From the look of the line above, the Fuscas device isn’t working as there are no temperature values being logged from it. You can see the Brewpi values above… However, there should also be a ‘;’ between the null and the 72.0 value above… i.e.:
;null;72.0;1.023;
This could be part of the problem
Thanks Let me ask a more direct question. If starting from scratch today, what can I do to log and display temp and SG over time using RPI and Tilt?
Follow on question - is there any way to use Tilt data to control fermentation temp?
I think if you’re just looking to log and display temp, then you might be best looking at trying to use the raspberry pi to send the data to something like the brewstat.us site (or simply google sheets).
There’s currently no way to use the tilt data to control fermentation temp. You could code something to trigger changes in BrewPi by watching the gravity data, but AFAIK there’s nothing built to do this yet.
Sorry for the delay in replying - not sure if you’ve already solved this?
i’m not 100% sure what’s going on here. From memory my lescan results didn’t come up as (Unknown). Unfortunately I recently moved house and I’m still to unpack my brewing stuff, so I can’t test it for you. Hopefully in the next few weeks I’ll be able to test it.
Any chance of pictures of this and maybe links to parts as I am struggling a bit too see how the pressure is contained and not just leaking if using a grommet rather than the usual bulkhead setup.
Also I have seen the guy behind it post on an Aussie forum about drilling in the place they recommend for the tracking arm at the bottom, where it is thicker and designed to allow for this. Although they say that you should then not use it for pressurised fermentation he mentioned that this was only because they were a little worried about the occasional user making a new of the drill hole; pressure testing afterwards let’s you check the integrity anyway. Just wondering why you went for the lid approach instead after speaking with them and did it mean getting a super long probe?
Just wondering if you were still thinking about a branch approach moving forward? I appreciate from another posting that you have been moving house and have probably been time poor though!
So I emailed the guys over at Tilt about this battery issue and unfortunately, it seems there is no good answer. Here is what they said:
"Chris,
We don’t have a voltage sensor on the “Tilt 2.0”. As an alternative you can use the “odometer” feature that keeps a running clock of how long the battery has been installed for. The data is in the last byte of the advertising string, normally used for measuring signal strength at 1 meter for iBeacon advertisements. Units are in quarter weeks or weeks depending on the type of caps you have (machined caps or injection molded caps).
Cheers,
Marcus"
The color of the actual circuit board in your Tilt determines the version. A green board is V1 and black is V2.
With all that said, I just don’t know enough about “iBeacon advertisements” to even pull the “odometer” value out of my tilt. But maybe you or somebody else that is smart on bluetooth can figure it out.
Howdy,
I’ve written up the process here: http://www.overengineeredbrewing.com/2018/02/fermentasaurus-thermowell-and-pressure-ferments/.
The reality is that the pressure on that hole is actually quite small, even at high pressures (i.e 70 PSI). I originally was going the bulkhead route too, but the manufacturer said that a grommet should be sufficient. I had a 40 cm thermowell from my previous fermenter, so I didn’t need to purchase an additional one.
Once we move to our new software stack, this will be possible. The plugin for the tilt could be coupled to an ‘external temp sensor’ object on the controller. This object would be a virtual temp sensor, that is set by an external service. To prevent stale data ruining a brew, it will switch to ‘invalid temp’ if for example no update has been received for a few minutes.
However, the temp sensor in the tilt will be less accurate than a OneWire sensor in a thermowell. The problem here is that it is taped to the side, which will cause it to be influenced by the air temperature too much.
Cheers that gives a great overview and food for thought.
I do get that the OneWire would be more accurate, but I don’t think I need that level of accuracy. I want something in the wort vs external (as you say). Since I’ll have the Tilt for SG, why have a second device for temp?
Once we move to our new software stack, this will be possible. The plugin for the tilt could be coupled to an ‘external temp sensor’ object on the controller.
Great news!
Thank you. (Sorry, been swamped). Sounds like I have something to work with for now.
If it’s worth anything, my Tilt’s temp readings have drifted by ~1degC since I calibrated it about 6-8months ago. If you’re not bothered about the inaccuracy of the Tilt, you may as well be sticking a basic one wire sensor on the outside of the fermentor, imo.
Also worth thinking about the quatization error on the Tilt’s temp readings. I think it’s about 1degC, iirc? It’d be really difficult for BrewPi to keep that anywhere near stable. Esp when it first winds up, when ramping, or during heavy activity.
If you don’t want accuracy, it’s probably worth saving your money and buying something other than a BrewPi imo.
I see a 4-5 degree F difference between the external probe and the internal one (Tilt). And from heating to cooling (or vice versa), the temp might be high or low. One cannot be certain how to adjust for this.
On the other hand, regular calibration of instruments is an expected part of brewing.
I’ve written up the process here: http://www.overengineeredbrewing.com/2018/02/fermentasaurus-thermowell-and-pressure-ferments
Gorgeous website! Can’t wait for more content.
Is this fully working for you now, using those steps to create the docker?
I do have it working running on a RPi 3 with the latest updates.
Be sure to use the --net=host parameter when creating the container.
Just catching up up on all the new posts since last year (when I got up and running and basically never changed anything), because my SD card got corrupted and I had to start over.
I’m on the Arduino/Legacy fork, but curious if the update you made to js/beer-chart.js would work on the Arduino fork too, since it’s just for the webage? I’d love it to load faster! Has anyone confirmed this?
Is this in addition to the change of:
Go to the brewpy.py file and find the line (line 427):
brewometer = Brewometer.BrewometerManager(False, 300, 10000)
change it to:
brewometer = Brewometer.BrewometerManager(True, 300, 10000)
?
My current install has this silly Tilt reporting in C when I have my Brewpi setup to display in F. It’s just the tilt reporting in C (even in the bluetooth test).
Hi,
You should just need to do the:
brewometer = Brewometer.BrewometerManager(True, 300, 10000) change.
The other one was for debugging an issue, and shouldn’t have any real impact.
The beer-chart.js changes should work with the Arduino fork.