Digital Wifi Hydrometer

[The Cat]

So - after bottling my very first kit I am now thinking ahead to what comes next.

I will get a second hand fridge to put in the garage for temperature control for fermentation with an inkbird, that is decided - I winged it a bit with my first one but got away with it.

I came across this on ebay and was wondering if any of you have used them - either bought them assembled like this or put them together yourselves?

There is no chance of me doing the construction I have zero ability at that kind of thing.

This guy also has 100% feedback I guess I am asking for very little encouragement to get one.

iSpindel Digital WiFi Tilt Hydrometer - Homebrew - Prebuilt incl Samsung Battery | eBay

Thanks.

 

[kelper]

You can probably get it for less. The Tilt hydrometer is a bit more sophisticated but costs a lot more. I think they are very helpful when you are learning the craft and a 'fun' thing to have. But I have two beers and three wines brewing and I have no wish to buy more units.

 

[terrym]

Why?
Most homebrewing requires no more than a simple hydrometer.
Get some experience under your belt and then decide where to spend your money wisely and cost effectively.

 

[Hanglow]

Big thread here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/ispindel-digital-wifi-hydrometer.71861/page-19
It's good to check your brew without having to take a sample. Also reports the temperature.

It isn't strictly necessary and isn't as accurate as taking a sample, degassing it and testing it properly with a hydrometer though.

If you are going to get into kegging, then it's useful for if you want to spund - as in transfer your beer with a bit of extract remaining to carbonate naturally in the serving keg. This is one of the best ways to protect your beer from unnecessary oxidation.

 

[The Cat]

Big thread here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/threads/ispindel-digital-wifi-hydrometer.71861/page-19
It's good to check your brew without having to take a sample. Also reports the temperature.

It isn't strictly necessary and isn't as accurate as taking a sample, degassing it and testing it properly with a hydrometer though.

If you are going to get into kegging, then it's useful for if you want to spund - as in transfer your beer with a bit of extract remaining to carbonate naturally in the serving keg. This is one of the best ways to protect your beer from unnecessary oxidation.

Thanks for that.

 

[The Cat]

Why?
Most homebrewing requires no more than a simple hydrometer.
Get some experience under your belt and then decide where to spend your money wisely and cost effectively.

Thanks for the advice. I just know I am so busy it would help somewhat not to have to open the thing so many times I would prefer to leave it alone for as long as it takes before deciding if it is ready to rack or bottle. All good advice though thanks.

 

[terrym]

Thanks for the advice. I just know I am so busy it would help somewhat not to have to open the thing so many times I would prefer to leave it alone for as long as it takes before deciding if it is ready to rack or bottle. All good advice though thanks.

There is absolutely no need to take SG readings at frequent intervals. It is only necessary to take an OG and then in the majority of cases just leave it alone for at least ten days by which time it should be finished so take a reading, then leave it another two days and take another reading, which should be the same. If it is the same you can bottle. If it has noticeably fallen repeat the cycle until its steady, then you can bottle. When you have brewed a few batches you may be able to modify this, but the principle remains the same.
There's all sorts of fancy homebrewing equipment out there to tempt you. But only some of it will enable you to brew better beer.
Homebrewing can be really simple. It's only made complicated by people.

 

[The Cat]

There is absolutely no need to take SG readings at frequent intervals. It is only necessary to take an OG and then in the majority of cases just leave it alone for at least ten days by which time it should be finished so take a reading, then leave it another two days and take another reading, which should be the same. If it is the same you can bottle. If it has noticeably fallen repeat the cycle until its steady, then you can bottle. When you have brewed a few batches you may be able to modify this, but the principle remains the same.
There's all sorts of fancy homebrewing equipment out there to tempt you. But only some of it will enable you to brew better beer.
Homebrewing can be really simple. It's only made complicated by people.

Thank you.

 

[nixhaz]

I really do like having a refractometer though. It is so great to be able to just take a couple of ml for a gravity reading rather than a whole trial jar. It's great for brewdays, seeing when sparging has finished etc.
They aren't super accurate for measuring FG but there are converters online.

 

[kelper]

It's all very well waiting for 12 or 14 days, but what happens when you find the SG is still 1.050 for a wine? I like to know that the fermentation is progressing nicely. I've had beer and wine fermentations stall and either had to correct a low pH or repitch, sometimes more than once. The Tilt has helped me on more than four occasions. But each to his own.

 

[Petrolhead]

I bought one probably from the same vendor for £40 (short thread here if I knew how to post it), and love it.

They really do allow you to see at what point you are with the fermentation for dry hopping or cold crashing or bottling/kegging.

May buy another eventually.

 

[gingerneil]

I'm in the process of getting the parts together to build a few. Should only be a few days before they're ready. Drop me a message if you'd like to reserve one....

