Arduino Development Thread

[leahy268]

Hi guys,

What does everyone here use to sense liquid levels/volumes??

Warwick

 

[Whiteferret]

What size ssr do I need to control a 15amp element, is 25 amp ok or do I need a 40 amp?

25 will do the job :icon_cheers:



Bonj I am also interested in your basic kit does it have any basic parts or the flashed ATMEGA 328/168
I've already got some in my parts box. Are you just trialling 1 board or are you getting a multiple order?
Sorry have read the entire thread just not all today. :super:

PS sparky here.
Have an Arduino and have done a few of the basics must rescue it from my Incubator as it is currently turning chook eggs until I get sick of raising chicks.

 

[bonj]

25 will do the job :icon_cheers:



Bonj I am also interested in your basic kit does it have any basic parts or the flashed ATMEGA 328/168
I've already got some in my parts box. Are you just trialling 1 board or are you getting a multiple order?
Sorry have read the entire thread just not all today. :super:

PS sparky here.
Have an Arduino and have done a few of the basics must rescue it from my Incubator as it is currently turning chook eggs until I get sick of raising chicks.

The kit would include all the parts necessary to make a working arduino compatible board (ATMEGA328), but not the programming cable. I haven't actually flashed a blank ATMEGA328/168 yet, so clearly I have to test all that before I could sell any of them.

I will be ordering 10 boards as that is the minimum.

 

[seemax]

Hi guys,

What does everyone here use to sense liquid levels/volumes??

Warwick

Sure Electronics have some bits that are useful in the brewery...

Water level sensors (plastic, stainless)
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/sureelectronics...1.c0.m270.l1313

DS1820 stainless temp sensor (weldless)
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/110738871138?ss...984.m1439.l2649

They also sell cheap LCDs, SSR's, etc. Quality is about right for the price.

 

[leahy268]

Sure Electronics have some bits that are useful in the brewery...

Water level sensors (plastic, stainless)
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/sureelectronics...1.c0.m270.l1313

DS1820 stainless temp sensor (weldless)
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/110738871138?ss...984.m1439.l2649

They also sell cheap LCDs, SSR's, etc. Quality is about right for the price.

Hmm seen the level sensors.
They only give when it reaches a particular level don't they?
As in they don't allow me to calculate the volume??

 

[matho]

ill probably get burned at the stake because it uses a PIC but THIS is how i do volume measurement on my HLT, it works really well and would probably be even better for someone that could produce better code

cheers matho

 

[leahy268]

ill probably get burned at the stake because it uses a PIC but THIS is how i do volume measurement on my HLT, it works really well and would probably be even better for someone that could produce better code

cheers matho

Nice solution Matho.
Not sure what kind of pressure sensors would be happy to sit up so close to a gas flame however.


Is anyone using the BrewTroller method with the air filled tubes and pressure sensors?

 

[Zizzle]

Both my brewbots use conductive probes reliably.

Pretty simple, just mount a bit of stainless rod on a bit of old plastic kitchen board (or similar) that poke down to the desired level inside the pot. Water and wort conduct very well. Wire the probe to the ADC input of your microcontroller and a 100K pullup resistor. Make sure the vessel is grounded.

I mount one just above the heating elements. In the control code, heat is only applied when that one is conducting so that the element is not dry fired.

I have another one a bit higher.

On the code side, just do a simple averaging function across a few samples, and have a threshold value - usually around 50% of the full adc value. Once the voltage drops below the threshold then you know the liquid has hit the probe.

I find the resistance of water is usually about 30K. So the ADC reading will usually be 1/3 of the full scale value.

Now here is the good part. Since the filling of water is via solenoid, the fill rate is pretty constant. And the two probes are a known distance (and so volume) apart. So the code measures the time to fill between the two conductive probes. From that we can extrapolate how long to hold the solenoid on to get the desired volume. Not super accurate, but works pretty well. Pretty minimal external circuitry.

 

[bonj]

Introducing the bonjuino revision 1!

