Arduino controlled brewery

[Padraic]

How are the arduino projects coming along?

Some porn inspiration : http://imgur.com/a/QcXxF

A link to his spiel: http://www.reddit.com/r/arduino/comments/1srcm8/arduino_controlled_beer_brewing_machine/

[JD]

Hi Padraic,

I'm doing a fermentation controller project with the Intel Galileo. I've already posted an overview of the board and the proposed project. My next post will be about the hardware design and it should appear in about a week or two (I'm gathering the bits and pieces as we speak. Still waiting for the SSRs and the temperature probes from Amazon though). Over the next couple of months, I'll post articles about the build, the software design and the software implementation. Hopefully, we'll get the thing completed in time to be useful for our annual competition but we'll see. Real life, as always, has higher priority.

As regards a brewery controller, that is a lot more expensive option. The problem area is the pumps, followed very quickly by the servo controlled valves. It very quickly amounts to the best part of €1000 to put the whole together. Two pumps are required (or, if batch sparging is sufficient, one pump and a fancy valve system). The goal of a brewery controller is temperature management, automated liquid movements and time management.  Only the last one can be done without expensive plumbing bits.

When I'm finished with the fermentation controller, I'll have a look at an automated brewery. I'll be canvassing ideas for reducing the amount of plumbing, pumps, vessels, etc. when I do, so thinking caps on in the meantime. The goal would be a system that would still be 100% automated (ignoring the manual steps of adding/removing the grain and cleaning) but would be affordable by the majority of the membership.

Until then, have a Happy Christmas.
/JD

[Stitch]

JD

What temperature probes are you using? I looked at this with the Arduino and was left with SPI probes. I was hoping to read directly with a PT1000 probe but was left with the situation of building more circuitry. Never got around to it but still very interested.

Thanks

[DEMPSEY]

Brewrob you should come down for a pint in the LC from time to time. Need to pick your brain when its oiled up well.

[Ciderhead]

A brewing elf dropped something in my post box and it's gone straight under the tree but here's what was written on the front on the box



Edit
The last piece of the jigsaw from the parcelforce elves
Dreading putting all this together now, hardware yes, installation and programming no:(

[JD]

What temperature probes are you using?

I've ordered a handful of http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EU70ZL8/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 probes (the link is to a pack of 5 for about €13+p&p). These probes are digital, One-Wire, come with an integral thermowell and 2M long leads. They are accurate to 0.5^oC over the range were interested in, have a setting time is 0.75sec and are food safe at fermentation temperatures.

These are the same ones used in the BrewPi project but that's not Arduino based.
/J

[Stitch]

Yeah they are the SPI probes. Same ones to use with the Arduino alright. Thanks

[Ciderhead]

Update
Phase 1, Assembly completed, now the easy bit, firmware and programming 

[Will_D]

And I thought you were in bed with the Flu!

I await your call!

I have read about the downloading bit: Simples? maybe not!

[imark]

Been fluting around with a budget Brewpi build over last month. Don't worry about Installing software and programming with brew pi is a piece of cake.
Good wiki and pretty much foolproof if you follow the instructions. Good luck!

[imark]

After a minor blip in December involing using a SSR-10VA instead of a SSR-25DA which led to a fried arduino and probes...stupid mistake! I've left the STC-1000 probe in there to monitor temperature is as reported. The logging capability looks very interesting in terms of understanding your fermentation.
Anybody else using brewpi?

[Shane Phelan]

Have been doing a lot of Arduino programming this week and found a nice little program [guide here] that works relatively well with arduino.

The main reason I use it is for code folding but its really nice to use!

[Ciderhead]

Code folding?

[Shane Phelan]

Yeah I really should be putting this stuff into libraries too but I'm not experienced enough yet to do that, terrified I would just end up breaking the program. The code folding is great for that period where the code is built but you haven't moved the stuff into libraries yet.

Code folding?

If you look at line 104 - 129 all the lines of a function are visible. Once you get a function working correctly you don't need to be looking at that code any more. You then fold (hide) the code and all you see is folded functions like can be seen on lines 132 to 200. Its makes the code significantly easier to read and understand when you fold. 

[Ciderhead]

Cool, gotcha