through them while apart. With a res installed, I'd just tip the machine with a circulate cycle going. Tip backward first, pump to heat, then rotate to left for right side to first sensor, then forward to heat exchanger, the left to return it back to res. Keeping the res full. So, basically start leaning the machine backwards and rotate clockwise.
 
adguyer said:
I'm a computer guy. Always in fortune 500 companies. If you are still getting server errors, and the router is close by, just plug in a network cable. Eliminate WIFI being a potential issue. Fatal errors from what I've seen are temp sensor variations related to air pockets in the heating loop. It sucks that these machines have to get the recipes from a web database, then also when starting a brew or clean, it needs a connection to the internet to also upload a data log. This new machine I bought keeps giving me server errors on WIFI, after 4 or 5 retires it goes through. But, I do not have a hard-wired cable close enough to get plugged directly in. I have a second machine that I need to finish putting in the reservoir in. The second machine I keep running PBW through with the step filter and line sample port removed and I can't believe that chunks or wort residue is still coming out. It was crystalized in the lines and I ran a brush through them while apart. With a res installed, I'd just tip the machine with a circulate cycle going. Tip backward first, pump to heat, then rotate to left for right side to first sensor, then forward to heat exchanger, the left to return it back to res. Keeping the res full. So, basically start leaning the machine backwards and rotate clockwise.
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Thanks for the tips. I will try them out this evening and see if I get any further.
 
Been reading on some of the other forums that Zymatics are getting the same error 7 when connected to picobrew server. The offline options are a good option (GitHub chiefwigms or Small Brewing Companion) that works.
 
@ipsonse How soon after you get the Error 7 do you get the Error 1? If it is a significant amount of time that's probably the reason. The Zymtic has three temp sensors and the difference between those is what triggers the Error 1. If you have the reservoir and have topped off, you shouldn't be getting the Error 1, caused by air gaps in the loop, anymore. It could be that the temp differences between the sensors is actually too far apart.

If you are still trying to operate off of the Picobrew server, do yourself a huge favor and switch to the Raspberry Pi solution. There are plenty of people who can help with that if you run into issues. Check out the FB group Picobrewers for instructions and help.
 
Mike Howard said:
@ipsonse How soon after you get the Error 7 do you get the Error 1? If it is a significant amount of time that's probably the reason. The Zymtic has three temp sensors and the difference between those is what triggers the Error 1. If you have the reservoir and have topped off, you shouldn't be getting the Error 1, caused by air gaps in the loop, anymore. It could be that the temp differences between the sensors is actually too far apart.

If you are still trying to operate off of the Picobrew server, do yourself a huge favor and switch to the Raspberry Pi solution. There are plenty of people who can help with that if you run into issues. Check out the FB group Picobrewers for instructions and help.
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Thanks, Mike. In switching to the Raspberry Pi solution, I have searched the FB group you recommended, but did not see a complete 'how to' on doing this. I would like to know the equipment I would need to buy, but then a step by step guide to setting it all up. Does that exist? I'm a little intimidated by this whole transition. I look forward to your insight.
 
So, I've made the decision to run my Zymatic off of a local server, but now the question is, how do I find a raspberry pi 4 model b 2gb at a reasonable price? Due to the global chip shortage, there doesn't seem to be any of these around (any of the normal outlets) unless you want to pay over $100 on eBay. Does anyone on the forum know of any secret stashes or even have a used one laying around you would want to part with? Please advise.
 
Yeah - the guide that @Trevor Mack made (@BuckoWA posted it) is a pretty detailed. With the zymatics/z you really don't need a pi as they have Ethernet and can be connected to a local PC (with some minor tweaks). The server on GitHub (GitHub - chiefwigms/picobrew_pico) runs on anything that python can run on. Post any questions you have here or on Facebook and we'll get you up and running!
 
@Mike Howard - I was pointed in your direction. Just set up a used Zymatic that has been sitting a while, and I'm getting Fatal Error #1 repeatedly during cleaning cycles (despite the water circulating well), so I'm suspecting a glycol issue. Would you mind sending me a copy of the refill instructions? Thanks very much in advance!
 
solinvicta said:
@Mike Howard - I was pointed in your direction. Just set up a used Zymatic that has been sitting a while, and I'm getting Fatal Error #1 repeatedly during cleaning cycles (despite the water circulating well), so I'm suspecting a glycol issue. Would you mind sending me a copy of the refill instructions? Thanks very much in advance!
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Mike's instructions are great. Also, check out page 53 of this thread.
 
chiefwigms said:
Yeah - the guide that @Trevor Mack made (@BuckoWA posted it) is a pretty detailed. With the zymatics/z you really don't need a pi as they have Ethernet and can be connected to a local PC (with some minor tweaks). The server on GitHub (GitHub - chiefwigms/picobrew_pico) runs on anything that python can run on. Post any questions you have here or on Facebook and we'll get you up and running!
Click to expand...
@chiefwigms - I do have an old windows based laptop running Windows 7. Might that work? Would you be open to providing instruction to me over email or text to guide me through setting this up? I am not all that software/server savvy.
 
