You have summarized it correctly.
Multi chamber support is not low priority, but it involves a lot of changes not just on the controller, but also in the web interface and data logging.
Instead of 3 fixed sensors, there are now a flexible number of sensors, which means multiple graphs, multiple controllers, multiple simultaneous brews, and a flexible dashboard to show them. This is the next big step in the software, but due to the changes on multiple levels not an easy one.
The hardware is capable of handling it and I am working on the software. The first step is to rewrite the software architecture on the embedded controller, which I have started already.
I am wondering what the exact approach is. Basically the Spark could control and endless number of sensors and actors if I got this right, so is the idea to have one Spark controlling multiple champers or is it thought that one has to get a Spark for every champer?
If I got this right, the raspberry will still be used as a sever, or would the Spark even replace the raspberry?
Is the idea in the future to allow multiple sparks which control multiple chambers to connect wirelessly to the raspberry-server? In my opinion this would give the gratest flexibility.
One Spark should be powerful enough to run multiple chambers, it is not powerful enough to run a database and web server.
In the future, all control will not be centered around chambers, but around PIDs.
Each PID takes a setpoint and a sensor as input, but they are mostly independent.
One fermentor could be 3 PIDs: one for heating, one for cooling and 1 to give a fridge set point from the beer temp.
Then you could have another 3 PIDs for a second chamber and 3 for your mash setup.
But it could be much simpler: one sensor, one heater, one setpoint, one PID.
Multiple beers in a single fridge could be:
1 PID for beer 1 (heater)
1 PID for beer 2 (heater)
1 PID to cool the fridge
1 PID to set the fridge setpoint (based both beers? Need to think about how this would work exactly)
So by making it just a list of PIDs, this could be very flexible.
Wow, this is exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you Elco, can’t wait for the update
My Spark will arrive today, the raspberry is already setup and waiting. Very very excited to get the first fridge up and running!
Edit:
I want to be ready once the update arrives, so I already bought all the relais, expansion bords and sensors I will need in the future. I hooked up an expansion bord with a 10 meter long cable yesterday, on the expansion bord I connected two relais and 3 sensors. All devices show up on the webinterface. now I am excited for the future
Not sure if it’s in the use cases or not but I have a separate double glass door (True) fridge that I like to keep at 45F for beer storage. At the moment I have an adruino controller controlling it but I would like to eventually have the spark control everything. So based on what it sounds like I would have the following set of PID’s
Fermentation Chamber
Heating PID
Cooling PID
Fridge Set Point PID
Beer Storage Fridge
Cooling PID
Fridge Set Point PID
There will never be a second beer sensor on Arduino. At least not coded by me.
The Arduino platform is not compatible with the newer software that runs on the Photon, due to the constraints of the hardware.
I’m wondering what the progress is on this. The ionly thing holding me back from moving to control via Brew pi is that I need it to be able to control multiple chambers. I had thought from the “introducing the spark”, and the sale of expansion boards that this was a capablity, but from further reading it seems not. The promise of daisychaining things infinitely was seductive, but appears unrealised to date.
Am I correct that it won’t currently allow more than one fermenter to be controlled? And if so, is there a sense of when that might change?
I see the code for spark (phanton) 4.3 released in Apr 2016 states “This was needed to start changing how we persist, read and write objects in the future, so you can control multiple processes, instead of just one beer.” I get this is done by volunteers and such. Wondering how close (Beta or full release) to completing this? This is the last piece Im looking for from this project (1 Spark v2 to control 2 Fermenters (FTSs Pump and heating pad)). This will complete my basement brewery project!
