FAQ

Product information

• How do I setup integrations for my Float? (i.e. With Brewfather or Grainfather)
  Please go to our documentation about this topic!
• Is my data available for download?
  Yes, you can download all brew data as csv files. Just go to the brew from which you want your data, and below the brew graphs there will be a link to the csv files.
• Will the My Brewbrain Personal account always be free?
  Yes, the personal account will always be free of cost. We are developing premium features that will be available for a small fee.
• Does the Float work in a stainless steel fermenter inside a fridge?
  We have many users that have very good reception with the Float inside a stainless steel fermenter, which is placed in a fridge. Since everyone's setup and wifi strength differs substantially, we cannot guarantee that you will have good reception with a similar setup. Our advice is to place the WiFi router as close to the fermenter as possible to ensure good reception. If this is not possible, consider using a WiFi repeater, as described in our "Dealing with bad wifi reception" document
• How long does the battery of my Float last?
  This depends on the usage situation, but it will last longer than multiple fermentations!
  If you charge your Float after every use, you should never have battery issues.
• How long does it take to charge my Float?
  Charging the Float can take up to eight hours, your USB adapter should provide at least 1 A and 5 V. The Float requires a Micro USB type B connector.
  We recommend to charge your Float overnight, in this case you can be sure it is charged. Be sure the Float is switched to "Off" before and while charging.
  There is a charging indicator on the Float, if the LED turns from red to green, the Float is fully charged.
• Can I use the Float in brews under pressure?
  The Float will still function when brewing under pressure at 1 bar or 15 psi. Please keep in mind that spunding valves can influence the measurements.
• How do I update my Float's firmware?
  When a new firmware update is available for your Float this will appear in the following places; the menu bar, the Float overview page and the Float page.
  To start the update process for your Float, simply press the "update the Float's firmware" button on your Float page: easy
• How do I re-calibrate my Float?
  Calibration is easy and is done in the "setup" mode.
  Read more about calibration in the manual
• What is the best way to store my Float?
  The Float is best stored after it has been cleaned and with the switch in the "Off" position.
  To preserver battery life, ensure that the battery voltage is 3.7 V or higher, but don't charge it if it is already above this value. Also, store the Float in a dry and dark place, between 5-20 °C.

Troubleshooting

• WiFi connection issues with firmware older than 2023-07-19

  Are you having issues connecting the Float to your WiFi, and is the Float's firmware older than 2023-07-19?

  Requirements for solving: Float, mobile device with WiFi + 3G/4G/LTE/5G, mobile divice with WiFi

  Older Float firmwares can have some issues connecting to WiFi. The best way to solve this:
  - Set up a mobile WiFi hotspot with your 3G/4G/LTE/5G mobile device (e.g. mobile phone).
  - Set the Float to "setup".
  - On the other mobile device, navigate to available WiFi networks and wait for the Float's WiFi to appear.
  - Connect to the Float's WiFi with the second mobile device.
  - The setup and registration screen should appear. Click on "Proceed to setup".
  - From the available WiFi networks, select the mobile hotspot you created earlier, and fill in the password.
  - Continue registration.

  When you have succesfully completed registration:
  - Set the Float to "Off".
  - Leave the mobile hotspot intact.
  - In a browser, log in to your account on the my.brewbrain.nl web platform.
  - Navigate to your Float's overview page" and click on the serial number of the Float you just registered.
  - On Float's overview page, if you haven't already done so, click on the yellow button "update the Float's firmware".
  - Make sure that the mobile hotspot is still on and switch the Float to "measure".
  - The Float should now download and install the firmware automatically.
  - After 5 minuntes, switch the Float to "Off" and back to "measure".
  - Refresh the Float's page in your web browser.
  

  On your Float's page, you can see the Float's firmware version directly under the Float's name at the top of the page. If the Float's firmware is not updated to "2023-07-19-1-stable", try switching the Float to "Off" and back to "measure" again. Wait between attempts for five minutes.
  If you are still having issues, please contact us at support@brewbrain.nl.
  

