Anyone Else Monitor Your OWB From Inside?

[ant]

how can i adept a inside temp monitor to my newly installed central boiler 6048 its 100' from the house?

 

[Blazin]

Mine's 160ft from the house.The thermal sensor attaches to the hot supply line from your OWB. I have mine on the line (copper) before it goes thru the exchanger on the domestic hot water tank.I thinks it's all pretty much covered here in this topic........

 

[ant]

Mine's 160ft from the house.The thermal sensor attaches to the hot supply line from your OWB. I have mine on the line (copper) before it goes thru the exchanger on the domestic hot water tank.I


can you post a picture? is it the thermal sensor kit from central boiler?

 

[Blazin]

Ok....Ready? This is what you can do...

Hook one of "these"....http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/5ZY19

With a clamp to the copper fitting here...

And run the wire from the sensor (You'll need an extension) to one of "these" http://www.imscompany.com/pdf/320.pdf in desired location of your choice!

That's the setup I have, Which works. There are a ton of different monitors out there, but I have'nt had any experience with them..

None of the above equipment is offered by Central Boiler...

Hope this clears things up for ya! :monkey:

 

[ant]

thank you. i will look into it
ant

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I bought one of these units - it is called Compunurse and is used for monitoring the temperature of computer parts. It takes a new reading every 3 seconds and is very accurate. It has a wire lead that is about 30" long and I guess you could add wire if necessary. They cost about $ 15 and I found mine on the internet at a computer supply store. You just stick the small sensor against the pipe and I put a piece of pipe wrap insulation to hold it in place and it works great. I can look at the temperature display and know when the fire is going out from inside the house - anything below 50 and I know that the fire is not keeping up with the demand.

 

[fourustircom]

Temp

I was thinking about indoor monitoring as well when I get the Woodmaster. How about a wireless camera system one can watch with your TV? No alarms though. My ETC will be not be observable from the house since there will be a pole barn around it.

 

[iCreek]

works for me...

Thanks for the tip oneoldbanjo. I ordered mine from eBay and installed it tonight. I turned my outdoor thermostat down last weekend to 170 since its been getting into the 50-60 during the day, and 30-40 at night. Got these readings of 160 after traveling through my water to water exchanger, before it goes into my water to air exchanger. The top number is an alarm set MAX temp, makes a beep tone if it the temp reaches 197 (adjustable). I think this was a well spend $15 including the shipping. Kind of a neat little gadget.

I bought one of these units - it is called Compunurse and is used for monitoring the temperature of computer parts. It takes a new reading every 3 seconds and is very accurate. It has a wire lead that is about 30" long and I guess you could add wire if necessary. They cost about $ 15 and I found mine on the internet at a computer supply store. You just stick the small sensor against the pipe and I put a piece of pipe wrap insulation to hold it in place and it works great. I can look at the temperature display and know when the fire is going out from inside the house - anything below 50 and I know that the fire is not keeping up with the demand.

 

[itn]

my local menards sells a thermometer that just straps on the copper pipe in the pex/copper boiler section. i don't have one but i have a buddy thats got one says its ok but kind of a waste of 30 bucks. i've had a cb for 4 years and dont understand all the discussion with this.

 

[ant]

i've had a cb for 4 years and dont understand all the discussion with this.

its nice to monitor the temp from the inside so its not needed to go out there each day..

 

[iCreek]

Why ...

i've had a cb for 4 years and dont understand all the discussion with this.

Pretty simple as it could alarm you when temps get above 200, you might have a 212 degree boil over because a door was left open, or a fan damper or solenoid got stuck open. Or the opposite, the fire might have went out for some reason, and a low temp reading would indicate that.

With the location of my stove I have no visual of it while in the house (no windows on that side of the house), so with a temp monitoring method I have some indication of what is going on.... Most times working properly.

 

[itn]

not trying to offend anyone. i've always just checked mine morning and evening that way i know whats going on. any other time i don't/can't worry about it. my bad.

 

[Freakingstang]

its nice to monitor the temp from the inside so its not needed to go out there each day..

