HOWTO - Make a BrewPi Fermentation Controller For Cheap

[AlehCemy]

If you can identify the oem thermostat, you should be able to disconnect it, and run the power-in/switched-out wires through the "Cool" relay in the typical BrewPi hardware configuration, and let BrewPi control your wine chiller.

If you get that far, you can wire an indicator lamp in parallel with the compressor - that is, one side connected to the Cool relay switched-out wire, the other side connected to AC neutral.

Alternatively, you can wire an LED between to the Arduino Cool relay control signal (digital IO pin 5) and Arduino 5VDC with a current limiting resistor (200 ohms or higher value).

As for the Peltier replacement, that's well outside the scope of this thread, and without knowing a lot about the wine chiller an accurate answer would be difficult...

Cheers!

Oh wow, it's easier than I thought. Thank you!

About the peltier, I decided I'll wait for summer and see how it'll behave to see if it's necessary to change or not.

 

[bufford]

OK So I am at my wits end and I am looking for a little help.

Quick summary of the situation. Had BrewPi MultiChamber with 2 Uno's working on Computer "A" running Debian Wheezy. 1 Uno bites it. Thought I would add another new Uno and while I was at it upgrade to a 3 chamber Multi.
During the process Computer A bites it as well.
I load Debian Wheezy on Computer "B" can't pull any data from the Uno's no Kernel or Serial #
Load Wheezy onto Computer "C" can't even get the display right from the word jump. Everything looks fine until I log in then characters are missing and no apps load (Not even terminal).
Put a new hard drive in to computer "A" load wheezy and end up with a similar result to Computer "C". The display is just jacked but only after logged in.

I know that none of you are here to see what is happening and so fixing all these issues becomes a large challenge one that I assume most of you don't have time for. I would really like to get this running again and I am open to any suggestion that you think will help accomplish the goal.

So sorry and Thank-You in advance

 

[wbarber69]

I'd get a raspberry pi

 

[day_trippr]

^yup^

Specifically, an RPi 2 Model B so you can run Wheezy instead of being stuck with Really-Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Jessie...

Cheers!

 

[LBussy]

^yup^

Specifically, an RPi 2 Model B so you can run Wheezy instead of being stuck with Really-Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time Jessie...

Cheers!

I'm afraid to ask because it might jinx me ... what's wrong with Jessie? I've been running it (granted, sitting on my desktop) for a while now with no apparent issues.

 

[LBussy]

OK So I am at my wits end and I am looking for a little help.

As you say we're not there and I don't know you or your abilities. When I run into issues like this I like to go simple. Have you tried setting up just a single Uno in the standard configuration without allowing for multiple chambers?

It's hard to imagine it not working right in this manner, unless you have the wrong device in the configuration file to begin with (or another bad Uno).

I always tell my engineers: "When you hear hoofbeats, don;t look for zebras." Take it simple, take it apart, take it one step at a time and verify everything that you think you "know."

 

[day_trippr]

I'm afraid to ask because it might jinx me ... what's wrong with Jessie? I've been running it (granted, sitting on my desktop) for a while now with no apparent issues.

Between the crippled Bluetooth support with no joy in sight, and the major difficulties getting things like an Alamode to work, and the fact that so much was changed from Wheezy that people are still trying to make things work again without a lot of success.

It's not worth the aggravation.

Sure, I got BrewPi running pretty much stock, but my BT minions can't be used with it, and until I get an Alamode working, forget Raspberry Pints...

Cheers!

 

[bufford]

As you say we're not there and I don't know you or your abilities. When I run into issues like this I like to go simple. Have you tried setting up just a single Uno in the standard configuration without allowing for multiple chambers?

It's hard to imagine it not working right in this manner, unless you have the wrong device in the configuration file to begin with (or another bad Uno).

I always tell my engineers: "When you hear hoofbeats, don;t look for zebras." Take it simple, take it apart, take it one step at a time and verify everything that you think you "know."

I can't get it to work with one uno. I can't get it to find an uno. I went back to the PC's note I can't even get wheezy to run on them.

I think I may give Jessie a shot tonight. What have I to lose?

 

[sctcts]

I can't get it to work with one uno. I can't get it to find an uno. I went back to the PC's note I can't even get wheezy to run on them.

I think I may give Jessie a shot tonight. What have I to lose?