• Having issues with iPhone and Float?

  Newer iphone firmwares might have difficulty connecting to WiFi access points like the Float access point. Please ensure that you have disabled the mobile data roaming (3G/4G/LTE/5G) of your device when connecting to the Float's access point. When connected to the Float's access point, please wait for up to 60 seconds for your phone to display a pop-up that asks you to sign in to the Float's network. After that, follow the onscreen instructions. If you still do not get a pop-up, follow these instructions.
  This is a known issue for Apple devices, get more information about this.
  Using a different browswer than Safari (e.g. Firefox) can also solve issues when connecting with the Float.

• Why doesn't my user account work?
  There can be several reasons why your user account doesn't work:

  • Your user account has not been activated yet.
    In this case you have received an email, but you have not confirmed that mail yet.
    An error message hinting you to check your email should be visible in this case.
  • You entered incorrect credentials
    An error message telling you that the user cannot be found is displayed.
• I haven't received a registration e-mail!
  If you haven't received a registration e-mail, please check your spam folder! Some e-mail providers and anti-virus software have very strict spam rules which can cause our e-mail to end up in your spam box.
  When you still can't find the registration e-mail, using the password reset process on my.brewbrain.nl also works!
• My Float is not registering any data points!
  There can be several reasons why your float doesn't register any data points:

  • The Float is in the incorrect mode: Switch float to measurement mode
  • The battery is empty: Charge battery
  • Lack of WiFi signal: Take the product out of your fermenter and place it close to your router. If in this situation data is received, check your wifi setup to improve the connection.

  Still not getting any data points? Try giving the Float a factory reset

• My brew is missing some data points!
  In most cases the wifi connection is not strong enough to transfer the data to the internet. It is recommend to position your router close to the fermentation setup to have the best signal.
  In the right lower corner of your brew you will see the "WiFi signal". The minimum strength needed for good reception is at least -70 dB (values closer to zero are better). When your signal is lower than this (father away from zero), try to improve the signal by placing your extender/router closer to the fermenter.
  Also: Check our "Dealing with bad wifi reception" document.
• When I set my float to ‘Setup’ mode, I do not see a WiFi network with its serial number

  Ensure that your Float is fully charged. Turn the float OFF before and during charging. When charging, you should see a red LED, that changes to green when the Float is fully charged.

  If you still do not see a WiFi network with a fully charged battery, ensure that you are close enough to the sensor. Also try a different phone to connect to the WiFi network. Realize that fermenters, refrigerators and walls could decrease wifi signal strengths.

  If you still cannot connect to the Float’s Access Point, then please contact support@brewbrain.nl and indicate that you do not see an access point in setup mode.

• I see the WiFi network from the Float during setup mode, but I cannot connect to the network

  When using a phone, turn off mobile data roaming (3G/4G/LTE/5G) before connecting to the Float.

  Furthermore, many phones will pop up a notification that need to acknowledge so that you can connect to the network.

  In case your iPhone is not able to connect to the Float's AP it is observed that restarting your iPhone can solve this problem.

  Also, check that your WiFi settings follow our recommended settings.

  If this does not work, try the following:

  • Connect to the Float’s WiFi network, but do not click to open the popup that asks you to sign in.
  • Instead, open your phone’s browser and go to:
    192.168.4.1

  You should now be brought to the Float’s setup.

  iPhone/iPad users - using a different browser than Safari (e.g. Firefox) might also solve connection issues

  If you still cannot access the Float setup pages, contact support@brewbrain.nl and indicate that you can connect to the access point, but not to the setup pages.

