Thermometers.

Just got the hoophouse set up today and have been thinking about how to track temperatures both inside the hoophouse and ambient exterior temps. Would be nice to have highs and lows for each twenty four hour period. Would be nice to be able to pull data from the thermometer to a computer and even nicer if that could be done wirelessly.

I thought before I started madly dashing about the internet looking for information on thermometers, I would ask here to see if someone has done the research already and could give me a recommendation or two.

Seems to me that being able to track this, and other information like humidity and light levels and duration would all be really useful data for enclosed growing situations. Good data in general, of course. For outdoor logging you would likely want precipitation and wind speed and direction too.

Homestead scaled meterological stations

No one uses thermometers?

Peter Ellis : O.K. heres Two bites of the Apple - 1st link :


http://www.instructables.com/howto/thermeters+!/



2nd link will take time - - - - - -: ///// link below


http://www.amazon.com/maximum-minimum-recording-dial-thermometer-thermometer/dp/b000le7b2k


Note this second one Temporarily records the high and low ambient temps* - where placed-


A 3rd option is a one of those surface temperature reading devices with a trigger controlled Laser pointer and a Digital Temp readout

That kinda works if you take a surface temp of any object Actually in the airflow ! This can be a leaf on a plant if you are checking

how close to a frost you are !

The main difference is whether you wish to spot check or to keep a running log !?! (Big AL )

* requires you to physically reset ! A.L.

If you have $170 to spend on a thermometer, this one will do everything you want except wirelessly transfer the data (USB stick transfer required).
http://www.thomassci.com/B545185F-38C9-4F6E-ABCB-8BC293B6A825/_/58C17EE8-6E88-45F5-9BF5-CBCEBE92E11B?q=Refrigerator%20Thermometer

No data logging or transfer abilities, but measures both temp and humidity, AND records high and low on both. I found mine at walmart, but they are readily available on ebay.

sixteen bucks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Indoor-Humidity-Temperature-Monitor-Thermometer-Digital-Weather-Gauge-Highs-Lows-/231739620631?hash=item35f4c1fd17:g:5v0AAOSwMmBVvK1q

I find the (at least) twice daily visits to the greenhouse very theraputic, so I am not bothered by the manual recording issue. When I compare it to my "lab grade" thermometer, I find it decently accurate.

My hoop house is 12.5' x 28' and use it as a solar dehydrator for our wood supply, and keep a few tomatoes and fig trees in one little corner.

I like it so much, I may have to build a second one.

Manual recording is OK with me too, but I thought I might as well ask about all the bells and whistles while I was at it; )

Both the rasberry pi and the arduino embedded computer systems can do what you ask and so much more. But that is a very steep learning curve, do-it-yourself kind of project.

But you would gain a very useful other skill. My S.W.A.G. (Scientific Wild Assed Guess) says a hundred bucks would do it.

I have a buddy who is renovating an older house in upstate New York and wiring it to run all sorts of things through raspberry pi.

Stuff is all new and strange to me, but I have at least one resource.

And yes, it is yet another skill set!

Somewhere along the line we do have to admit that no one person can have all of the useful skills and start focusing on a subset or three.

I am not there yet.