Control system
Content based on version 1.8X
Firmware version
The current firmware version is displayed in the upper right corner on the home screen.
General design principles
The device user interface utilizes some general design principles.
Blue text and blue digits indicate that it can be pressed to control a certain function. White text or white digits indicates that it has no function. Blue text or digits can have either one or two functions.
Push – First function
Push and hold – Second function
Green color is used to indicate that the heater or pump is turned ON.
3. Every place where the user is prompted to input a value a numeric pad will appear. The allowed numeric range is displayed at the top of the numeric pad. The displayed range is dynamic in terms of volume (liter/US gallon) and temperature (°C / °F) set in settings. If the user types an invalid number, nothing will happen when pushing «OK».
Common functions
Timer
A common timer function is made available from manual control, recipe, and delayed start. The timer has two functions.
Push – First function – set the timer
Push and hold – Second function – pause or resume timer
The timer made available in manual mode and recipe mode show remaining time in MM:SS format. Push to set a new time or push and hold to pause the timer. The timer blir start to blink to indicate that the timer is paused. Push and hold once more to resume the timer. When the time is up, the built in buzzer will sound according to the settings. Please see seperate section regarding settings.
The timer used for delayed start is slightly different. As it allows for up to 24 hours, the format is HH:MM:SS to provide a better user experience. Please see separate section for delayed start mode.
Pump control
The pump can be turned ON and OFF using the round button to the left of the slider. The slider is used to control the pump speed.
Heater control
The built-in heaters can be controlled in three different modes. Push the blue text to toggle between the modes.
AUTO – PID control limited by “Max current” set in settings menu.
MASH – PID control limited by “Mash mode power” multiplied by “Max current” set in settings menu.
MANUAL – Manual power control based on slider position. “Max current” set in settings menu define the scaling of power output.
The heaters can always be manually turned ON and OFF by pushing the round button on the left side of the slider.
The PID controller only use one temperature sensor at the time as process input. This means that it uses either the tank sensor or the pump in-line sensor. Indication to what sensor is currently in used as process input is indicated by the text above the actual temperature display.
In settings menu, a «sensor threshold» can be defined. This value is set in percentage and cohere to the pump speed. If the pump speed is set, using the slider, to a value higher than the threshold, the PID controller will automatically switch to using the pump in-line sensor. Similar, if the pump speed is set to a value lower than the threshold, the PID controller will automatically switch to using the tank sensor. This is to ensure that the in-line pump sensor is not used as process input if the pump speed is too low to provide a satisfying temperature control. It is always possible to override what sensor that should be used by pushing the temperature value. Selected sensor is indicated by the text above the actual temperature value. If sensor selection is overridden, the text will be displayed as red as opposed to blue.
Return temperature and mash temperature
In addition to the Tank- and Pump sensor, further two temperature sensors can be connected to the control system.
Return temperature: This sensor is normally placed on the outlet of the counterflow chiller.
Mash temperature: This sensor is manually placed into the grains while mashing.
The temperatures can be seen on the display by clicking on the upper left button. This will toggle between:
Timer
Return temperature
Mash temperature
The following pictures show what happens when toogeling between the three displays.
Note that, the heater control cannot be controlled using return- or mash sensors input. At least not for now :-)
Manual control
Manuel mode is where you want to be if you want to have full control and continuous interaction with the equipment during the brewing process. Absolutely recommended as a starting point if you are new to the brewing equipment.
If you want to use the machine as a «Sous vide», manual mode is what you will be using.
From the manual mode screen, multiple functions can be performed e.g. changing the target temperature, toggle between the three heating control modes as well as using the timer. The pump can be controlled manually, and it is even possible to change settings live while brewing. By pushing the button with the snow crystal symbol, the timer will be swapped with the temperature from the third senor (accessory). The timer will still run in the background and by pushing the same button the timer will reappear.
Recipe
Recipe mode allow you to define the whole brewing session and let the control system guide you through the whole brewing process, keeping track of time and temperature. It is possible to store up to 20 custom recipes on the device. A new recipe can be added manually on the device by clicking the plus symbol. Recipes can also be imported from Brewfather by clicking at the Brewfather logo.
More details on how to import recipes from Brewfather, click the link below.
Stored recipes can be edited (pencil symbol), deleted (recycle bin symbol) or executed («play» button). Changes to recipes will not be automatically synchronized back to Brewfather.
Below is an example of how a recipe can look like. By taking the time to type the hop name and amount, you will experience that the text will appear during the brewing process which is of great help.
Recipe name – Give the recipe a proper name to make it easier to find it.
Strike overshoot temperature – Set the strike temperature if you want to compensate for the grain temperature absorption.
Boil time – How long the boil will last.
Cooling target – Target temperature for transferring to fermenter.
Sanitizing time – Get a reminder before the boil time is over to start the pump to circulate boiling wort through the counterflow cooler and hose line to sterilize it.
Mash water – Amount of mash water to be used.
Sparge water – Amount of sparge water to be used.
Sparge temperature – Temperature of the sparge water.
Mash steps – Define mash steps. Maximum 16 steps. Temperature must be incremental for each step.