As you can see, all arduino pins are broken out to extra holes so you can solder directly to them. There are header connector spots available (the two 4x3 pin holes) so you can wire jumpers from the pin breakouts and wire them up however you like. The unpopulated rows between the header spots and the programming pins are free 5V and Ground connections. If you have a 5V regulated source already, you can bypass the onboard regulator (and the surface mount caps) and wire a jumper across the pins marked "VIN = 5V?".

Kit available at an introductory price of $15 plus postage. Requires soldering, and the two capacitors pictured bottom left are surface mount. Female header pins are supplied as a single 40pin length, that needs to be cut to the lengths required (You wouldn't believe how much $$ this saves over precut ones!). Includes ATMEGA328 flashed with the duemilenove bootloader (UNO bootloader (optiboot) can be flashed on request, but is not tested). Requires either a programming cable or breakout board to program.

 

[ArnieW]

Introducing the bonjuino revision 1!

As you can see, all arduino pins are broken out to extra holes so you can solder directly to them. There are header connector spots available (the two 4x3 pin holes) so you can wire jumpers from the pin breakouts and wire them up however you like. The unpopulated rows between the header spots and the programming pins are free 5V and Ground connections. If you have a 5V regulated source already, you can bypass the onboard regulator (and the surface mount caps) and wire a jumper across the pins marked "VIN = 5V?".

Kit available at an introductory price of $15 plus postage. Requires soldering, and the two capacitors pictured bottom left are surface mount. Female header pins are supplied as a single 40pin length, that needs to be cut to the lengths required (You wouldn't believe how much $$ this saves over precut ones!). Includes ATMEGA328 flashed with the duemilenove bootloader (UNO bootloader (optiboot) can be flashed on request, but is not tested). Requires either a programming cable or breakout board to program.

Nice work Bonj, and great price for the kit. I'd be tempted except I have a spare brewtroller I'm not using and a duemilenove waiting for a project.

 

[bonj]

Nice work Bonj, and great price for the kit. I'd be tempted except I have a spare brewtroller I'm not using and a duemilenove waiting for a project.

Thanks Arnie. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I have already identified a couple of mods I will make for the next revision (slight increase in size for the strain relief holes for the power wires, and a small increase in clearance for the crystal/caps/reset switch. Nothing that needs immediate attention, but that's the reason for the "introductory price". It will be about $20each for the next run. And if I can find an inexpensive source for the low profile 47F 25V through hole caps, I will replace the surface mount caps with them.

 

[vortex]

I've just got the twin channel temp controller from mashmaster, I also bought the stainless steel probe too so now I have a spare temp sensor. Does anyone know how to use it with an Arduino? Are they simply a one-wire?

 

[bonj]

I've just got the twin channel temp controller from mashmaster, I also bought the stainless steel probe too so now I have a spare temp sensor. Does anyone know how to use it with an Arduino? Are they simply a one-wire?

Unlikely to be a one-wire sensor. Most likely either a thermistor, an analog temp sensor ( like an LM35, outputs a voltage relative to the temperature), or some sort of thermocouple. thermistors and analog sensors are easy to use, they just use an analog pin on the arduino. Not sure how to use a thermocouple as I've never looked into it.

 

[Tanga]

Can do it pretty cheap...

Arduino Uno or Demi ($30)
SSR ($5)
LCD ($5)
Stainless steel dS18B20 weldless probe ($12)

Install the probe... wire up the LCD... basic coding....voila, step mashes...

Awesome! This is what I want to do. I am in the process of building a bastardised manual version of the single vessel 'braumiester clone' that Matho and TimF have been working on, using an STC-1000 to manually control the steps. It'll probably be a few months before it's complete and tested, but the dream is to automate it if it can be done cheaply (ie no way I'm adding a brewtroller).

I only have a very basic understanding of electronics and coding, but I'm quick study, especially if it helps me make better beer.

