ispindle Problem.

[Rotation]

Taken delivery of a new calibrated ispindle and I have been testing it for accuracy before using it. The calibration on it is surprisingly accurate and during the three day test, both temperature and SG have remained constant at SG 1.000 and 22.3c which my heater is set at.

On day three the battery level suddenly dropped drastically and then surprisingly went back up again. The battery reading fluctuation continued for a further three hours, up and down. When I removed the ispindle from the test environment I noticed a small amount of water in the bottom of the tube, just enough to make contact with the lower battery connector.

Now dried out it still works perfectly but I cant seem to trust it in a "Live" brew environment. Is there a way to seal these things that I don`t know about?

I would be grateful for any advice.

 

[Leard]

Same thing happened to me. It suddenly stopped working during fermentation. When I pulled it out after fermentation, I noticed beer inside. I emailed the AssetSolution guys and they repaired it for me. All I had to do was post it to them.

Since then I've done another fermentation with it and the seal worked fine. Although it was wildly inaccurate, I should have recalibrated it before using.

I do get what you mean though. It's hard to feel completely secure that it's water tight. When I unscrewed it after this second fermentation, I noticed a tiny bit of yeasty wort in the top of the lid which was a bit unnerving. It looks bone dry inside though and continued to work.

I don't know if anybody else has solutions to ensuring these things are completely water tight.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I had the same issue of water ingress, but not enough for it to actually have a puddle inside - just dampness. I hadn't quite screwed the cap on tight enough.

BE AWARE!. I cleaned it out and put it away. Bad idea. The inside was still ever-so-slightly damp, which when I sealed it up for a month between brews meant it was sat in a 100% humidity environment. The power switch at the top is now rusty and a bit dodgy to use (Does anyone like @gingerneil have suggestions on cleaning a dodgy/rusty switch). If you have had water ingress, take the sled out (the plastic PCB board thingy - you can grab it with pliers and pull). Then leave the whole thing on a radiator or in the airing cupboard overnight. I now store mine without the cap on when not in use.

New problem I've just discovered. I have no idea where I put the cap

 

[Rotation]

I had the same issue of water ingress, but not enough for it to actually have a puddle inside - just dampness. I hadn't quite screwed the cap on tight enough.

BE AWARE!. I cleaned it out and put it away. Bad idea. The inside was still ever-so-slightly damp, which when I sealed it up for a month between brews meant it was sat in a 100% humidity environment. The power switch at the top is now rusty and a bit dodgy to use (Does anyone like @gingerneil have suggestions on cleaning a dodgy/rusty switch). If you have had water ingress, take the sled out (the plastic PCB board thingy - you can grab it with pliers and pull). Then leave the whole thing on a radiator or in the airing cupboard overnight. I now store mine without the cap on when not in use.

New problem I've just discovered. I have no idea where I put the cap

I`m not that bright Agentgonzo but I can say with complete confidence that the cap is where you left it?

 

[phildo79]

Do not tighten the lid too much. You can damage it by over tightening. I did it once. Similar looking lids that you find on other bottles rarely fit 100%.

You could use plumbers tape but if the lid is damaged or stretched, it might not be enough. Vaseline is a bit better, if that is the case.

I had liquid ingress issues with my first one, due to stretching the lid. My second one is fine. No ingress so far, after at least 6 brews. I still find gunk on the inside edge of the lid after fermentation but it hasn't gone any further and the device works a treat. Battery level is crazy good. It will easily last a fortnight.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I sunk one of mine in a pressure ferment. Noticed that the gravity reached 1.000 rapidly before it sank.
After the NEIPA was kegged I removed it, took the battery out, washed in warm water then sprayed down with alcohol and dried it out.
Recharged the battery with a separate charger for safety and it's worked fine since.
I have since this time used an O ring in the cap, a little silicone oil on the oring and on the top of the petling.
When you screw the cap on be slow about it, make sure not cross threaded, do a partial close, back it off a partial turn, do up more, back off a bit until you get it tight.
With this method I'm able to use the ispindel in ferments up to 30 PSI.

I would add regardless of how accurate your calibration says it is you are looking at a static point. The polynomial used has to work across a range of angles.
This being said I always take a refractomer OG reading before ferment starts, use this correction in brewspy and factor in my guesstimate of final gravity on the ispindel readout.
Regardless of the gravity number, amount of krausen on your cap, pressure, temperature the ispindel will always show the ferment trend and once it has flatlined it's finished.