I'm in the process of rebuilding my brewpi setup and had some similar issues getting a new chinese arduino working on my new rpi3. FWIW, this was all done on Jessie but should work the same on Wheezy.

Try entering the following commands. The first line navigates to the appropriate directory and the second runs a python script which should spit out some info about available serial ports and their compatilbility. Replace chamber1 in the file path with your naming scheme for whichever uno you're trying to connect to.

cd /home/brewpi/chamber1/utils
python autoSerial.py

given that you seem to be using the same variation of chinese uno as I did (I saw basically the same udevadm output) you will likely see an output of:

All ports:
/dev/ttyUSB0 - USB2.0-Serial, VID:1a86, PID:7523
/dev/ttyAMA0 - ttyAMA0, VID:None, PID:None
Compatible ports:
Selected port: (None, None)

if that's what you see, add the following line into autoSerial.py under known devices, adjusting the VID and PID numbers to match your output from autoSerial.py

{'vid': 0x1a86, 'pid': 0x7523, 'name': "Chinese Uno"}

rerun autoSerial.py and you should see your uno show up under compatible ports if it worked correctly. If it did, reboot your pi (just restarting the brewpi scripts might be enough) and you should now be able to see/send code to your uno through the brewpi web interface.

unfortunately these chinese unos don't report a serial number in udevadm so day_trippr's more robust symlink method using the serials doesn't work to assign arduinos to ports the older KERNALS symlink method still works, just need to make sure it's plugged into the correct port every time.

source for my troubleshooting: https://community.brewpi.com/t/solved-cant-seem-to-program-arduino-uno/1319

 

[bufford]

Why a Raspberry Pi 2 model B vs a Raspberry Pi 3?

 

[day_trippr]

Why a Raspberry Pi 2 model B vs a Raspberry Pi 3?

Because the Pi3 needs stuff in the Jessie release, while the Pi2 happily runs Wheezy - and everything you could ever want without spending days on end Googling for answers that have yet to be created.

Other than that, no reason...

Cheers!

 

[flanken]

I just finished building a BrewPi using the OP's wiring schematic and directions on the Wiki using a RaspberryPi 3, Jessie, a Sainsmart UNO and a lot of reading / research in this thread. All my stumbling blocks were total newb experiences (wrong wire type to connect UNO to relay, thinking I was connected to my work WiFi - I wasn't - and getting failure errors when attempting to download files using terminal commands...)

Overall though it was fun and I have the thing connected to my Mother of Fermentation Chamber I built a couple years back using the Wort-o-Matic plans... One outlet powers a heat lamp and the other powers the computer fan blowing cold air past ice. I don't get the quick cooling of a fridge or freezer but it is consistent, and I've done some test runs in advance of my brew day this weekend and it all works.

I even set it up so I could access BrewPi using the Weaved app on my iPhone and browser, as posted a couple pages ago, which is super slick.

Overall this was an awesome project, and I appreciate all the peoples' help and experiences posted here that made it possible. This is easily the most technologically advanced piece of my brewery setup, and really impresses people when I show and explain what it does.

Next up... LCD screen add-on! (...?)

 

[LBussy]

Between the crippled Bluetooth support with no joy in sight, and the major difficulties getting things like an Alamode to work, and the fact that so much was changed from Wheezy that people are still trying to make things work again without a lot of success.

It's not worth the aggravation.

Sure, I got BrewPi running pretty much stock, but my BT minions can't be used with it, and until I get an Alamode working, forget Raspberry Pints...

Cheers!

Well that's all good to know. I've not built my shields yet so I may order a Pi 2 so that I can go back to Wheezy and enjoy the fruits of my labors and not be on the bleeding edge.

 

[wbarber69]

Technically if you have a working wheezy setup on a pi2, you "should" be able to install and run rpi-update. this should install all the necessary firmware updates that should work for the pi3. I can't say that it'll work for brewpi, but I had to do it to build a pigrrl with the pi3 since adafruit refused to update their site with a working image because their it guy was too stubborn to listen to reason. it worked for me on that project. probably won't fix the bt issues, but it is worth a try.

 

[Bigdaddyale]

Has anyone run BrewPi with all of the extras on a pi zero yet?

 

[Mikmonken]

Has anyone run BrewPi with all of the extras on a pi zero yet?

I'm hoping to just need to find a spare USB hub to provide extra USB port needed

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Between the crippled Bluetooth support with no joy in sight, and the major difficulties getting things like an Alamode to work, and the fact that so much was changed from Wheezy that people are still trying to make things work again without a lot of success.

