In two shells, on the same machine, I do the following:
a) /home/user/prod/env/bin/python /home/user/prod/www/devcode/manage.py celery worker -E
and celery starts up, apparently with no problems
b) /home/user/prod/env/bin/activate && /home/user/prod/www/devcode/manage.py celery status
produces:
Error: No nodes replied within time constraint.
Apparently I missed something fundamential, but after 2 days trying I need to ask :(