 

[terrym]

It's all very well waiting for 12 or 14 days, but what happens when you find the SG is still 1.050 for a wine? I like to know that the fermentation is progressing nicely. I've had beer and wine fermentations stall and either had to correct a low pH or repitch, sometimes more than once. The Tilt has helped me on more than four occasions. But each to his own.

If you are getting stuck fermentations occur on a fairly regular basis maybe there is something not quite right in your brewing process (can't speak for winemaking). Stuck fermentations shouldn't really happen. Since restarting brewing I have only had one stuck fermentation (a Wherry kit brewed with 6g of yeast) out of over one hundred brews.
That said, you appear to have augmented your brewing equipment with something that helps you, which is sensible, not gone out and bought something expensive and possibly unnecessary based on your experience with one single brew.

 

[gingerneil]

I find my ispindel most useful for temp control. Not so much now the summer, but it was perfect in the winter. I have my FV sitting on a heat mat, with that plugged into a cheap smart plug. Ubidots monitors the temp from the ispindel, and sends high/low alarms out to turn off/on the plug. Works brilliantly and kept the temp within about a 2C window during winter.

 

[kelper]

Does the iSpindel use wifi or Bluetooth?

 

[gingerneil]

Does the iSpindel use wifi or Bluetooth?

Wifi - so not sure how well it would work inside a fridge....

 

[ChilledGecko]

I purchased an iSpindel from that seller (Ben Polley) it is a complete system and all you need to do is charge it and set up connection to your WiFi, it comes with instructions. some suppliers require you to source your own battery which is a minefield in itself due to a plethora of fakes in the marketplace.

I chose not to calibrate it first time around and it is still currently floating in my fermentation vessel. Accuracy was so-so out of the box but a calibration should sort that, the iSpindel should really be calibrated, I was just interested to see what it was like without calibration.
I will always start and finish with my trusty hydrometer and take my ABV from those readings, but for information about what is happening during fermentation the iSpindel will be my tool of choice.

Do you need one - No.
Are they useful - Yes.
Will they fit on the shiny toy shelf - Hell Yeah.

I'll always use my iSpindel going forward as it gives me a hands off indication of fermentation process, speed and current state.
As a bonus it gives me a record of temperature fluctuations throughout the fermentation process.
Data, data, data can't brew repeatable beer without data.

If you can afford it I'd say go for it.

Have fun

 

[gingerneil]

@ChilledGecko I think they're excellent. Fairly cheap (considering what some kits costs) but I find it keeps me much more involved in the brew process. You could just ignore the brew for 10 days, or take manual SG reading all the time - but I'm a data geek, and love being able to check in on progress from wherever I am! Controlling temp etc is also a big plus. Accuracy is very good once calibrated - but all you're really looking for is a steady reading for a couple of days to know that the fermentation has stopped. I always take a FG reading manually to work out accurate ABV anyway.

 

[gerald8_kop]

@ChilledGecko I think they're excellent. Fairly cheap (considering what some kits costs) but I find it keeps me much more involved in the brew process. You could just ignore the brew for 10 days, or take manual SG reading all the time - but I'm a data geek, and love being able to check in on progress from wherever I am! Controlling temp etc is also a big plus. Accuracy is very good once calibrated - but all you're really looking for is a steady reading for a couple of days to know that the fermentation has stopped. I always take a FG reading manually to work out accurate ABV anyway.

I'm in the - very - early days of brewing but after a stalled fermentation with my current batch and a suggestion of hop creep I thin I am going to get one of these if not a tilt. Price and wifi are the main attractions to the ispinder and so would be interested in buying a premade one from yourself since there's no way I could do it.

How is best to calibrate and how much of a nuisance is doing so as I've seen others moan about it being a hassle? A shame they aren't precalibrated as I'd have much more peace of mind knowing I haven't made a bodge of it myself.

And I'm guessing it wouldn't struggle with the wifi despite being within a SS FV and fridge?

Thanks!

 

[gingerneil]

I'll drop you a message.... but for others following - I found calibration pretty easy. There are a couple of ways - you can do it in a sugar solution (big pan, fill with water, take measurement, add sugar, take a measurement using iSpindel and a hyrdometer, repeat 5-6 times. Plug the numbers into an online tool, copy and paste the output into the iSpindel config. Dead easy and quick); or you can just run a normal brew, plop the iSpindel in and then repeat the above process but taking measurements from the device and a hydrometer as the brew progresses. Again, easy, but a slower process as you're doing it while you brew - but arguably more accurate as it takes into account the bubbles that will cling to the device etc.
I'm not sure about the wifi struggling - by FV is just sat on a homemade bench in the garage. It will depend on how strong your wifi is. There are a few smartphone apps that will let you check signal strength.