So, I was getting an "error 1" and tried adding glycol (per instructions from @Mike Howard ) and added a reservoir per the post with pictures on page 53 from @memphisbrews . Haven't run a FULL cleaning cycle yet, but made it through the heating step without error, which is a first!

The question I had is - there's still a small amount of air in the line. And I notice that the upper part of the reservoir, the drainage port, bubbles slightly when the glycol is circulating (it does not appear to leak). Is this okay / expected? I assumed this is just it separating out the gas, but I'm used to all the tubing connections being tight / no bubbles or leaks that I thought I should check before sealing things up.

If this isn't expected, what am I missing?
 
@solinvicta What do you mean "bubbles slightly"? As in glycol is leaking out of the top of the reservoir? If so, that's not good. If it's just bubbles that you see in the tubing, going into the reservoir, then that is normal.

You shouldn't see a large amount of bubbles leaving the reservoir and heading to the glycol pump though. A small amount of micro bubbles is normal, but the main idea of the reservoir is to trap the large pockets of air prior to the glycol entering the pump.
 
Mike Howard said:
@solinvicta What do you mean "bubbles slightly"? As in glycol is leaking out of the top of the reservoir? If so, that's not good. If it's just bubbles that you see in the tubing, going into the reservoir, then that is normal.
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Yes, there is a small amount of glycol and external bubbles. This is from the barb attached to the (now-upward-facing) drain port. It is tight...should I maybe add a rubber grommet in between the barb and the body of the reservoir?
 
Thanks Mike! I hadn't realized it would be necessary for these connections. There was an O ring that I think I'd left out, added that and some pipe thread compound (didn't have plumber's tape handy) and it seems fixed. I'm just letting it circulate for a while now to see how it holds up.
 
Just some updates, as I've been trying to resolve an "error #1" message using the excellent instructions from @Mike Howard - just thought I'd add a bunch of boneheaded things that have gone wrong for me along the way, in case they are helpful to others who are not used to these kinds of repairs. Most apply to installing a reservoir, which is where I hit the problems.

1) Some tools that I found handy - angle cutters were great for taking old clamps off. I had a goose neck kettle, and found that was a perfect size for topping off the glycol, without using a funnel

2) Most errors I wound up with were due to glycol leaks, and were stupid things I'd done, including: insufficiently tightened screw clamps, missing o-rings, and no plumbers tape around reservoir fittings. Also, test before you close everything up, let it sit, and test again if you aren't confident! If you have a reservoir, a slow leak might mean that it runs an immediate test successfully, then leaks enough to fail later.

3) Error #1 returned after plugging all the leaks. It turned out that this was due to a kink in the glycol line. If you introduce a kink, even not a full one, it will prevent the glycol from circulating, and lead to the same error!

4) I found that, for testing error #1, a brewing recipe (with empty step filter) was faster than the cleaning cycle. The reason was that it put the wort heating FIRST, which triggers the error.

5) I can understand how some people get hooked on servicing these things. The first breakdown took a few hours, but now that I have everything memorized, it's pretty quick!
 
I added a reservoir tube (like a few members did in the facebook group) on two zymatics I was rehabing...
For a test run, I ran a quick step to heat to boil & circulate a gallon of water +cascade through it, without having the hose clamp on the barb at the end of the line. About 15 minutes in, I heard a loud pop and saw liquid every where (I replaced all the wort lines in the system, and at first thought it was one of them, but it turned out to be the glycol plug) - looks like as the glycol gets there's pressure build up - maybe some of the pex fittings from the factory aren't 100% tight and small leaking/air gets sucked in (the glycol that flew out was ~4 inches of the 3/8" ID line) ? Just a theory for the missing glycol.
res_tube.PNG
 
My theory has always been atomization of the glycol liquid at every connection point, which is why I only recommend the metal overflow reservoir. This allows for liquid expansion as the air will compress. You never see any fluid leaks anywhere, so IMO it has to be vaporization.
 