 

[The Baron]

I do not have a problem with the sealing on my unit but if I did I would probably use a O ring inside the cap and see if that worked.
I have in my diy tools a box of o rings that go up in sizes that may fit that size, I have used this O ring set for various jobs including poppets dip tubes etc so a good piece of kit to have think I paid £6.99 a few years ago
https://www.diy.com/departments/419...-set-kit-garage-plumbing/5056316786270_BQ.prd

 

[RoomWithABrew]

I do not have a problem with the sealing on my unit but if I did I would probably use a O ring inside the cap and see if that worked.
I have in my diy tools a box of o rings that go up in sizes that may fit that size, I have used this O ring set for various jobs including poppets dip tubes etc so a good piece of kit to have think I paid £6.99 a few years ago
https://www.diy.com/departments/419...-set-kit-garage-plumbing/5056316786270_BQ.prd

Here's where I learnt about the O ring.

https://www.diyhomebrewers.com/2021/01/mejoras-ispindel-carga-inalambrica.html
Measurements are easy to read, rest of website use the translate function.

All kinds of interesting things to build and use on the website.

 

[gingerneil]

I had the same issue of water ingress, but not enough for it to actually have a puddle inside - just dampness. I hadn't quite screwed the cap on tight enough.

BE AWARE!. I cleaned it out and put it away. Bad idea. The inside was still ever-so-slightly damp, which when I sealed it up for a month between brews meant it was sat in a 100% humidity environment. The power switch at the top is now rusty and a bit dodgy to use (Does anyone like @gingerneil have suggestions on cleaning a dodgy/rusty switch). If you have had water ingress, take the sled out (the plastic PCB board thingy - you can grab it with pliers and pull). Then leave the whole thing on a radiator or in the airing cupboard overnight. I now store mine without the cap on when not in use.

New problem I've just discovered. I have no idea where I put the cap

There's not much you can do if the switch it dead - other than replace the switch. Thats a ball-ache as you have to remove the charging board and the wemos, get the switch out without damaging the board, clean up all the old solder and the put it back together again. On top of that, the switches tend to come in packs of 50, so you end up with 49 spares!

Interesting comments about the gaskets/seals too. I have tried these, but found they can cause more leaks than they solve. The rubber easily distorts when you tighten the lid, and its impossible to see. This creates a gap between the top of the tube and the cap, and it leaks. The seal is not with the threads, so no point adding tape. The seal is with the cap and the top of the tube - and like a coke bottle I find this works best as designed and without a rubber gasket. I've also confirmed this with the manufacturer and distributer of the tubes - they recommend NOT to use a gasket.

 

[Rotation]

Well guys thanks for the replies and in regard to the "O" rings my ispindle has only just been delivered and came with an "O" ring fitted in the cap. Anyway I have thrown it in my latest brew and everything went well until I pressurised my FV. Within 20 mins SG dropped from 1.050 to 1.010? Temp remains stable and reasonably accurate and battery remains constant at 4.5v.

Only time will tell?

 

[Rotation]

Sorry I forgot to mention that I`m obsessed with FV temp and all three temp monitors register within 0.02c of each other at 21.3c so I`m a happy chappy.

 

[gingerneil]

Well guys thanks for the replies and in regard to the "O" rings my ispindle has only just been delivered and came with an "O" ring fitted in the cap. Anyway I have thrown it in my latest brew and everything went well until I pressurised my FV. Within 20 mins SG dropped from 1.050 to 1.010? Temp remains stable and reasonably accurate and battery remains constant at 4.5v.

Only time will tell?

Definitely not one of mine! Good luck.... but doesn't sound great already! Fingers crossed its just stuck on something.

 

[Rotation]

Definitely not one of mine! Good luck.... but doesn't sound great already! Fingers crossed its just stuck on something.

Thanks for the optimism gingerneil but no its not stuck on anything, It just leaks. I`m sorry I am unaware of who you are but it was supplied by AssetSolutions.

 

[Rotation]

As long as my brew is safe I`ll throw the crap thing in the bin when fermentation finishes.

 

[Clint]

Not a help but every time I hear the word "ispindle" I can't help thinking of a very serious accident on the stairs!

 

[Rotation]

note to myself: Find a way to monitor temp in pressure FV!!!!

 

[The Baron]

I would think if the o ring is a no to make a gasket to fit inside the cap out of silicon sheet

 

[Rotation]

Not a help but every time I hear the word "ispindle" I can't help thinking of a very serious accident on the stairs!

I had one of those once Clint. Since that moment I always use the lift?

 

[gingerneil]

Ah, bugger.
I sell them as gingerneil on Ebay, and very rarely suffer leaks.

 

[Rotation]

I would think if the o ring is a no to make a gasket to fit inside the cap out of silicon sheet

Hi Baron, I am stupid but I`m kind of "Old School" you know the type, when you buy something, you expect it to work? Or am I just being pedantic again?