Fermentation gas monitoring
BetaHβS, SOβ and NHβ sensors at each tank. The system detects fermentation problems before off-flavors develop β and tells you exactly what to do.
Why it matters
During fermentation, yeast produces diagnostic gases. Their concentration tells the winemaker about the process state β often faster than traditional density or temperature measurements.
HβS (hydrogen sulfide)
Yeast stress, nitrogen deficiency (YAN), risk of rotten egg off-flavor. Detection threshold: 0.5 ppb β before you can smell it.
SOβ (sulfur dioxide)
Occupational safety during bottling and sulfiting. Legal limit: 2 ppm TWA. System alerts when exceeded.
NHβ (ammonia)
Excess nitrogen nutrients or wrong nutrient type. Signal to adjust dosing.
EtOH (ethanol vapors)
Fermentation intensity, tank leaks. Safety concern (LEL > 3.3%).
Per-tank mounting
The sensor is placed at the fermentation airlock outlet, collecting a concentrated gas stream from each specific batch. This gives a much better signal than general room air detection.
Validated by academic research β SmartBarrel (2025): electrochemical sensors mounted directly on fermentation vessels effectively monitor COβ, HβS and SOβ in real time.
How it works
Smart alerts
The system doesn't just alarm β it correlates data with batch records and suggests the cause:
- ! HβS rising + no "nutrients" entry for 3 days β "Add YAN nutrients"
- ! HβS rising + temperature > 28Β°C β "Thermal stress, lower temperature"
- β SOβ spike + "bottling" entry β normal pattern, no alarm
- β HβS trend over time = fermentation signature β unique dataset for each batch
Alert thresholds
| Gas | Info | Warning | Alarm |
|---|---|---|---|
| HβS | > 5 ppb | > 20 ppb | > 50 ppb |
| SOβ | > 0.5 ppm | > 2 ppm | > 5 ppm |
| NHβ | > 5 ppm | > 20 ppm | > 50 ppm |
| EtOH | > 500 ppm | > 1000 ppm | > 3000 ppm |
Hardware & integrations
Third-party devices
We're building integrations with market-available gas sensors β connecting via external APIs (WiFi, MQTT, HTTP).
Elf-native sensors (LoRa)
In parallel, we're developing our own gas sensors connecting via LoRa β just like our Elf Scout and Leaf Wetness Sensor. One ecosystem, one network.
Interested?
Gas monitoring will be available for the 2026/27 fermentation season. Join our list β we'll notify you when it launches.
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