Mobile apps and website

Samovar sends readings, program state, the process log and messages to samovar-tool.ru. You can watch the process and control it over the internet in the mobile app for Android, the same app for iOS, and on the "Samovar Control" page of the website. The apps and the website page have identical screens, so they are shown below in screenshots from the website.

Nothing needs to be opened to the internet for this: Samovar establishes the connection itself, see Remote control.

The token is a key of 32 Latin letters, digits, "-" or "_" characters, by which the server tells your Samovar apart. Each device has its own token. It is used by the firmware, the apps, the control page and the cloud logs.

First device. In the mobile app on first launch choose "Create account" and enter an email and password. A Blynk account will be created, the Samovar project will be copied into it, and the token will appear on the "Settings" screen. If you already have a Blynk account, press "Sign in and get token" or enter a known token manually. Registration on the website is not required for a single device.

Where to enter it. In the Samovar web interface open Settings («Настройки»), the tab Other («Прочие»), paste the token into the "Blynk token" («Токен Blynk») field and press "Save" («Сохранить»). Then reboot Samovar by switching the power off: the connection to the server is established at start. The token can also be entered during the first Wi-Fi connection in the "blynk token" field on the Samovar access point page.

Do not tell anyone the token. Anyone who knows it can see the readings and control your Samovar.

Register on the website www.samovar-tool.ru and sign in. Open the menu "User → Devices". On registration the website creates a device named "Device" for you: the cheese, beer and distillation journals are attached to it. It is a full-fledged device with its own token. To connect a Samovar to it, press "Show token" on its card, enter your current website password and write the shown token into the ESP32 settings.

If you already have a Samovar project in Blynk, press "Import device" and enter the name, the Blynk token and your current website password. The "Create device" button creates one more Samovar project and shows its new token once. Write the token into the settings of the corresponding ESP32. The token of any device in the list can be viewed later with the "Show token" button.

The number of devices is limited. By default one device per user is allowed, and the "Device" created at registration counts too. How many are used and how many are allowed is shown at the top of the page: "Devices used: 1 of 1". When the limit is reached, the "Import device" and "Create device" buttons are not shown, and migrating a Blynk account is rejected if it has more Samovars than free places. To connect more Samovars, write to the website administrator: they will raise the limit. Devices already added are not deleted if the limit is lowered.

The name is saved on the website and in Blynk. On the same page you can rename a device and choose the Samovar for the page "Control" and the "Logs" page, see Logs and charts in the cloud.

In the app settings enter your website email and password and press "Connect site devices". The website and Blynk email and password must match. If they differ, first migrate the account following the instructions below. The app will load the list of devices. If there is one device, it is selected automatically. If there are several, a list of names appears in the settings.

Android, iOS and the website store the selection independently. For example, Android can control the Samovar at home, iOS the Samovar in the garage, and the website a third device. Changing the selection in one place does not switch the others. After changes on the website, press "Refresh device list" in the app.

Push notifications arrive from all devices in the common list. When you tap a notification, the app automatically switches to the Samovar that sent it. Receiving a notification does not change the current selection by itself. In single-device mode push works after Blynk sign-in or registration; a token alone, without an email and password, is not enough to register the phone for notifications.

On the "User → Devices" page press "Migrate Blynk account". Enter the old Blynk email, the old Blynk password and your current website password. The website will check the entered data and move suitable projects to the account with the website email and password.

Attention. Only projects named Samovar (case-insensitive) with one device and the tabs "Main" («Основное»), "Control" («Управление»), "Charts" («Графики») are migrated. A project with a different name, a different set of tabs or several devices is not migrated. After a successful migration the old Blynk account is deleted together with all its other projects. If no Samovar project is found, the old account is deleted anyway. There is no preliminary list and no undo after a successful migration.

The tokens of migrated Samovars are kept, so the ESP32 settings do not need to be changed.

If the website reports an error during migration, do not rerun it right away. First sign in to Blynk with the website email and password and open the "Devices" page again: the Blynk migration may already have finished while the list update on the website has not.

After migration use the common website and Blynk email and password. To change the password in both places at once, press "Change shared password" on the devices page. After changing the password, sign in to the website and the apps again.

The control page refreshes data every 3 seconds while the browser tab is open. Alarms are shown in a pop-up window until it is closed. Push notifications to the phone arrive only through the mobile app.

"Main". Connection state, mode and status line, a process diagram with current temperatures (the same as in the web interface: by mode, beer brewing order and the second pump above the cooling water), sensor cards with mini-charts, the buttons "Turn heat on/Turn heat off", "Next", "Pause", "Lock body T" and "Reset process", the current program line, parameters and mode.

The "Main" screen on the website; in the apps it is the same

"Program". The program lines of the current mode with a decoding of the fields, the running line highlighted. The program is view-only here: it can be changed in the Samovar web interface.

The "Program" screen

"Control". Regulator voltage, take-off rate, locking the hearts temperature, the I2CStepper stirrer and pump (parameters, start and stop, relays R1-R4, pump calibration), running a Lua line and system information: the Samovar IP, firmware version, mode, time.

The "Control" screen

"Charts". The history of the current session from the server: the groups "Temperatures", "Pressure", "Takeoff and water", "Alcohol", "Power", an interval from 1 minute to the whole session, and individual lines are switched on and off with the buttons under the chart.

The "Charts" screen

"Messages" on the website, "Settings" in the app. On the website the fifth tab shows the last message of the selected device and the messages received during the session. In the app, the "Settings" screen takes its place: the account, a single token or device selection, and notifications; the app shows messages as push notifications.

The "Messages" tab on the website

Samovar sends the readings to the server by itself: temperatures, pressure, voltage and take-off rate every 5 seconds, the rest (status, program line number, the program, heating and pause state) on change. Commands from the app and the website are applied immediately, without a confirmation prompt. Leave a pause of 1-2 seconds between commands.

Samovar messages are shown on the "Messages" tab and arrive as push notifications in the app; alarms come with the prefix "Alarm!" («Тревога!»), warnings with "Warning!" («Предупреждение!»). Through the same server the firmware transmits the process log and the session start; they are stored on the server and available on the website, see Logs and charts in the cloud.

Attention. Before a remote start, make sure the equipment is assembled safely and a person is nearby who can immediately cut the power and the product supply. The remote interface does not replace hardware protections and supervision of the installation.