Re: Refrigerator monitor ideas?

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"John, SW Missouri" <jmjones@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1170572717.528370.206740@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Yes, I was an ADI user, until the tornado ;-(    Let me know if you're
> in the market for any ADI stuff.

Sure. Whatcha got that isn't storm damaged?! (-:

> I currently use an Elk M1G and HomevisionPro.  The TS300 is connected
> to a zone on the Elk and the Elk sends a message to the HV unit when
> the TS300 high limit is exceeded, and another message when the
> temperature is back below the high limit.

Unfortunately I don't know enough about Elk programming to determine how
easy it would be implement.  As you may recall, C-Max and I are not best
friends and I am loathe to make any changes to it because it's made me pay
dearly for the most minute of code changes.  The power and peril of ladder
logic.

> On average I get one set of entries per day in my log.  My log is a
> POS printer - haven't gotten around to starting up Homeseer again.

Interesting.  Why?  Not needed?  Not enough time?  More important projects?

> The time the freezer is above minimum temperature varies from 5-20
> minutes.  I'm guessing this has to do with how many times the freezer
> has been opened during the day.  Normally the temp is 0 degrees and I
> have the TS300 set to a high limit of 15 degrees F.

I've been monitoring the freezer temp at dead center of a full freezer and
it swings quite a bit.  It "damps out" fairly quickly, but I'm worried that
a door left open for a minute will trip it.  Around here, a door can easily
be accidentally open for that long, because these rescued pups are smart and
know *precisely* when to make their "max mischief" move.  Just today I made
the mistake of taking a phone call during morning roundup and the one I call
"Hot Spot" (but my wife calls Matilda) scooted off into the closet to make a
deposit.  I wasn't watching her for all of ten seconds and she knew it and
ran.  I'd pay $150 for a collar that could give me 30 seconds of warning
that the dog's bomb bay doors or ballast tanks are about to open.

> The remote temperature sensor for the TS300 is on a long cable -
> probably around 7' IIRC.  I just stick it in the door on the hinge
> side and try to bury it near the back so it doesn't trip every time
> the door is open for a few minutes.

I was thinking of drilling through the back of the freezer compartment to
eliminate wires inside the box.  My wife uses the Westie to store dog food
and meds and she's already made it clear how she feels about wires in the
bathroom, near the sink or in the refrigerator!

> The TS300 is mounted on the wall near the freezer and shows ambient
temperature,
> and freezer temp if you press a button on the unit.  You can set high and
low llimits
> for the TS300 sensor and the remote sensor.  It even has an internal
sounder that can
> be enabled.

Very nice features.  Now that you've described how nice it is, I'll bet I'll
be bidding against some fellow CHA'ers when the next one comes up on Ebay.
(-:  In the meantime, I think I can hack into a cheapo remote sensor LCD
alarm thermometer I have and provide contact closure when the internal
buzzer sounds.  Wall mounted near the fridge, it will provide very similar
functionality (I hope).  It's probably a project worth documenting since
everyone's had a fridge foul up on them at one time or another.

--
Bobby G.