Raspberry Pi controlling Avantco IC3500 induction heater single kettle system

[beersugar]

Hi! I wanted to post the github I just published here so hopefully someone else is helped by this.
Using a Raspberry Pi 3b+, DS18B20 temperature sensors, a 3.5" LCD screen, an Avantco IC3500 induction heater, and a 10 gallon kettle, I put together a system which has been making me very happy. I downsized from a 15 gallon system using CraftBeerPi and then did a few batches without any control, which felt like a massive downgrade, mash temperatures-wise. So I went in on following the guidance of others on this forum and set up really simple control through the raspberry pi. I've now gone a little further and put together a set of scripts to make a little kiosk and web interface for temperature control. I wanted to provide my work for other people to use and a little guidance. Facts are I probably missed some stuff but I'm very proud of myself.
Here's the Github link:
https://github.com/eamwind/BrewControlPi

 

[bkboiler]

Wow, this is incredible, thanks for sharing. I have an induction burner (just 1800W), but it's digital buttons based, so I figured tearing it apart to try to figure out how to drive the element (inductor?) was less fruitful that looking into other heating methods ...seeing that you have accomplished this I'll definitely give it another look! Thanks!

 

[beersugar]

There's no risk in taking a look and if there's something to solder to/ interact with it should be possible. You can also take a look at the work done here
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/avantco-ic3500-induction-burner-hacked-by-an-arduino.643805/
where he basically replaced the interface board.

Wow, this is incredible, thanks for sharing. I have an induction burner (just 1800W), but it's digital buttons based, so I figured tearing it apart to try to figure out how to drive the element (inductor?) was less fruitful that looking into other heating methods ...seeing that you have accomplished this I'll definitely give it another look! Thanks!

 

[beersugar]

Coming back after more brews and a little more time and I'm planning a new step in the project. It turns out that the IC3500 really isn't a great option for this because the lowest setting was holding around 154 for 5 gallons, so mash temperature control isn't great. From this, I think I am going to follow in the footsteps of the giant Lmiller1708, linked above, and do a more complete replacement of the system. I'm just planning this and I plan to post about it once I've gotten somewhere but some interesting notes are that my IC board is very different from the previous hack, but I think that's a good thing and it will be simpler. Additionally, I'm switching from a raspberry pi to an ESP32 controller with fine tuning coming from a computer. It just seems more convenient.

 

[IslandLizard]

Good hearing back from you on this interesting project!

It turns out that the IC3500 really isn't a great option for this because the lowest setting was holding around 154 for 5 gallons, so mash temperature control isn't great.

In this scenario, is the mash kettle directly heated by the IC3500?
Is the mash being agitated constantly, or at least while the heating cycle is on?

BTW, Avantco now also has a probe version of the IC3500.
I have no experience with that unit, but think the probe has (very) limited usefulness when brewing beer.

 

[beersugar]

In this scenario, is the mash kettle directly heated by the IC3500?
Is the mash being agitated constantly, or at least while the heating cycle is on?

Yeah this is a single-vessel BIAB system, I separate the grains from the bottom by hanging the bag at all times at different heights -- not doing this would probably be a problem -- and I have a pump to keep circulating water from the bottom to top of the grain. It's not perfect, it's not HERMs, but if I just had finer temperature control I would be happy.

 

[doug293cz]

BTW, Avantco now also has a probe version of the IC3500.
I have no experience with that unit, but think the probe has (very) limited usefulness when brewing beer.

Why would you think that the probed version has limited usefulness for brewing? Seems like you could place the probe thru a gland in a tee fitting on the vessel outlet to the recirc pump, and then let the probe+controller hold a mash temp constant, or ramp to a higher temp. Would need a second thermometer to determine the temp delta between wort exit temp and bulk mash temp to get precise mash temp control, but that is something that you should be doing with any heated recirculating mash anyway.

Slightly related question: Avantco says the max vessel bottom diameter should be limited to 10.25", presumably due to the lip around the edges of the unit. Many brewing vessels have a larger diameter than this, so would be sitting on the edge lip, rather than flat on the cooking surface. Does this in any way adversely affect operation?

Brew on