So obviously I need the above. I would also need some kind of input device. A cheap bluetooth or wireless module and phone / computer sounds good, and/or this:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com.au/viewitem...Id=260775735158

I am using an urn as my outer pot / element, so need to control that (presumably the SSRs job?)
And one of those small brown pumps (12 volt @ 590mA) - can be done manually (and just run it constantly throughout the mash cycle) instead though.
I would also like to have alarms at different intervals, ie end of mash, during the boil for my hops additions, etc.

I have been doing some general reading and it looks like it's doable. What do you guys think? Any input or links to single vessel arduino info much appreciated.

ps. Would the bonjuino do the trick?

 

[vortex]

Unlikely to be a one-wire sensor. Most likely either a thermistor, an analog temp sensor ( like an LM35, outputs a voltage relative to the temperature), or some sort of thermocouple. thermistors and analog sensors are easy to use, they just use an analog pin on the arduino. Not sure how to use a thermocouple as I've never looked into it.

Thanks, that certainly gives me enought to get me started experimenting! Here's hoping it's analog
Cheers

 

[bonj]

Awesome! This is what I want to do. I am in the process of building a bastardised manual version of the single vessel 'braumiester clone' that Matho and TimF have been working on, using an STC-1000 to manually control the steps. It'll probably be a few months before it's complete and tested, but the dream is to automate it if it can be done cheaply (ie no way I'm adding a brewtroller).

I only have a very basic understanding of electronics and coding, but I'm quick study, especially if it helps me make better beer.

So obviously I need the above. I would also need some kind of input device. A cheap bluetooth or wireless module and phone / computer sounds good, and/or this:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com.au/viewitem...Id=260775735158

I am using an urn as my outer pot / element, so need to control that (presumably the SSRs job?)
And one of those small brown pumps (12 volt @ 590mA) - can be done manually (and just run it constantly throughout the mash cycle) instead though.
I would also like to have alarms at different intervals, ie end of mash, during the boil for my hops additions, etc.

I have been doing some general reading and it looks like it's doable. What do you guys think? Any input or links to single vessel arduino info much appreciated.

ps. Would the bonjuino do the trick?

You'd have a good shot at doing that with an arduino (bonjuino included (it's just a cheaper, kit based clone with a few layout enhancements to make it a bit more useful). You'll need some programming/electronics experience, or be a keen learner. It's not too hard to learn.

You'll just have to be careful about how many pins you need to do it with the arduino.

 

[Tanga]

Thanks Bonj, another reason why yours would be good.

Is this what you mean by a programming cord?
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/USB-TTL-Serial-Cabl...=item4ab05a34bf

If so, wtfbbq, it's just a cable, that price is ridunculous!

 

[Zizzle]

You'd have a good shot at doing that with an arduino (bonjuino included (it's just a cheaper, kit based clone with a few layout enhancements to make it a bit more useful). You'll need some programming/electronics experience, or be a keen learner. It's not too hard to learn.

Agreeing with Bonj, it's pretty easy to get running.

http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/

It probably wouldn't be that hard to find a local hackerspace with some nerds to help you if you're in a big city.

I have a couple of mates in the Canberra one.

http://www.makehackvoid.com/


Once you have the basics working, I'm sure you'd find some good coding support on this forum too.

 

[matho]

I've just got the twin channel temp controller from mashmaster, I also bought the stainless steel probe too so now I have a spare temp sensor. Does anyone know how to use it with an Arduino? Are they simply a one-wire?

vortex do you mean something like this, if so then it is not as simple as a one wire DS18b20, mainly because you will have set it up in a voltage divider circuit and read the voltage with the on board ADC and then use look up tables to work out the temp because they aren't that linear. Another thing is you have to watch how much current you run through them because if you run too much they will heat.

Bonj looks really good mate I might get one off you ill PM you later tonight

cheers matho

 

[bonj]

Bonj looks really good mate I might get one off you ill PM you later tonight

cheers matho

No problems Metho I have one packaged up already and will package any others as they're wanted.