I've got a question. I went through the process linked above of getting a server running on a raspberry pi. I can connect my Zymatic to the PICOBREW access point, but then when I try to load the recipes on the machine, I get a message that it "can't get to picobrew.com to load recipes". Is this something anyones seen before or knows how to resolve?
Thanks
 
bajema said:
I've got a question. I went through the process linked above of getting a server running on a raspberry pi. I can connect my Zymatic to the PICOBREW access point, but then when I try to load the recipes on the machine, I get a message that it "can't get to picobrew.com to load recipes". Is this something anyones seen before or knows how to resolve?
Thanks
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Make a recipe first - the only ones that are included are cleaning ones. And I'd recommend using Ethernet instead of wifi if you can
 
Likely your Pi switched to an available 5ghz broadcast of your home WiFi you configured. If you setup the credentials in the wpa_supplicant.conf file manually try to navigate in your browser to the setup screen and re-configure the wifi credentials against a detected 2.4ghz broadcast said (known as a bssid).

Some routers are intelligent enough to detect the Pi's client interface as supporting 2.4 and 5.0ghz and will force a connection to 5.0ghz. unfortunately if and when that happens the Picobrew devices can no longer detect or connect to the PICOBREW network since they ONLY support the older 2.4ghz frequencies... Annoying I know, but nothing we can do this was a limitation built into the systems by Picobrew (and many other IoT devices also have this hardware limitation).

Apart from that you can try and setup say a guest network and disable 5.0ghz on it and have your Pi connect to that. Or go fully offline and remove the connection to your WiFi (just type in invalid credentials in that setup screen mentioned above).

More complex workarounds involve buying a cheap usb-wifi adapter and manually configuring ap0 and wlan0 on the separate antennas vs our default dual client/AP mode we are doing out of the box. However, you will need to log into the pi terminal and modify those configurations yourself at this point as none of the current contributors have this problem themselves so haven't worked on more complex workarounds to this problem. If anyone does go this route please contribute to the GitHub project what you did specifically and that information will help any future user in the community.
 
Trevor Mack said:
Likely your Pi switched to an available 5ghz broadcast of your home WiFi you configured. If you setup the credentials in the wpa_supplicant.conf file manually try to navigate in your browser to the setup screen and re-configure the wifi credentials against a detected 2.4ghz broadcast said (known as a bssid).

Some routers are intelligent enough to detect the Pi's client interface as supporting 2.4 and 5.0ghz and will force a connection to 5.0ghz. unfortunately if and when that happens the Picobrew devices can no longer detect or connect to the PICOBREW network since they ONLY support the older 2.4ghz frequencies... Annoying I know, but nothing we can do this was a limitation built into the systems by Picobrew (and many other IoT devices also have this hardware limitation).

Apart from that you can try and setup say a guest network and disable 5.0ghz on it and have your Pi connect to that. Or go fully offline and remove the connection to your WiFi (just type in invalid credentials in that setup screen mentioned above).

More complex workarounds involve buying a cheap usb-wifi adapter and manually configuring ap0 and wlan0 on the separate antennas vs our default dual client/AP mode we are doing out of the box. However, you will need to log into the pi terminal and modify those configurations yourself at this point as none of the current contributors have this problem themselves so haven't worked on more complex workarounds to this problem. If anyone does go this route please contribute to the GitHub project what you did specifically and that information will help any future user in the community.
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but he probably doesn't have a recipe and is just getting an error if it connected. you wouldn't see the can't connect to picobrew.com (at least i don't think)
 
OK, I took the apostrophe out of the two recipes, The recipes have now come up on my Zymatic screen. Thank you for suggesting the “odd” character - apparently the Zymatic doesn’t like seeing special characters.
Are the number of recipes limited? Can I only have 5 recipes loaded at a time? The reason I’m asking is the Clean v1/v6 and rinse are no longer on the Zymatic screen.
 
Screen shot again.
 

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Special characters have strange behavior on the Picobrew machines. We should work to prevent more of these from getting to the machine by encoding the recipe names down to simple ascii ... This hasn't been the first time that this was the root cause of a problem like this.

Glad you got the recipes to show up! Hopefully in time to get your brew day started/finished.
 
Is there a way I can disable or not sync my recipes to the server from my recipe library, without deleting them? That way I can load just the one or two recipes I need for the day without loosing the rinse and deep clean recipes.
 
Run out of day. Will give it another go tomorrow morning.
Thank you soooooo much for all your help. I will let you know how this brew pans out.
 

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