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Custom BIAB Setup

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We've now completed two brews using our home-made BIAB setup, which is based on the guidance in James Morton's "BREW", but with a few of our own modifications. Basic Setup We followed the book pretty closely here. We got a Polypropylene bucket from thebrewshop.co.uk which says they can be used as boilers AT YOUR OWN RISK. Well, we like to live dangerously. An electric element is screwed into the side. So is the tap. You can also see a thermowell which contains one of temperature probes, the hop filter at the bottom, another temperature probe at the end of a black cable, and level markings done with a sharpie. We insulated the whole thing using foam camping mats cut to shape. Not only does this stop all the heat leaking out, it also makes the bucket look futuristic. The tap has a barb fitting which makes it very easy to attach a silicone tubing just by pushing it on (no hose clip). Left: Inside the masher boiler- element, thermowell, hop filter and a sec
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Home Brewing Fementer Temperature Control & Monitoring using Arduino & emoncms

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I recently decided to have a go at home brewing with a friend. Having read  "Brew" by James Morton , I realised that careful control of fermentation temperatures is important for avoiding nasty beer. A few years ago, I discovered  OpenEnergyMonitor , and as well as developing a system for monitoring energy use in my house, I also learned how to use Arduino-based devices for controlling stuff. So it was clear that I should bring this knowledge to home brewing, and particularly to the fermentation process. This project involves; Hacking a fridge to act as the fermentation chamber Control of fridge cooling and heating to maintain a constant beer temperature using Arduino-based device and programming. Use of  openenergymonitor  setup and  emoncms  to monitor beer and fridge conditions during the fermentation period. Let me know what you think! I'm not an expert in any of these areas, so suggestions for improvements welcome. Hardware Fridge We picked up a s
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