Is the shield necessary and a few other questions?

[CCNB]

Ok so I have a couple different problems.

1. Is the BrewPi shield necessary?
   -I am using this on a project unrelated to Beer. BrewPi was recommended by a friend
   -For the curious this is going to control a heater for a Tortoise building.

2. I get BrewPi to recognize temp sensors but it will not activate Digital port 2 on my arduino uno to switch the SSR when it needs to heat.
   -I have put a volt meter to it.

3. Every time I refresh the devices it blows out all my currently set devices. I have even tried a new arduino uno.
   -I am using the hex code for the arduino uno revC.

From what I can tell I am doing everything correctly. I thought the shield was mainly if you are running a LCD screen.

[Elco]

Try resetting EEPROM to load the default settings:

"Detected Devices" cannot be installed

For an easier way to do this, use: echo -ne 'E\n' > /dev/ttyACM0 We require the EEPROM reset before overwriting EEPROM after a change to the EEPROM format (or a fresh install). This is to ensure that you are not overwriting settings that you have not read off the device and need to be restored.

[CCNB]

After all my heart ache that is all it took, worked like a charm. Now everything seems to be working like it is supposed to. I really appreciate your help. Looks like I will build my own shield for my arduino now. I am really excited to try out Brewpi it seems like it will work perfect for my application. My buddy that is a brewer swears by BrewPi.