Does anyone know if this unit would work as the basis for this project? Thanks
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075H8X7H2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Hey guys. Great thread. I'm going to take some time to read over this stuff over the next few days. I'm an electronic engineer working at an electronics factory in South Deerfield, MA. I love the idea of this project and excited to contribute to it. Ultimately my goal is to get some nice clean (English) documentation to make this a bit easier and less fiddly. I'm going to work on capturing the schematic and PCB layout in KiCAD (open source design tool) so that anybody else that wants to can hack on it. Looking forward to working with you all on it.
I've gone through the first 6 pages so far. Lots of super smart folks working on this project. Basically, my goals are to make building these super simple. Find a tube that will work, then design a PCB that'll fit that tube perfectly and have battery clips for the battery, so that you don't need to solder wires to the battery or 3D print any sleds.
I am thinking about making one of these, and have a question. I saw a cheap d1 mini / esp8266 board with built in battery and charging capability on amazon here.
Seems like that would greatly simplify this project by eliminating needing to have a separate charging breakout board and shorting issues that people are having, correct? At that point, all that's left is the temp probe, gyro, and sled (which can be improvised).
Has anyone tried it?
Well, looks like @lightnin9 and I had the same idea at the same time. I ordered a pair of them from AliExpress, will give this a go whenever they get here. Will probably write the code from scratch and use Blynk or something similar for instead of the ispindel firmware.
Ouch. That's a real bummer. Whenever we solder things that a human will touch we always recommend that the component be of a "thru-hole" variety. We like to say "Imagine a gorilla plugging and unplugging a cable from that." when we speak with designers. Definitely a good idea to add some epoxy to that SMT only USB port.Quick update on the above: bought two of them, and the USB ports broke off both IMMEDIATELY. Seems others have also had this problem. Re-purchasing them, will epoxy them to reinforce the very weak soldering.
Ok in case anybody is a little confused about what parts do what and where to find them, I put together a nice little summary on my website. http://www.echrisdenney.com/2019/03/01/ispindel-project-post-2/
But now I see the "most-in-one" board that shoo found on Amazon and now I'm rethinking what to use...
Ahh well, you learn more with my bill of materials anyway.
This is from the iSpindel FAQ pageHas anyone had luck using their iSpindle in a stainless conical? I worked up two of them and made it through testing /calibration with 7 strengths of sugar water with a 10 second refresh rate. Filled up my two half barrel brewtechs with the days brews, set them to a 30 minute refresh rate, and threw them in. From that point on, I've been unable to confirm any communication. My wireless AP is only about 15 feet away, through one wall and the fermenter wall. I know for certain that they were turned on, and the last readings I had showed 4.2+ volts when they were floating in sanitizer. Seems strange to me that they both died right after changing to 30 minute refresh rates and putting in the fermenter. The only thing I can assume is the stainless interfering but I've read several other people reporting no issues using them that way. Any thoughts?
Ok in case anybody is a little confused about what parts do what and where to find them, I put together a nice little summary on my website. http://www.echrisdenney.com/2019/03/01/ispindel-project-post-2/
But now I see the "most-in-one" board that shoo found on Amazon and now I'm rethinking what to use...
Ahh well, you learn more with my bill of materials anyway.
Quick update on the above: bought two of them, and the USB ports broke off both IMMEDIATELY. Seems others have also had this problem. Re-purchasing them, will epoxy them to reinforce the very weak soldering.
I can now officially say: don't go with the all in one, at least not that particular model. Bought a third one (free after refund), and that one broke as well, even with me being ultra ultra careful with the port. A quick look reveals that the port is glued on, and whatever was used to do the gluing is totally junk. Shame, would have been a really convenient solution.
Update: I gave it one more go (hey, why not), and good news! A liberal application of hot glue on and around the port takes care of that problem pretty nicely. Port is rock solid. Game on!
Got mine all put together last weekend, and finally got it in a batch. I use brewersfriend for recipes/etc. and they also have an integration with tilt and ispindel. Pretty cool.
Some takeaways:
1. I did water & OG method of calibration, using the online formula calculator. I learned that it's a good idea to take the resultant polynomials and google their chart to make sure they make sense. I don't know why, but they don't automatically show up on that page like it seems that they do for some of you. Anyways, the 3rd order poly actually went negative before getting back to 1.00SG, which of course makes no sense. So I went with the 2nd order, which looks much more realistic.
Are people mostly using the Petling XL or the XXL? I'm getting ready to order for this project.
Thanks!
I looked at the 4.0 version, and for some reason it's $19 instead of $5 for the 3.2.
I couldn't find a clear difference between them, so I went with the cheaper one.
I can't believe there aren't more people putting these together, it really seems like a great project.
Thanks for the suggestion about BrewSpy. I need to look into that. Currently using Fermentrack.
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