So where did you get the one that has the self loading option? I want that one, as not to have to go out and fill it up each day......

 

[Blazin]

Yeah...That auto load feature would be nuts!

Must be talkin about when temps are in the 60's:monkey:

 

[ant]

lol...i wish///

last time i loaded it was thursday afternoon and have not been out there since..

 

[oneoldbanjo]

Originally Posted by itn
i've had a cb for 4 years and dont understand all the discussion with this.


Although I do go outside and check on the fire regularly......it is nice to get up and look at the indoor monitor and see how quickly I need to get out and tend to the fire. I try not to overload the OWBat night and sometimes I get it right - and other times I may not have guessed well and the fire may be pretty low in the morning. If the temperature looks good when I first get up I can get dressed calmly, have breakfast, spend some time with the dog, and just generally move at a calmer pace (on the weekend anyhow). If I instead see a low temperature reading on the inside monitor - I might run out and tend to the fire before I eat. It is just a little bit convenient and reassuring to me as a Noob OWB owner to know that the fire is still going.

 

[JAL]

Here is mine I have a CB HFSS36 which didn't come with a digital readout temp controller. I had to put one on it. I installed a thermocouple right in the boiler jacket right next to the CB one. and ran thermocouple wire from the boiler out side to my basement. The temp controller in the basement controls the damper on the CB.

View attachment 67646

The controller is connected to the Internet and I can record the temperatures and I can log onto the controller via the internet to see what the boiler is doing.

View attachment 67647


View attachment 67648

These are paddle wheel flow indicators . That way I can see if the pumps are working

View attachment 67649

 

[itn]

Originally Posted by itn
i've had a cb for 4 years and dont understand all the discussion with this.


Although I do go outside and check on the fire regularly......it is nice to get up and look at the indoor monitor and see how quickly I need to get out and tend to the fire. I try not to overload the OWBat night and sometimes I get it right - and other times I may not have guessed well and the fire may be pretty low in the morning. If the temperature looks good when I first get up I can get dressed calmly, have breakfast, spend some time with the dog, and just generally move at a calmer pace (on the weekend anyhow). If I instead see a low temperature reading on the inside monitor - I might run out and tend to the fire before I eat. It is just a little bit convenient and reassuring to me as a Noob OWB owner to know that the fire is still going.

????????????? I suppose if we are going to simplify by burning wood----- why not over simplify?? An experienced cb user like myself will tell you two things:its going to be a lot of work and that its best to walk out to the unit and check on it twice a day. Now obviously things come up and that can't be done. Hey, if you got some extra money and want to use it on a this go ahead it's your money. Also if you want to sleep in the next morning load the thing up as full as you can get it. I personally stuff the thing full every chance i get cuz' i never know if i will be able to get too it later. And some more advice, turn your thermostat down when your not at home. The difference in wood consumption between 72 deg and 65 deg is a lot.

 

[JAL]

????????????? I suppose if we are going to simplify by burning wood----- why not over simplify?? An experienced cb user like myself will tell you two things:its going to be a lot of work and that its best to walk out to the unit and check on it twice a day. Now obviously things come up and that can't be done. Hey, if you got some extra money and want to use it on a this go ahead it's your money. Also if you want to sleep in the next morning load the thing up as full as you can get it. I personally stuff the thing full every chance i get cuz' i never know if i will be able to get too it later. And some more advice, turn your thermostat down when your not at home. The difference in wood consumption between 72 deg and 65 deg is a lot.

+2 I agree and I have got into the habit of checking it 2 times a day and maybe a third time at 2-6 PM just to fuss with it to check the water level, ash level, rake the coals, etc.
My house is multi zoned with programmable thermostats in almost every room with some thermostats set at 67 deg and others set at 70 deg depending on what day of the week it is and the time of day.

All the other things have to do with my profession and I just can't cannot resist wanting to analyze everything about the OWB to try to make it work better

 

[iCreek]

more info ?

The controller is connected to the Internet and I can record the temperatures and I can log onto the controller via the internet to see what the boiler is doing.

Can you tell us more about the software and http server/appliance/controller you are using for Internet access? Sounds very interesting.