  For an explanation why it can be difficult to the Float’s network, see the following:
  Many phones/and or laptops have functions to automatically detect whether a WiFi network has internet connectivity. When this is not the case, the phone or laptop will automatically drop the connection to your Float (Since the Float is not a WiFi router). Furthermore, newer smartphones maintain simultaneous connections to 3G and WiFi, and when the WiFi connection does not respond in an expected way, such phones will try their 3G connection instead, and your Float setup process will be disrupted, because the web pages in the Float’s wifi setup process do not exist on the internet. Recent updates for iPhones seem to have trouble connecting to the Float. We have not been able to pinpoint iPhone model and iOS version. If you have trouble connecting with you iPhone, please try a different phone.

• During the setup process, my phone disconnects from the Float

  When this happens, reconnect to the Float’s network and navigate to 192.168.4.1 in your browser

  The reason why this happens is fairly technical. During this process step the Float switches to your router’s WiFi band. If your phone is connected on another band, it disconnects, because a Wifi antenna cannot transmit two bands at the same time.
• How to perform a factory reset
  If something is not working as it should you can perform a factory reset on the Float:

  • Make sure the Float is charged
  • Set the Float in setup mode
  • Connect to the Float with your mobile device
  • When asked by your mobile device, sign-in on the access point of the Float. Alternatively open a browser on your mobile device and go to 192.168.4.1
  • Click on 'Maintenance menu'
  • Click on 'Factory reset'
  • Read the text!
  • Click on 'yes' if you are sure you want to perform a factory reset
  • Wait a minute or so before you turn off your Float. It should restart itself however!

  The Float will not lose the saved WiFi credentials or registration, so you will still be able to use it after a factory reset without having to re-register the Float. The calibration from the Float will also not be compromised.
• My Float shows negative Plato (°P) measurements

  The Float can display it's measurements in various units, amongst some °P and SG. The Float can measure from 0.970 SG to 1.200 SG. The Plato scale is a measurement of the dissolved solids in a liquid. Degrees Plato (°P) qunatifies the concentration of mostly sugars as a by weight percentage. When there is no sugar in the liquid, the concentration will be 0 °P.
  A concentration of 0 °P should be the same as 1.000 SG. There can be particles disolved in the liquid (or brew) that lower the specific gravity, which gives a value lower than 1.000 SG. This happens more often with the final SG of wines, than with beers. Since the Plato scale does not go below zero, you as a user would not see when the SG goes below zero if you decide to display the measurements in °P. For that reason, we show a negative value, based on the same formula that calculates the Plato gravity from the SG reading.
  The Float has an accuracy of ±0.006 SG, and so in water of 20 °C, it should measure a value between 0.994 and 1.006 SG. In the plato scale, the value should be between -1.563 and 1.541 °P.
  If your Float displays even more negative values in the Plato scale, your could try re-calibrating your Float. Or contact support if you still have questions.

WiFi settings

• Recommended WiFi settings
  Some WiFi settings might not work well with the Float. When experiencing trouble when connecting the Float to your WiFi, please change your router's WiFi settings to:

  Security
  • Disable WPA3
  • Use WPA or WPA2 Personal, NOT WPA2 Enterprise!
  • Max password length: 30 characters! Longer passwords will NOT work!

  Encryption
  • WEP, TKIP or AES

  Main router settings
  • Enable DHCP
  • Use 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band NOT supported!
  • Use WiFi channels 1, 6 or 11, do NOT use 'Auto'
  • Channel width 20/40 Mhz or auto
  • Enable 802.11 b/g/n mode or Legacy mode. Do NOT use 'Auto' or '802.11n' mode

  If you still experience any issues:

  • Assign a static IP for your Float via DHCP settings.
    Firmware versions lower than '20210315' show the Float's MAC address in the 'Maintenance menu'
  • Try using a WiFi name (SSID) with no spaces and special characters. The same goes for your password
  • Test if a basic WiFi setup does work, so no mesh routers etc. Try setting you modem as also the wifi acces point, and have the modem handle DHCP.
  • Try creating a hotspot with another mobile device. If the Float is able to connect to that, you likely still have wrong WiFi settings.

Other questions

• My question is not listed!
  Please don't hesitate to contact us: support@brewbrain.nl
  Please mention you Float serial number and my.brewbrain.nl user name