Boil additions – Dine the additions used during boiling. Maximum 16 additions. Time for each addition is defined as how long it will be boiling. Time must be within total boil time defined above. Text is used as help as it will appear on the screen along the way.
Hopstand additions – Define hop stand. Set time to «0» to skip hop stand.
While running a recipe, notifications will pop up to guide you through the whole brewing session. A selection of notifications will also sound the buzzer according to settings.
Below are some examples of how running a recipe mode will look like.
Delayed start
Delayed start is a mode that allows you to schedule the machine to automatically heat your strike water beforehand, saving time on the brew day. The timer can be set to maximum of 24 hours countdown.
To use it, fill the tank with the right amount of mash water and set the timer to when the heating will start. Remember to allow necessary time for the water to heat, typically 30-60 minutes. When the set point temperature is reached, a safety mechanism is embedded to shut down the power after 4 hours. Time to shutdown will be displayed. This safety feature is implemented in case you forget or for some reason are prevented for conducting the brewing session. An additional safety feature is in place in case the sensors fails while delayed start is active. If sensor fails, the heaters will turn off or not starting at all.
Settings
Settings are divided into 3 tabs.
General
Under the «General» tab you will find most of the day to day settings.
Alarm beeps – Number of beeps when the buzzer is activated. Choose; none, 1,3,5 or continuous.
Brightness – Select screen brightness in 20% increments from 40% to 100%.
Language – Select language. English, Norwegian, Italian, German, Spanish or French.
Sensor Threshold – Set the pump speed threshold where the in-line pump sensor automatically will be used as opposed to tank sensor as process input for temperature control. Select either 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% or 70%. It is still possible to override this, please see heater control section further up.
Max current 1 – Set the max power draw for power input 1. It is recommended to set it according to amperage rating on the circuit breaker feeding your power outlet. Available settings are: 10A, 13A, 15A and 16A.
Max current 2 – Set the max power draw for power input 2. It is recommended to set it according to amperage rating on the circuit breaker feeding your power outlet. Available settings are: 10A, 13A, 15A and 16A. Note! B40pro 240V version does not use this setting as it only has one power input cable.
Temperature unit – Select Celsius (°C) or Fahrenheit (°F).
Volume unit – Select Liter or US Gallon (1 US Gallon = 3.785 liters)
Mash mode power – Select power limitation used in Mash mode. This is a nice feature to reduce or avoid burning of the heating elements is cases of using wheat grains and/or step mash programs. Toggle to select either 30%, 40%,50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or 90% power during mash mode. The power reduction is related to any additional reduction set in Max current setting, so make sure total power available is enough to keep a stable temperature or perform a temperature increase during step mash at preferred pace. Other factors that will play a role is: surrounding temperature, whether lid is on or off, use of insulation jacket, volume in the kettle and voltage. It is recommended to test this prior to starting the brewing session, especially if you plan to use recipe mode as it will not allow you to change this on the fly.
To enable the power reduction, now called; mash mode, please see heater control section further up. If the text “MASH» is shown below the target temperature, you know it is activated. You will also see that the power slider indicator on the screen is locked to not exceed the percentage value set. For recipe mode, the system will automatically select mash mode.
Sanitizing time - Select how long before the end of boil the system should notify user to start circulating through the countercurrent cooler to disinfect the equipment. The value is used by default every time you create a recipe on the device or in cases where it is not defined when a recipe is downloaded from Brewfather.
Strike overshoot temperature - Select how much warmer the water should be for strike to compensate for the temperature effect of the grains when it is poured into the brewing machine. The value is used by default every time you create a recipe on the device or in cases where it is not defined when a recipe is downloaded from Brewfather.
Wi-Fi
To connect the device to a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network with internet access, you will have to consent to Brewtools collecting anonymous data for the purpose of improving the services. Consent is given from the screen before filling in SSID and password.
Note! SSID is case sensitive meaning it distinguishes between small and capital letters. Additionally, some special characters are not supported by the system. Please check the keyboard on the device for allowed special characters.
Connection status is shown to the right. To disconnect the device from Wi-Fi, press the thick box. Last used SSID and password will be stored locally at the device.
Update
If the device is powered on and connected to internet, it will download new firmware as it become available:
microSD card is installed in a slot on the backside of the control box.
Connected to internet.
To check whether the device is downloading an update, please open the «Update» tab. When a new firmware is downloaded, user will get a notification. User then decide to install immediately or next time the device is powered on.
A Trello board has been made available for users to report bugs and propose new features. Check out www.brewtools.com for more information.
Secret settings
A secret settings menu is available from Manual mode or Delayed start. By pushing and holding the B-logo for more than 3 seconds you get access to settings that are considered more advanced and normally not relevant for most users. Offsetting temperature sensors and changing the PID controller parameters should not be done unless it is familiar to you.
Push «SHOW» button to see the default PID parameters.
From firmware version 1.6.0, standard PID parameters were changed to reduce temperature from overshooting/exceeding the target temperature.
Version 1.5.1 and previous: P=60 I=0.023 D=0
Version 1.6.1 -> : P=46.6 I=0.12 D=0
Note! The controller needs to be restarted for new PID parameters to be enable.
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