The FerMonitor Lives

[mikeru22]

Heck, I'll help him for free....

 

[Hokie]

These folks are just about to hit the market...
http://www.thebeerbug.com/
https://twitter.com/theBeerBug/

HBT users got strung along. Either jmansfield is the worst business person ever, or it was a scam all along. Thankfully, other folks came through with something that looks promising.

 

[makomachine]

These folks are just about to hit the market...
http://www.thebeerbug.com/
https://twitter.com/theBeerBug/

HBT users got strung along. Either jmansfield is the worst business person ever, or it was a scam all along. Thankfully, other folks came through with something that looks promising.

Their site doesn't give away much in pictures, video, or detail. I'm interested but want to see it in action in a demo video with some more detail. If this just monitors temperature I think it's falling short of a true understanding of what homebrewer's really need. We need a device that not only monitors temperature but actually controls them as well. Being able to map out a fermentation temperature ramp and adjust temperatures via the beer bug would be key for me to plunk down this kind of money. Hydrometers are cheap and you can buy a temperature controller and fermwrap and get a much better use out of your tech.

 

[Hokie]

Their site doesn't give away much in pictures, video, or detail. I'm interested but want to see it in action in a demo video with some more detail. Very cool.

Ha, yeah, good catch. They've posted this picture pretty recently...
http://i.imgur.com/KoBKj.jpg

...and they have this video about it...


Edit:... and this article about the project: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/11/small-tech-helpful-bug-home-brewers

 

[makomachine]

Maybe I was a bit harsh about saying "falling short", but I definitely think they're missing opportunity with having both control and monitoring the same device. I'll stay tuned to see what people think about this as it's definitely a move in the right direction.

 

[Hokie]

Maybe I was a bit harsh about saying "falling short", but I definitely think they're missing opportunity with having both control and monitoring the same device. I'll stay tuned to see what people think about this as it's definitely a move in the right direction.

I agree that the details aren't really all that revealing, but I don't see why it would be impossible to incorporate an arduino device that could control relays and other devices. Like you said, it's a step in the right direction. Personally, I like the real time monitoring for little other reason than say:
- monitoring when the SG has leveled out and fermentation has ended without removing a drop of beer
- pin pointing when a diacetyl rest should occur in a lager fermentation
- tracking yeast performance given certain conditions
- last but not least, geek factor

Just my opinion though.

 

[MalFet]

Maybe I was a bit harsh about saying "falling short", but I definitely think they're missing opportunity with having both control and monitoring the same device. I'll stay tuned to see what people think about this as it's definitely a move in the right direction.

Why would we want another device to measure and control temperature? There are already dozens of solutions to exactly this problem, ranging from pre-packaged to hardcore DIY.

As yet, there's not a device that does realtime gravity readings in a way that can be integrated into an automation system. That would be something truly new.

 

[makomachine]

Why would we want another device to measure and control temperature? There are already dozens of solutions to exactly this problem, ranging from pre-packaged to hardcore DIY.

As yet, there's not a device that does realtime gravity readings in a way that can be integrated into an automation system. That would be something truly new.

Trust me I get the importance of the gravity reading and that's the only reason I'm interested. I just think that people shouldn't have to have multiple devices to accomplish something that is already in contact with the beer. I want to avoid multiple devices tracking my fermentation and controlling it.

 

[MalFet]

Trust me I get the importance of the gravity reading and that's the only reason I'm interested. I just think that people shouldn't have to have multiple devices to accomplish something that is already in contact with the beer. I want to avoid multiple devices tracking my fermentation and controlling it.

There's that side, but on the flip side adding integrated heating equipment would be the quickest way to ruin this hypothetical device for me. There are serious advantages to modularity.

 

[makomachine]

There's that side, but on the flip side adding integrated heating equipment would be the quickest way to ruin this hypothetical device for me. There are serious advantages to modularity.

I'm not talking about adding - I'm talking about controlling. A PID is cheap and having an add on module to integrate with a thermowrap and have capability to set it up to control while it's monitoring is a great value. On a business trip and need to do a diacytl rest on your lager? Just whip out the iPad. Make it an add on if you will.

 

[MalFet]

I'm not talking about adding - I'm talking about controlling. A PID is cheap and having an add on module to integrate with a thermowrap and have capability to set it up to control while it's monitoring is a great value. On a business trip and need to do a diacytl rest on your lager? Just whip out the iPad. Make it an add on if you will.

PIDs aren't that cheap, and if this came with one the first thing I'd do is cut it off and chuck it into my spare parts box (next to all the other PIDs). There's always a design trade-off between complexity and simplicity. Anybody who decides to actually produce and sell this kind of stuff has to do the market research to figure out what the market is most interested in. I can't guess at that, but I can say that -- for me -- every dollar spent on features that go beyond a basic sensor-array is a dollar I am less and less likely to spend.

 

[makomachine]

PIDs aren't that cheap, and if this came with one the first thing I'd do is cut it off and chuck it into my spare parts box (next to all the other PIDs). There's always a design trade-off between complexity and simplicity. Anybody who decides to actually produce and sell this kind of stuff has to do the market research to figure out what the market is most interested in. I can't guess at that, but I can say that -- for me -- every dollar spent on features that go beyond a basic sensor-array is a dollar I am less and less likely to spend.

I'm talking as an option. We agree to disagree. I control my fermentations, not watch them and tweak them via a different set of controls. Maybe I'm the only one that thinks being able to monitor and control is a good idea. Remote control of my fermentations is something I would pay for, remote monitoring is a maybe.

 

[user 98891]

I don't really care about the temp at all. My basement is basically the perfect temp for my ales. I would love the gravity reading functionality. That would make my life a dream.

 

[tophmck]

Control would definitely be a valuable add-on feature, at least for me. The big plus would be the ability to base temperature control on gravity readings. What to start your d-rest at 1.020? Or cold crash as soon as gravity readings stabilize? No problem! (They'd need to have a wired version of the probe, though, since using a wireless & battery-powered device to control fermentation temp would be way too scary.)

Sooner or later, someone has got to get this to market. If not BeerBug, maybe BrewPi?

 

[mikeru22]

It's up on KickStarter now! 30 days left to get one of the first batches... http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/parasitx/the-beerbugtm-digital-hydrometer?ref=live

 

[mpcluever]

Totally different project, but still cool!!

 

[Irrenarzt]

There's one being called the brewbit as well. I saw an ad for it at GABF.

 

[user 98891]

I wonder if you have to buy the developer special to write to the api. I'd be ok without any support and I just don't have the kind of cash to drop on monitoring my temps and gravity. I just want to toy with some mac development while I brew some beer.

 

[hausofstrauss]

HBT member Elkoe looks to be working toward full integration. He started with uberfridge.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/my-latest-diy-project-uberfridge-temp-controller-web-interface-282605/
and located here:
http://www.elcojacobs.com/uberfridge/


Now he's moved on to brewpi. Extremely cool.
http://brewpi.com/

Where I'm headed with this is that he also claims to have worked out a specific gravity / temp sensor.
http://forum.brewpi.com/discussion/38/bragging-rights#Item_12