First of all I would like to say this has so far been a great learning experience for me. I can honestly say I am having a lot of fun with the build.
Last night I finished my hardware setup for my new fermentation controller. Here is a simple wiring diagram of what the setup looks like: https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share/2Hgqq74gOQvUcuNHNWceBDJ170pcbdTN9XS78lOd1NX
The only difference is I changed the IN1 and IN2 pins on the relay to interface with Digital 28 and 29 on the Mega.
Unfortunately I am having an issue. The power supply I purchased is the 12V unit recommended in the order list. Here's the link: http://amzn.to/2qBZ3Dj
I powered my relay and my Mega using the 12V output on the brick. One thing I am not sure of is if my ground should go to the DC V- on the power brick or the Ground connector coming from the 120V socket. Right now I have the Mega ground running to V- and the VIN to VIN V+. After powering everything up as shown in the diagram, the relay displayed 2 active red LEDs and I could ping the shield Ethernet address. I could not, on the other hand, connect BruControl to the interface. I then switched over to USB (5V) power and I was able to communicate with the interface again, but the relay was totally inactive (no LEDs and could not activate with the interface). I decided to then try using the 9V power adapter and this time the LEDs were lit (dimly) and I was able to turn them on/off using the interface.
I tried my second Mega and it responds the same way. I'm thinking this is a wiring issue or the Mega may work better with a 5V brick and 5V relay. I would like to hear some thoughts from the pros out there. In the meantime I ordered a 5v brick and relay to test out.
I appreciate any input. Thanks
Hi,
First, it is important to build and test in layers, so you know what broke when you added the last layer.
1. You should make sure you can communicate with the MEGA alone first (without any hardware like probes or relays). Test with port 13, which is the onboard LED. You must be able to turn that on and off via BruControl. Do this via USB power first.
2. Then add the power supply. You have the correct voltage and wiring. Power supply V- to MEGA ground and power supply V+ to the MEGA Vin pin. Make sure it is not more than 12V. Test communication with BruControl.
3. Now add your probes (you need to power down and restart the MEGA for it to initialize them, but you should always wire unplugged anyway). Create those devices in BC and make sure you are getting readings.
4. Now add your relay. One thing I see in your picture is you have a 5V relay coil but a 12V power supply. That will not work and you may overload (aka burn up aka destroy) the front end of the relays. If you use a 12V power supply, you need to use a 12V relay coil. Also, if you use a 12V relay coil, you must use an 'Active Low' or 'Low Trigger' board, as the ground (or low signal) is what triggers the board. An active high board will not work as 5V from the MEGA will not provide enough voltage to trigger the 12V coil's front end circuitry.
If you are still having trouble, email us, and we may even connect via phone to help.
Thanks for the quick reply.
I will run through these steps later today.
I do have a 12V relay w/active low (I had checked this during troubleshooting), I guess I copied the wrong image. I also noticed the voltage adjustment dial on the brick and made sure I dialed this down to <12V.
I received my 5V power brick and relay. I decided to wire these up as opposed to testing the 12V hardware (I was running out of time and I am going on vacation. The goal is to be able to remotely monitor the fermentation.)
The good news is everything is working correctly using the same wiring as the 12V shown above. I am now controlling the fermentation using BruControl!
When I come back from vacation I will try to come up with a script for a fermentation schedule.
Thanks again BrunDog for all the assistance!
Glad to hear it. I am surprised that 12V relays work with 5V, but if it's working... rock on!
Actually the relay is also 5V.
Ok, cool.
There is a fermentation schedule example in the Scripts section of this forum.
Enjoy your vacay!
Thanks BrunDog! I enjoyed the time off.
Just wanted to update everyone on how the fermentation control went. Before leaving I noticed the interface disconnected from the software. I was able to ping the IP assigned to the shield just fine, but the software reported a disconnected interface. I power-cycled the Arduino and it came back, only to disconnect again some time later. I swapped my MEGA board with an extra one and the problem went away (Or so i thought).
Fast forward to 4 hours on the road. I logged in to my server remotely and realized the interface disconnected once again. I was freaking out at this point imagining I would come home a week later to a ruined batch of beer. Three days later I checked again and to my surprise the interface was back. It also looked like it kept the temperature I had preset (Whew!). One day later I ramped the temperature up a bit for a diacytl rest.
The interface never disconnected after that. I came home to a perfectly fermented beer. I then started the cold crash. I have not implemented a schedule, I think I'll do that for the next batch.
Thanks again BrunDog for the bulletproof software. I think I'll run through some more tests and try to figure out what caused the disconnect.
By the way, is there a way to implement some kind of bubble counter to monitor fermentation activity? Maybe a visual sensor?
Hi FuryNut,
Interesting. So I am clear, you have a MEGA connected to BC via Ethernet 1 shield? We have seen disconnection issues with USB but not Ethernet. How is the Ethernet connected to BC (via switch, Wifi bridge, etc.)? If you can ping it, BC should be able to communicate with it.
It is connected using wired Ethernet to a switch that is then wired to my router.
Please email us the log files (Documents... BruControl... Logs), include all the days where a disconnection happened.
Ok sent.
