monitoring conditions in GH

As I attempt to find tools to monitor my Greenhouse I Have purchased two
both will give high/low and readings every 5 minutes !

1. Costco has a "Professional Weather Center" LaCrosse Technology WS-2316
which has the www.Heavyweather.info software and connects to your USB port
It has two advantages
1. you can connect it hardwire
(so those poor sensors the usual products do not drop the signal)
2. it only costs $87.99 instead of the usual $180 and up

2. there is a old product from LaCrosse WS-8610 Wireless data logger
retailed for $80 - can recive up to 3 sensors -
upload Weather data to your PC with Easy COM port connection
which is closed out but available from www.amazon.com $40

do you try to monitor the temperature and humidity ?
how do you do it and what levels do you shoot for ?

Banana 57-95 degrees
Brugmansia 53-64 low

tropical himidity 50% -70%

I don't monitor remotely. I tried, but even with a signal booster, the unit failed to work. I was told that the failure was probably due to one or more wireless signals in the house...the phone, the router, whatever.

I don't aim for a certain humidity level because the cure can be worse than the disease when it comes to humidity. Min temp is usually 57 or 58F.

Nautical will show up and link to his website, it's very cool.

SB

Well I have always been a bit of a weather nut, so this system I have is overkill for what is required. But as I have to be gone for extended periods of time, I wanted a way to monitor what was going on in the GH from anywhere I could get on the net.

I already had the weather station, so all I had to do was add another sensor suite to the system for the GH. The software will send me a text message or an email if there is a problem in the GH. Too hot or cold is all I really monitor.

This is the link to just the GH data: http://www.skipsweather.com/greenhouse.htm

I have changed the format of the graph to display 4 days of data rather than just one. I find the patterns very interesting. I can see where my fans come on, misters, etc. In the summer the outside humidity does not change so rapidly as it does now in the fall. As soon as the sun peeks up you can see the outside humidity drops like a rock.

Two days ago I raised the thermostat on my exhaust fan to allow it to get a little warmer in the the GH before it comes on. You can see the results of this on the graph.

From what I am reading here I think I am keeping my GH warmer than necessary. This is my first winter and I am still trying to get comfortable with what is required.

I have also read a lot here about the temperature of the water used in the GH for watering. What is the minimum temp I should use to water the plants with?

Nautical

I don't really do anything monitor my greenhouse--I have a thermometer in there that I'll look at first thing in the morning when I'm first getting the GH going for the winter just to make sure I've got the heater on a good setting, and I'll check it again if we have really cold weather, but other than that I don't do anything. And I don't do anything to measure or control the humidity either. If I lived in a colder climate I'd be more careful about the temperature, but I figure even if the heater stopped working or something, the worst that would happen is the temp might drop to 35 or so for a few hours, and while that's not a good long-term temperature to keep the GH at, it's not going to kill anything if it happens for a few hours.

I don't monitor mine either. I don't even have a thermometer in any of them right now. I just set the heater thermostat for 62 and the fan thermostat for 75 and thats it.

Nautical, I don't think thats overkill for a controlled environment. I'm in the process of building my GH and will post a thread here soon. I will be bugging you a bit in the coming months:-) But for now,
one thing at a time.

Keith,

I am monitoring the temps in my gh with several cheap wireless min/max thermometers (our gh is very close to the house, that probably helps.) This is my first winter too, and I'm nervous about how all the thermostats and heaters and fans work, so I'm on it. So far I don't worry about humidity since it's always low here (I live in the desert and grow cacti.) I'll aim for a minimum temp of 45° for my succulents.

I'll probably be more relaxed about monitoring after I have a year of experience under my belt. But who knows, I may get so attached to being on top of things that I want a better system with bells and whistles! That is a really cool set up, Nautical.

Nautical - I am away a great deal also and would love a way to monitor what is going on.... so can you tell me more about your system? where did you buy the hardware? software?

This is my first winter and I would love to learn more this winter by watching and monitoring....your systems sounds ideal.

Merrydancer,

I purchased my weather station from Ambient Weather. I am using the Davis Vantage Pro2 hardware, and the Ambient Virtual Weather Station for the software. It is the Internet Edition. This is the link to their website: http://www.ambientweather.com/
I did this in two stages. I put my first full system on my deck in the early part of 2006. It records a lot more data than what is in the GH. I added a second sensor suite for the GH that only monitors Temp and Humidity.
It is all wireless and both of the sensor suites transmits to a console that sits next to my pc. That console is attached to a power supply and to the pc via a usb port. The software handles the interface to the net. You will have to set up a web page if you want to view the data from anywhere.
I think there are many other sytems that are not as elaborate as this that would do the same job for a lot less $$.
There are many personal weather station all over the county. (World actually) You can check this link to see several in your area.
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=vancouver+wa#PWS
If you check the pages it lists what hardware they are using, and their should be a link to sent them e-mail.
I would shop around and find out what you think will work best for you. Be careful about advertised transmission distances. They may advertise they are wireless up to 1,000 ft, but that is alway "line-of-site" under "ideal" conditions. If you have to go through walls, shrubs, trees, etc, it will be more like 150'-250'.
HTH,
Nautical

Edited to add correct url.

This message was edited Nov 12, 2007 11:14 PM

Hi,

What ever you get make sure it's a decent one in quality.
If you do get one most likely you'll want a second or third sensor for other places and it all keeps adding up.
It really can be an addiction although not a bad one. A Good system should be trouble free and last for years.

I had to save -up for mine but my vote goes with Nautical for the Davis system and it sure is a lot of fun.

KW

I have the harbor freight 10 x 12 and it requires serious cooling in my zone 9 location
it is protected by my house on the north and the west. (So no afternoon sun) I have an evaporative (swamp) cooler which is on a thermostat which is set to 78 degrees. The $300 cooler runs most days because the GH heats up anytime the sun is on it.

in addition to the cooler I have a 1500 watt electric heater which is set to 72 degrees

there is a old product from LaCrosse WS-8610 Wireless data logger
retailed for $80 - can recive up to 3 sensors -
upload Weather data to your PC with Easy COM port connection
which is closed out but available from [HYPERLINK@www.amazon.com] $40

The chart was done with a free charting program from download.com called livegraph

the purple line is the greenhouse the other two are outside thermometers. This is for two nights.

It I also have the Lacrosse "Professional Weather Center" from Costco $80 (look at my post above) which runs with all of the high end software but the data logger is better because all of the other information clouds the picture when all I want is temp and humidity

see the attached temperature chart

Thanks Nautical for the info, mary...you wouldn't want to swing by and get it all setup..would you???LOL :-)) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving..mary

An update
1. in my greenhouse 1 1500 watt electric oil heater warms it 10 degrees
2, 2 each 1500 watt electric oil heater warms it 20 degrees

Delonghi TRD0715T Oil-Filled Radiator Heater Features and Benefits: Adjustable thermostat 3 variable heat settings Permanently sealed, never needs refilling Safety features include thermal cut-off, rust-resistant durable metal construction, fully enclosed heating elements & gently rounded design Back panel Includes noiseless operation & anti-freeze setting that maintains minimal heat temperature Wrap-around cord design Vertical thermal tunnels maximize radiant heat flow while maintaining low surface temperature 24-hr programmable timer with 96 settings Patented pre-assembled wheels