It's not worth the aggravation.

Sure, I got BrewPi running pretty much stock, but my BT minions can't be used with it, and until I get an Alamode working, forget Raspberry Pints...

Cheers!

Just to clarify this, the standard bare bones BrewPi setup/install on the Wiki works fine with Jessie and its what ive been using now for months.

If you want to stick on the addons like the Bluetooth stuff/LCD's/etc you might want to stick with Wheezy.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Has anyone run BrewPi with all of the extras on a pi zero yet?

Theres no reason it shouldnt work, the Zero can run Wheezy just fine. And BrewPi's web server isnt that resource intensive. All the extra addons and things mean you'll probably want a powered USB hub though for your Wifi dongle and other things.

 

[day_trippr]

Just to clarify this, the standard bare bones BrewPi setup/install on the Wiki works fine with Jessie and its what ive been using now for months.

If you want to stick on the addons like the Bluetooth stuff/LCD's/etc you might want to stick with Wheezy.

What - my statement didn't specify all that clearly enough?
Jeeze...everyone's an editor around here...

Cheers!

[edit]

Technically if you have a working wheezy setup on a pi2, you "should" be able to install and run rpi-update. this should install all the necessary firmware updates that should work for the pi3.

Well the weather forecast for the weekend looks iffy so I may actually do this just to see what happens.
However, it won't affect the mission I'm on - to document the process to build a new Jessie system with all the bells and whistles I've incorporated over the last couple of years.

Sadly, by the current state of Jessie it may be a couple years to finish the script...

 

[LBussy]

However, it won't affect the mission I'm on - to document the process to build a new Jessie system with all the bells and whistles I've incorporated over the last couple of years.

Sadly, by the current state of Jessie it may be a couple years to finish the script...

It doesn't bother me a bit ... you should definitely take that time and do it.

Seriously though - I think there's value in maintaining a body of knowledge that "understands" the issues that the common moron (aka: me) will encounter in a community project like this. I read the instructions recommending wheezy, promptly decided it was all just FUD and installed Jessie. I got lucky and as we've said the bare-bones install works fine but I'm sure there will be people that get all twisted up with the new versions.

@day_trippr, when I look back at all the individual posts I've saved out of this project, you have the record by a large margin. We're listening. Please know the help that you, @FuzzeWuzze, @wbarber69 and everyone else have provided is not going unused. Every time you take the time to document something you probably help 20 people who will never post to say thanks.

So: Thanks!

 

[GrogNerd]

@day_trippr, when I look back at all the individual posts I've saved out of this project, you have the record by a large margin. We're listening. Please know the help that you, @FuzzeWuzze, @wbarber69 and everyone else have provided is not going unused. Every time you take the time to document something you probably help 20 people who will never post to say thanks.

So: Thanks!

BIG rockin' cheers

:rockin:

 

[day_trippr]

Well the weather forecast for the weekend looks iffy so I may actually do this just to see what happens.[...]

The drizzle arrived so I tried upgrading my backup brewery controller from Wheezy to Jessie. After a solid three hours watching the screen rip by with literally a thousand package updates and installations, when it finally came time for the first boot into Jessie, the poor RPi2B just sat there.

It had been reduced to a vegetable.
Not a single sign of any working function.
Perhaps even less function than if the uSD card had been totally removed

So I'm cloning it back to my fabulously functional Wheezy installation from the backup card.

I'll revisit my ongoing fresh Jessie build when I see some progress on all the broken functions, but in the meantime I'm just going to enjoy what I have and avoid the aggravation...

Cheers!

 

[wbarber69]

Why did you upgrade from working wheezy to disgusting jesse? you could just upgrade the firmware and see where that gets u

 

[day_trippr]

The firmware alone isn't going to prove anything...

Cheers!

 

[wbarber69]

It will install the necessary firmwares for the new chipset though, and perhaps you'd have a pi3 wheezy to get started with. No good will ever come from trying to upgrade wheezy to Jessie, there's just too many things that have been changed or removed. I mean even the chromium guys can't seem to get it together…

 

[flanken]

@day_trippr, when I look back at all the individual posts I've saved out of this project, you have the record by a large margin. We're listening. Please know the help that you, @FuzzeWuzze, @wbarber69 and everyone else have provided is not going unused. Every time you take the time to document something you probably help 20 people who will never post to say thanks.



