Arduino Development Thread

[bonj]

This is the gear I got

Arduino + breadboard + hookup wires
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/250885367624?ss...984.m1497.l2649

Relay board
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/170667758574?ss...984.m1497.l2649

5v power
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/260874422564?ss...984.m1497.l2649

Thermometers
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/130586168086?ss...984.m1497.l2649

Flow meters
http://www.futurlec.com.au/Flow_Sensor.jsp

Haven't finished programming / wiring it all up yet due to moving houses. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll get back to it.

QldKev

Nice looking kit QldKev! I have that same flow sensor from futurlec. It is the same one that Jaycar sells for a small fortune. Nice source for the DS18B20s too.

 

[neo__04]

Hmmm, Correct me if im wrong. And I may be, new to all this Arduino gear.

Is the Brewtroller just an already completed version of what we are going to try to do with an Arduino board?

What are the benefits of making this type of thing yourself?
Are we only going to end up basically with what a brewtroller is?

Sorry to sound nieve, just trying to get my head around it all.

Thanks

 

[QldKev]

Nice looking kit QldKev! I have that same flow sensor from futurlec. It is the same one that Jaycar sells for a small fortune. Nice source for the DS18B20s too.

I think I found the flow meters from one of your links.

I should add for the OP, with this kit if you wanted it to run it stand alone you would need to add in a LCD screen and some sort of input device. Finally some decent way to mount it all up is needed too.

I am writing mine so it will be connected to a laptop when in use. Then I will have a nice graphical interface writen in C# on the laptop that allows users to interact with it, which talks with the arduino. The arduino will only be switching the relays based on requests from the gui, and reading the thermometers/flow meters and passing the info to the gui to do the logic work.

I was watching the details on the wifi board build, but though I would just get the system running initially via the serial inteface and worry about the extra later.

Later I want to add some solinoids in the system so I can tranfer from the HLT, recirc and transfer to the kettle via the interface too.

QldKev

 

[neo__04]

Quick question on those flow controllers.

Do you use them to work out for example, how much water has gone into the kettle.

Can you get an output from then which says how much has gone through, or is it simply how much L/Min is currently flowing through?

 

[bonj]

Quick question on those flow controllers.

Do you use them to work out for example, how much water has gone into the kettle.

Can you get an output from then which says how much has gone through, or is it simply how much L/Min is currently flowing through?

You get a pulse from the flowmeter for every revolution of the internal impeller. The datasheet tells you how to convert from pulses to Litres based on whether you have it mounted horizontally or vertically. You have to count the pulses and figure out the throughput yourself (or rather let the arduino do that).

 

[benno1973]

Hi guys,

Which of these flow sensors are you using? Not many seem suited to hot water application (over 40C) and the one sensor rated to over 60C measures 1.5-25L/min, which seems a bit fast for draining a mash tun? Or are you just using it when filling the mash tun from the HLT?

 

[Tanga]

Just found this:
http://brettbeauregard.com/blog/2011/04/im...d-introduction/
Probably old hat for those making their own PIDs in the arduino, but looks useful.

ps. I can't see how those thermometers that everyone is linking would survive in hot water, are they inside thermowells?

 

[matho]

ps. I can't see how those thermometers that everyone is linking would survive in hot water, are they inside thermowells?

tanga, you have to put them in a thermowell





this is how i did it
the beauty of the DS18B20 is that it is accurate to +- 0.5 deg c between -20 to +80 which is perfect for brewing also it is all digital which makes handling the data easier

 

[neo__04]

I have a packet of 10 of the DS18B20 in the 3 wire version, I keep reading about the single wire version.

Are the 3 wire ones just as easy to use?

 

[bonj]

I have a packet of 10 of the DS18B20 in the 3 wire version, I keep reading about the single wire version.

Are the 3 wire ones just as easy to use?

They are all 3 wire. OneWire refers to the protocol over a single data wire. The other two are V+ and GND

 

[neo__04]

Oh, lol, silly me.

Thanks for that.

Got myself hooken on this thread, have a 3v keg setup planned, ordered an arduino board today and some bits and pieces, a flow controller, have heaps of temp sensors, a few ssr's so should be a fun little project.

 

[Superoo]

You get a pulse from the flowmeter for every revolution of the internal impeller. The datasheet tells you how to convert from pulses to Litres based on whether you have it mounted horizontally or vertically. You have to count the pulses and figure out the throughput yourself (or rather let the arduino do that).

You can also do a scale factor in your controller software so that you can calibrate it in your controller.

Just have a target value, say 5000, which will equal 1 Litre, and it starts at zero.
A Litres variable which starts at zero.
A counter variable which starts at zero.
A Scale value which is a fixed value, eg 1250. This scale value is adjusted to change the calibration.

Every pulse adds the scale (1250) to the counter value.
When the counter value reaches its target of 5000, add 1 to the Litres, and take 5000 off the counter.
Doing it this way the system becomes more accurate as the Litres increase.
And it is very finely adjustable.

cheers

 

[bonj]

ps. I can't see how those thermometers that everyone is linking would survive in hot water, are they inside thermowells?

Tanga, you can get the thermowells alone from places like brewershardware.com
They also sell temperature probes already assembled with DS18B20's inside. I have a couple of their probe ends and a thermowell and they're quality products.

 

[Tanga]

Tanga, you can get the thermowells alone from places like brewershardware.com
They also sell temperature probes already assembled with DS18B20's inside. I have a couple of their probe ends and a thermowell and they're quality products.

Thanks Bonj! There was a stainless steel version that looked good, except for the long plastic lead, lol, kind of pointless really. They look like a much better option.

 

[Moray]

Saw this on the brewtroller forum, berfridge
http://www.elcojacobs.com/uberfridge/

 

[neo__04]

Hey zizzle,
Mind if I ask what solenoid you used for fresh water into the kettle, also where I can buy from.
And same with the cheap little hop dropper motors, eBay? Any details on their specs?
Thanks heaps

 

[Superoo]

For water solenoids, I would use a simple reticulation solenoid from bunnings etc.

 

[benno1973]

I'd say a dishwasher or washing machine solenoid might be better suited, s it's probably temperature rated? And they seem to be cheaper!

 

[Zizzle]

Hey zizzle,
Mind if I ask what solenoid you used for fresh water into the kettle, also where I can buy from.
And same with the cheap little hop dropper motors, eBay? Any details on their specs?
Thanks heaps

I got a brass 1/4" solenoid off ebay for about $8.

1/4" since I want the restriction to slow down the mains pressure flow rate.

For the hop dropper, just sum chinese RC servos, a couple of $ each:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-9g-Mini-Serv...C-/220752268466

For whoever asked, you don't really need the flow meter in a hot path. Just on the fresh water inlet side.

 

[ArnieW]

Hmmm, Correct me if im wrong. And I may be, new to all this Arduino gear.

Is the Brewtroller just an already completed version of what we are going to try to do with an Arduino board?

What are the benefits of making this type of thing yourself?
Are we only going to end up basically with what a brewtroller is?

Sorry to sound nieve, just trying to get my head around it all.

Thanks

The answer is basically yes, except that the bt is not an 'out of the box' solution. The bt is an attempt at being all things to all brewers which means it can get complicated figuring out which bits you need and then how to configure those bits. Both Bonj's approach and the bt require a fair bit of experimenting and building. The bt has the advantage of doing a lot of the ground work (both hardware and code). Basically you get what you pay for. The starting price of the bt is also more than Bonj's kit, so it really depends where you want to spend your $ and where you want to spend your time.