We’re also trying to implement the Particle kegboard. We have the flow meters printing ticks to the Particle web console, and it seems you can plug in the hostname and port in the Kegerator settings of the Android app. But, we’re worried that the particle won’t get good wifi signal inside the kegerator.
Does the particle work with the tablet app with the OTG cable? If so, how do you get it setup to do that? I can’t seem to find a way.
I’ve ordered myself a Particle and am awaiting its arrival. Just a question to those that have already constructed their kegbot this way, did you use a pull resistor when attaching your flow meters to the particle, and if so what value. I can’t find a recommendation from my manufacturer on mine (bought of alibaba) and was just going to start at 2.2k.
edit: flow meters purchased off alibaba, particle purchased direct from manufacturer.
I just got a couple particle boards in- I love them already. I see you started adding the onewire temp support, but it isn’t outputted with the data. I’m assuming it has to be added to the data block on the particle, and then the android app has to be modded to expect it?
Also, just to be clear, even with the particle, the data flow is sensor->particle->wifi->tablet->kegbot server?
Since this removes the need for the usb/OTG setup, I’m thinking about trying my hand at an iOS app. Thoughts?
My thanks to all of the pioneering, beer-loving, technologist that have taken the lead on starting this work. I have read through many of the forum post and have enjoyed seeing the challenges, ideas, solutions.
It is time for my own build. I have a dual tap kegorator [partially] full of home-brew beer. Very tasty. I also have family and friends that are also enjoying my beer. I am in the process of ramping up production and the KEGBOT / PHOTON / NEXUS 7 TABLET solution looks like a great solution for keeping tabs on things.
My question: Can one of you kind people point me to the best overview diagram of what hardware pieces to buy and configure for a two tap solution using the flow-meters, photon, kegboards (needed?), Arduino Duemilanove (needed?), cabling, and tablet (such as an Asus Nexus 7 tablet - for which I have an extra and would live to use). I will also want to add the one-wire temperature sensors which looks like they interface very nicely with the photon boards.
Thanks in advance for pointers.
Hey e2r4… where did you the schematics? Got a link? Was it a 2.2k pull-up? Why not use the particle integrated pull-up by designating pinMode ( switchPin , INPUT_PULLUP ); ?
Thanks in advance,
Never mind… I think I just answered my own question. See line 68 in the code of https://github.com/Kegbot/kegboard-particle/blob/master/main.ino
By my reading no pull-up or pull-down resister is required.
Can one of you smart people confirm?
I was following the schematics from the kegboard and added the external resistor because I thought it was needed. But it looks like the particle code uses the internal pull up resistor so mine just increases it from 40k Ohms to 42.2k Ohms.
Just skimmed through this thread. I’ve been working with Particle devices for years and they are amazing.
If you want to host the Particle cloud locally (rPi or a server) check out our fork - https://github.com/Brewskey/spark-server
Setup for this is super quick
Awesome stuff. I just came across kegbot and I am super interested. I really like how the Particle option doesn’t result in a cable running out of the kegerator, as the signal just goes over Wifi.
My question is: does anybody have any interesting ideas for powering the Particle + flow sensor? Using a battery seems less than ideal but also running power from the outside destroys the aesthetic of the wireless signal. Any ideas? Can you tap into power anywhere inside a typical kegerator?
I popped the top of my kegerator and then ran the wire through the tap hole. There was plenty of room and you can’t tell anything was added.
Hi Folks,
I am looking to try to switch over to a photon board from my arduino (less than a month in service) mainly due to connectivity issues with the OTG and the cable management.
2 Questions I have are:
Can I wire the flow meters up the same way with the 2200 ohm resistors? I see talk on here about pull_up values but I am not sure what those are (IE a way to mimic the output of the voltage?)
Is there any documentation on the setup process? like a step by step guide?
thanks in advance!
All I can say is wow! I am brand new to this, and you guys are doing great work here! I just built a 3 tap system in a converted medium size freezer, and would love to do this. How is this process coming? And is there any step by step guide or this and itemized parts list? Thank you in advance!
Hi keg,
I just finished building one and would be happy to share what I learned. I used the Arduino board as I didn’t know about the photon board.
That would be great! I am currently working on trying to get my sever up and running, I started a different thread for that problem. Can the Arduino board handle more that one tap?
yes, I am running a DUO that will allow 2 taps…
I am running 2 SF-800 flow meters but I reccomend against them as they are BSP fitting and i have had a hell of a time getting fittings to match. I was able to get some cast brass ones but now I have way too much foam. I suspect it is because the brass is rough.
I also removes the stock connectors from the meters and soldered on new ones that fit what I had.
here are some pictures of what I did:
Cool, thanks for the pictures. I just got my server up and running in no hardware mode; still working thru some of the configuration. Yes, the brass is probably adding to the foam issue, I’ve also read CO2 pressure can cause it too…
So if I want to support 3 taps, then I’d have to use two of the Arduino DUO’s?
What kind of flow meters would you recommend if not using the SF-800’s? I saw these inexpensive ones https://www.adafruit.com/product/828
If you want to go with 3 taps I think you could also you an Arduino MEGA, that allows for more connection points. or you can use 2 Duo boards, connected to a USB hub and then to your tablet.
As for the flow meters, I am not up on those… I seen in some posts that when they were selling their own, kegbot switched from Swissflow to another brand. I will see if I can lookup what that was.
So given all the information on the forum, I opted to go with the swissflow meters; and I’ll deal with the extra length and fittings. I found an acer a210 tablet mentioned in the build docs, so i jump on it. Would this be the Arduino MEGA board I’m looking for: https://store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-mega-2560-rev3
What is the green circuit board from your picture above? Is that the shield board, and replaces the little coaster parts that have the cat5 connectors to the flow meters (seen in other builds)?
Thanks for your help
Let me know how you connect our SF meters to your beer lines, I had problems finding fittings as the SF meters are in BSP thread and most stores here only sell NSP.
That MEGA board looks correct; the only thing you may need to do is to map the additional inputs in the Arduino code. this may be fixed in newer versions. best bet is to install the base code and try it… if it doesn’t work I know there is documentation floating around on adding in the other inputs.
The Green boad I added was just a plain PCB board for the Arduino DUO. it is not needed, but it does make it easier as it provides a canvas to install the resistors and you can add in dupont connectors to mount it on top of the arduino boards. I found this one at a local hobby store.
The Cat5 boards are the ones that Kegbot sold directly but not required. in the picture above you will also see that I cut off the connectors that came with the SF-800 and replaced them with ones that would fit the parts I had. I could have soldered them direct to the board but I wanted to be able to remove them when needed.
Hope this helps.
