Originally published at: https://www.brewpi.com/now-available-brewpi-spark-3/
Today, we can proudly announce that the BrewPi Spark 3 is ready to ship! With a complete redesign of the electronics and the casing, its our biggest update to date and it has been a long journey. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I have a newfound sympathy for overdue kickstarter projects. Designing a new…
8 Likes
Awesome !!! (I’ve been waiting for nearly two month now)
Thanks for your Job Elco (and the whole team I do not know).
1 Like
Looking good - how things have progressed from the arduino days!
Have you any plans to try and do anything for commercial breweries? There are a few places where temperature is pretty key so this could be a great alternative to existing solutions (FV, HLT, CLT, etc).
I ask as I’m just in the process of starting a 2000l brewery and found the brewpi a great little device for controlling my fermentation fridge.
1 Like
The algorithms are configurable enough to adapt them to work well with large vessels.
For larger breweries, I think you are probably looking into glycol, which could be controlled with the Spark. Small commercial breweries are definitely on my radar, but we’d have to talk about your exact needs to see whether it fits.
Yes, glycol chillers are pretty ubiquitous.
It is a tiny bit simpler in the sense that large scale brewing doesn’t require heating control for the FV, with it being an exothermic reaction it’s all about keeping it cool and under control - in this part of the world anyway.
There does seem to be a bit of a gap in the market. Most of the existing solutions I’ve seen don’t offer the same level of control as BrewPI (temp schedules), aren’t accessible over the web, and are a lot more expensive.
Hey Elco, before I press the “buy” button I have a quick question. It looks like the green actuator plugs on the top and bottom have a specific plug that fits into the Spark. Do those come with it or do I have to buy them separately? If I need to purchase them separately, where can I find them?
Thanks, Matt
1 Like
5 of them are included.
WOW, I bought BrewPi Spark 2 with rosey cheeks of all the promises of multi ferment chamber and ability to control brewing equipment only to find it is now just a paper weight cause you have built a complete new unit (again probably filled with false promises)…Good on ya
The software on the BrewPi Spark 2 will be nearly identical to the Spark 3. This new release does not make it obsolete. The hardware updates were mostly for reliability and manufacturability.
The Spark 3 has not been made because the Spark 2 didn’t suffice anymore, we made it because there were some aspects of the Spark 2 that were hard to manufacture and easy to break.
I didn’t deliver yet on multichamber promises because it turned to be much harder than I thought to do it right. They will come and you will receive these updates on all spark versions. I am not trying to take your money and run with it, I know I have an obligation to deliver these updates and I am doing my utmost best.
2 Likes
Hello Elco, great news on the release and congrats.
I am an original Arduino user and am wondering about upgrading. I’m running BrewPi in the original scheme controlling just 1 chamber, and I do not plan on controlling the brew process as I have a fully direct fire rig.
What would the benefits of going to the Spark3 be for me? Is it worth the $$ to upgrade?
That’s up to you. If you are happy with the performance, maybe not. I think for your situation, these are the relevant points:
The algorithms on the spark are different. They allow you to:
- Drive the heater and cooler with PWM
- Configure the cycle time (pwm period) for the compressor
- Customize the minimum on and off time for the compressor
- Set a minimum time between a heating-cooling switch
Next to this:
- Wifi
- Nice display
- 3 logging sensors instead of room temp
We’ll keep adding features. If you don’t see the need to switch in the stuff above, you can always switch when we release functionality you really want.
Yea, you’re right! I saw him earlier downtown with suitcases full of millions of Euros. He was booking a one-way ticket to the Seychelles! Thanks to your detective work you’ve foiled his plan!
1 Like