CraftBeerPI Brew Controller

[kaiserben]

Ah! I just realised this thread is about mash and boil control. My box is just a fridge controller and data logger (like a BrewPi) done via wifi.

I had planned to build one that'd control a mash and boil, but my flashed STC1000+ is doing a good enough job for me and my 2000W element.

 

[PeteQ]

This morning i finished my first brew with craftbeerpi in a modified matho controller. I jumped in the deep in and tried out v2.2 straight off the bat which was probably a mistake but got through the brew and should still have very drinkable beer in a couple of weeks.

After around 4 years of using mathos controller it was quite nice easily inputting steps through my laptop. being able to see the exact times and graphs of your brewday is great for judging quick trips to the shops, kids sports, SWMBOs chores, etc. I haven't yet figured out how to login offsite, but that is definitely next on the list.

During todays brewday I felt it was missing a few bits and pieces which would make brewday a breeze such as ability to choose PWM % during boil, on/off hardware option in each step, hop timer (I used separate steps for hop additions today which worked but clunky), ability to change buzzer length or maybe just for hop additions, LCD or OLED integration to display step/temp/time and a chill step and alert when reaching desired temp. Uploading beersmith recipes would also be a fantastic feature but maybe asking too much?

Further expanding on the on/off hardware option in each step, this could open up a world of options. Solenoids for automatic filling and racking, depending on your setup it could turn it into a nearly fully automated system. I'm sure there's plenty more that i have missed but this would be a fantastic feature.

If i have missed anything please let me know, still very green with the system.

If anyone is interested on how i attached the pi to the controller i used one of these https://www.itead.cc/wiki/File:IM140714004_3.jpg and slightly modified it for it to work with craftbeerpi.

Cheers

 

[farsonic]

Pete - did you replace the Arduino in your mathos with a Raspberry PI for this build? If so I'm keen to know more about how you did this?

Cheers

F

 

[snails07]

I've just installed version 2.2 and started testing it - it looks really good!!

One question though. I have a kettle and a pump and I am just wondering the best way to automatically turn the pump on/off at different times?
Or does a pump need to be run manually?

I've found the 'PumpLogic' option but not really sure if this is it what I need and what the 4 fields mean: wait_time, PumpTime, PumpPause, PumpAbschalt

 

[PeteQ]

As far as I'm aware the pump is completely manual at this stage.

I believe there is a lot of code that still needs to be integrated/developed into version 2.2, hopefully this will come with time.

Still working on getting the LCD code to work - https://github.com/Manuel83/craftbeerpi/issues/45

Cheers

 

[snails07]

No worries, thanks Pete - not a big deal to hit the pump switch.

I think I am going to hook it up to a cheapo 7" touch screen like they've done here - http://www.leaningman.com/2016/05/automated-brewery/

 

[kjparker]

anyone tried PiZero? Does it work? Maybe dietpi.com would be nice idea, even for normal RPi 2/3

BTW you can check my github for some PCB's for CraftbeerPI similar to ArdBir's ones.

https://github.com/terragady

Looks good, Any chance of getting either the gerbers or the "brd" file for the 4.2 pcb uploaded?

 

[mattieharding]

Can you control a fermenter and also a mash tun at the same time?

 

[kjparker]

As far as I'm aware the pump is completely manual at this stage.

I believe there is a lot of code that still needs to be integrated/developed into version 2.2, hopefully this will come with time.

Still working on getting the LCD code to work - https://github.com/Manuel83/craftbeerpi/issues/45

Cheers

With the release of 2.2, is this still the case?

I can't find any documentation regarding this one way or another.

I am still undecided which way to go, Craftbeerpi, or openardbir for my 1v build, and that could be the decider! I have most of the parts (except for a pretty PCB) already so hardware wise, I could probably go either way, but would rather do it once, and not have to worry about it again!

 

[PeteQ]

With the release of 2.2, is this still the case?

I can't find any documentation regarding this one way or another.

I am still undecided which way to go, Craftbeerpi, or openardbir for my 1v build, and that could be the decider! I have most of the parts (except for a pretty PCB) already so hardware wise, I could probably go either way, but would rather do it once, and not have to worry about it again!

It hasn't been implemented yet but apparently will be - https://github.com/Manuel83/craftbeerpi/issues/121

If you like the idea of wifi//web based controller you could give this code a crack - https://github.com/vitotai/BMESP8266 Not nearly as polished as CBP but looks like it's based on Open Ardbir code using an esp8266 rather than arduino.

Or just hit up Lael for an awesome Open Ardbir/Brauduino controller!

 

[PeteQ]

Can you control a fermenter and also a mash tun at the same time?

If your fermenting chamber and brewing setup are next to each other i believe you should be able to.

