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GadgetGuy
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| Posted: July 18 2008 at 09:32 | IP Logged
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Does anyone have any suggestions for sensing the temp in my freezer, so I can monitor it when away (as I do light status)?
I assume special attention must be paid to the temp probe wire diameter so as to not deform the door seal significantly and cause air leaks.
Has anyone found a good probe, and what temp sensing hardware have you used? Do you have any macro/function code you can share to help get me going?
Much thanks! 
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Ken B - Live every day like it's your last. Eventually, you'll get it right!
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TonyNo
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| Posted: July 18 2008 at 10:10 | IP Logged
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Would this be temporary or permanent? Do you already have wiring near?
Seems like one of the 1-wire devices would be best as they are small. You could then run 24/30 gauge wire or even wire tape across the seal area.
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GadgetGuy
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| Posted: July 18 2008 at 10:34 | IP Logged
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Tony -
This would be a permanent installation. I actually have 2 freezers. Both of which I want to monitor. They are in different rooms, so need separate X10/Insteon devices.
Do you have any suggestions for a 1-wire device (Simple HomeNet?)
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onhiatus
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| Posted: July 18 2008 at 16:47 | IP Logged
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Again, anyone considering a 1-wire solution should check out P. Anderson's boards - I use his IOM#142A. I use a custom VB app to poll the board and pass the results back to PH using windows messaging. I've been using this solution for over 3 years.
The above board costs $60 - a little pricy for a 1-wire solution, but it also has 4 relays, 4 inputs, and provides a simple interface. It also comes with one temperature sensor.
Note that he (P. Anderson) has closed his shop until August 13 - so if you can't wait you'll have to go with another solution.
See the site, or some of my other posts for more info.
--Tony
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judetf
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| Posted: March 29 2009 at 07:51 | IP Logged
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Hey GadgetGuy,
So how far have you gotten with your freezer temp sensor? I think I want to do the same, now that I have a simple 1-wire temp sensing network in place. Did you solve for passing the wiring into the freezer without breaking the seal?
BTW, I found an interesting idea that I'm going to put into play for my next sensor (and definitely for the freezer sensor): rather than clip it into an RJ45 jack and then mount it, I'm going to slide the sensor - with wires attached - into a plastic straw (yes, a sipping straw for drinking your milkshakes) and have that be the "probe". Seems like an easy way to mount the sensors in non-visible areas.
jtf
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GadgetGuy
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| Posted: March 29 2009 at 10:26 | IP Logged
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JTF -
The project has been a great success! I now monitor both my refrigerator and freezer temps as well as the outside temp, and post them on my PH web site, along with auto email alerts if a temp gets out of spec.
I used the Maxim 1-Wire sensors and constructed a micro-LAN of 2-pair phone wire terminating in RJ-14 wall jacks.
The Maxim 1-wire sensors easily interfaced to Maxim's USB dongle and are supported by a free app from Mr Soft (www.mrsoft.fi) that yields nice charting. I ues the daily, weekly, and monthly charts.
I soldered the 1-wire sensor transistor to the phone cable and slipped a piece of clear heat shrink tubing over it, then filled the tube with silicon bathtub caulk (forcing it in one end of the tube and filling the entire tube) and then heat shrunk the tube to squeeze everything into a air-tight seal to protect the sensor and connections from moisture.
For the freezer, I used a 4-wire flat ribbon cable sold in the telephone section of Lowes (or possibly other hardware stores) that is intended to allow telephone routing around door and window jambs. Very thin and thus I just ran it around the hinge side of the freezer and held it in place with duct tape. It causes no seal deformation.
For my Fridge, I downloaded the exploded parts drawing from the manufacturer's web site to see where freon and wiring was placed. Found a safe spot at the top and drilled a 1/8" hole into the Fridge and inserted my sensor tube there and caulked it into place.
I'm a happy camper, as it all works great.
I will be writing up a full How-To description and posting it, when we return home from Florida about the end of April. 
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Ken B - Live every day like it's your last. Eventually, you'll get it right!
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GadgetGuy
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| Posted: December 14 2014 at 14:34 | IP Logged
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Finally created a reasonably capable PH centric charting function, after years of wishing for this capability.
It is now possible to chart from any data that PH can gather.
See
http://www.power-home.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4452&PN= 1&TPN=1
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Ken B - Live every day like it's your last. Eventually, you'll get it right!
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Topic: Freezer Temp Sense
