Re: New Fridge - setting up monitoring

["Robert Green" <robert_green1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Stormin Mormon" <cayoung##spamblock**@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:jJd6o.852$1v3.800@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> 1) You must be an engineer?

Father was one, and I started out in his footsteps but then got sidetracked.
To my wife's eternal annoyance, I am a home automation enthusiast.  Her take
is "we wouldn't need all this automated crap if you weren't too lazy to get
up an turn off a light."  That's probably true but it hasn't changed
anything.  She actually likes *some* of the features of an automated house,
but clearly not nearly as much as I do.

> 2) Please consider a logger for how often and long the door is open.
> That's a major factor in power usage.

That's actually a great idea.  I knew we kept you around for a reason
despite all the folks who'd like to lynch you for being a top poster.  (-:
(just kidding!)

Tracking "door open time" will allow me to determine if increased energy
usage is from mechanical issues or just greater use.  That might also mean
tracking humidity because the unit has to work harder if lots of humid air
is allowed in during long openings like the ones that occuring during
loading after a grocery trip.  I've also decided to track peak current draw
(now at 760 watts) because I assume that any nascent compressor problems
will cause that number to increase.  I can also set a variable that rings an
alarm if the door open time exceeds a predetermined value.

The old box would probably still be alive had it closed properly on one very
humid night.  It didn't take much time at all to encase the coil in a block
of ice and during my impatient defrosting efforts, I cracked a solder joint.
Since it was 30+ years old (Westinghouse) I figured it was time for a new
one, even if we plan to move soon.  It was worth it just to have ice cold
beer again.

Thanks for your input!

--
Bobby G.