So: Thanks!

Yes thank you guys a ton... I've got my first batch happily bubbling away and maintaining a temp within .01F of target thanks to all the instructions and knowledge shared here.

You guys are great.

 

[flanken]

Just to clarify this, the standard bare bones BrewPi setup/install on the Wiki works fine with Jessie and its what ive been using now for months.



If you want to stick on the addons like the Bluetooth stuff/LCD's/etc you might want to stick with Wheezy.

Ditto... I have an RPi3 with Jessie, followed Fuzze's OP schematic and was up and running in no time. It's working great, no hang ups, and thanks to all the great documentation here I caught the potential ".../html" file tree issue during install so it worked the first time around.

I was thinking of going LCD screen at some point but honestly it's so convenient to just whip out my phone and not have to, you know, like stand up and walk somewhere...

 

[GrogNerd]

it's so convenient to just whip out my phone and not have to, you know, like stand up and walk somewhere...

Pesky standing

 

[flanken]

Pesky standing

Right???

 

[day_trippr]

It will install the necessary firmwares for the new chipset though, and perhaps you'd have a pi3 wheezy to get started with. No good will ever come from trying to upgrade wheezy to Jessie, there's just too many things that have been changed or removed. I mean even the chromium guys can't seem to get it together…

I don't have an RPi3, so what would be the point of a firmware-only upgrade?
I don't see one....

Cheers!

 

[wbarber69]

Why are you trying to Jessie?

 

[day_trippr]

"Because it's there"?

That question has been answered numerous times already...

Cheers!

 

[wbarber69]

But it's broken for the most part

 

[day_trippr]

Yes, there are some major teeth-grinding regression issues with Jessie that should never have been allowed to happen.
And then there are the "different way of doing things" stuff that just has to be understood and worked with.

The bottom line is most folks just getting into all of the RPi stuff referenced on HBT will inevitably be trying to get it working on Jessie.
If I'm going to be any help at all - even if only to say "It doesn't work yet" - I have to bite the bullet and see how deep the rabbit hole goes...

Cheers!

 

[LBussy]

So I had no issues with Jessie and RPi 3. I assume that's because I am not using BT (or Alamode) and because I am using the 3? Just trying to understand.

I looked for a RPi 2 online but they are getting harder to find and are more expensive than the 3 oddly enough. When you add in the cost of the wireless and the BT they are quite a bit more. I guess I'll just wait till someone figures it out.

Without having minions (yet) what would be a good test of the BT functionality that might mimic a minion?

 

[day_trippr]

Yes, your success to this point is via avoidance.

Using a fresh Jessie build I have BrewPi running sans Bluetooth and RaspberryPints running sans Alamode.

There is no valid experimenting wrt the Bluetooth issue as it is currently in a "known defect" state.
In a huge regression from Wheezy, there is no support for a plethora of functions in that space, particularly the Serial Port Protocol that's needed for hc-05/-06 devices.

The Alamode issue is unresolved. Currently I have run up against a problem with the IDE that blanks the serial port selection, hence compiling and uploading the required sketch is a no-op.

I haven't tried my temperature logger nor my motion detection stuff on Jessie yet.
No doubt there will be issues there, too...

Cheers!

 

[phishie]

Anyone have any ideas why my LCD profile temp doesn't match my Profile temp (59.0 vs 60.15)? I have clicked refresh on the webpage, chart, and profile.

In case you're wondering about the wacky temp profile it was started at the end of the Oktoberfest d-rest

 

[GrogNerd]

sorry, answering wrong question

 

[phishie]

sorry, answering wrong question

Thank you, I appreciate the response, but I was referring to the "LCD Profile" numbers and the "Profile" numbers. My profile says it should currently be at 59.64 but my LCD Profile says it should be at 58.4. I've pushed refresh on the profile chart. See updated screenshot.

 

[GrogNerd]

I withdrew my answer and have not re-posted, because I really don't have a friggin' clue to the answer

maybe there's a mismatch due to the ramping down, the difference between both the refresh rate of the profile and LCD, and the number of significant digits

if it were my beer in there (and it soon will be, I have a Schwarzbier I'm about to pitch and ferment), I would see the current temperature being consistent with what I expect should be happening and not worry about it

but I'm like the opposite of OCD. and that one little dot at the lower-right corner of lower-case "r" s doesn't bother me 1 bit