 

[O-beer-wan-kenobi]

I have a RPi3 running CraftBeerPi 2.2 but I'm having issues with my 2 * DS1820b sensors. I'm trying to extend the cables to the heat exchanger which is a 2m run and the other sensor to my fermentor which is a 5m run.
I can see both sensors when connected with out the extended cables or one sensor with one extended cable but when I connect both cables I can only see the closest one and this sometimes dropped out.

I have tried different things, parasite connected, star connected, daisy chain connected and putting the resistor in different points of the bus but nothing works with stability.

What have people done with a similar setup that works for them and what hardware are they using? I have been playing around with this for days now and I'm running out of ideas

 

[srm]

I have a RPi3 running CraftBeerPi 2.2 but I'm having issues with my 2 * DS1820b sensors. I'm trying to extend the cables to the heat exchanger which is a 2m run and the other sensor to my fermentor which is a 5m run.
I can see both sensors when connected with out the extended cables or one sensor with one extended cable but when I connect both cables I can only see the closest one and this sometimes dropped out.

I understand the DS18B20 needs from 3 to 5V to work. If you are using your RPi3's 3.3V, have you checked that you have at least 3V at the connectors and cable joints ?

I personally am terminating my DS18B20s with RJ45 plugs (+5V, Gnd & 1-wire on pins 4, 5 and 6 respectively). I am using 4-way RJ45 breakouts (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/161188269552?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) on each of my boxes and straight through RJ45 patch leads as extension leads between boxes.

 

[GibboQLD]

I have a RPi3 running CraftBeerPi 2.2 but I'm having issues with my 2 * DS1820b sensors

Any chance you could share a few photos/diagrams of your setup? Also -- what size is your pull-up resistor, and what sizes are the extension cables?

 

[O-beer-wan-kenobi]

My cables are 2m and 5m. These are wired back to a set of commoned terminals next to my Rpi and with a 4.7k resistor. Not quite the same as the diagram attached.
I have now changed to 5v to supply these and also done a fresh install of Raspbian and CraftbeerPi 2.2 just in case.

It seems that with one sensor the system is reletively stable but with two connected the longest cable that goes to my Fermetor drops out more frequently. Any ideas whats going on?

 

[GibboQLD]

My cables are 2m and 5m ... It seems that with one sensor the system is reletively stable but with two connected the longest cable that goes to my Fermetor drops out more frequently. Any ideas whats going on?

It sounds like a voltage drop / low signal issue -- are you able to swap out the 4.7k resistor at all? What type of cables are they / what's the cross-sectional area?

While 4.7k pull-up resistors work for 1wire networks in most cases, I've seen projects use anything between 1k and 10k to compensate for any number of variables (i.e., cable cross-section, supply voltage issues, etc).

If you're able to, you could try swapping out the pull-up resistor for a 1k resistor in series1 with a 10k potentiometer and adjusting until both sensors work properly. Alternatively, if you can't swap the pull-up resistor out, but you're able to put additional resistors in parallel with it, you could try working backwards through the E12 series from 47k until both sensors work2.


1. You could leave this out and just use the 10k pot, but then you have no insurance policy if you accidentally set the pull-up resistance too low, resulting in fried/damaged sensors.
2. Just don't go below about 1.8k since the total resistance will get too low, etc, etc. See above.

 

[O-beer-wan-kenobi]

Cable I have used is a 6 core shielded comms cable which is pretty small, maybe 0.5mm2 and even 2.5mm2 that I had laying around. I will give it a go with different resistor sizes and see how I go.
I have left this a few days to monitor it and it is much more stable than before. The different sensors are dropping out at different times and with different frequencies. I have a 3rd sensor that is connected with a 20cm length of cable and this still drops out.
Does it make a difference if the different sensors have differnt resolutions? One has 2 decimal points where the otehr is only 1 decimal point.

The dropouts seem momentary so I can live with this for the mash heater control but for my fridge I dont want that comming on and off too often as it will burn out.

 

[O-beer-wan-kenobi]

I have tried using 2k resistors but it doesnt seem to be any better.
You can see from teh screen shots that some sensors are dropping out.
Mash sensor has been extended by 2m, Test sensor is extended 4m and Test 2 sensor is 20cm. I would have thought the closest sensor would be the most stable?

 

[tom86]

Hi quick question,

Has anyone added a level indicator into this? I am thinking about putting a level switch into my 2v system to control the pump to maintain constant level in the mash tun (just on off control). Also I need volumes slightly larger than my kettle so I need the pump to run all the time or it will overflow... Is this simple to add in?

My experience is mainly in ladder and FBD programming with a small amount of structured text.

 

[loco88]

Does anyone have it wired up to a PiFace and feel like taking some photos for me? I've come across a piface and it seems much more achievable to wire it up to that, but I'm definitely gunshy about doing the 240V in the relays, and where the temp probe should be going into has me confused a bit. I've googled, but it's mostly German sites and all the photos are artsy or more complex setups than I need to see which makes it hard to follow what goes where.

Cheers