Hooking up my high temp kill switch....?

[rives]

I use industrial thermostats, residential stats are usually low voltage and the range isn't high enough. Grainger carries remote bulb t'stats that are handy for placing the sensor portion up in the top of the cab/tent/whatever while the switch portion can be kept more accessible. The following link is for an inexpensive option, but you will want a short chunk of DIN rail to mount it on.

http://www.automationdirect.com/adc...ostats_-a-_Humidistats_(Hygrostats)/011409-00

 

[Rolldaddy]

Thanks. Why does it need to be mounted on a rail?

I am far from an expert dealing with electrical systems. I once saw a box that is mounted on the wall that can be set to any temp that will trigger the lights being turned off. Which is what I'm looking for.

 

[rives]

The rail is the mounting method used for lots of industrial devices - they don't come with feet, mounting holes, or other attachment methods. The t'stat will have a molded in clip on the back with a spring-loaded catch on one side, and just snaps onto the rail. Rail is very inexpensive, I think that you can buy a foot of it for a couple of dollars. I don't recall any commercial offerings for overtemp switching, but I'm sure that they are out there.

 

[samba]

I do like the pushbutton to reactivate the lighting, but if you visit your grow like 1 a week, that would be a problem.
If you have/buy thermostat with a "OFF at 33C and ON again at 25C" you COULD do this:
OFFSITE LINK!!! (I cant upload to ICMAG for some reason)
http://i49.tinypic.com/257q53t.jpg

 

[Rolldaddy]

I do not want one that has to be manually turned back on once temps go below the kill point.

My room is far far away from my home or office so I don't get to go there often. That is the reason I want this switch. What would really be great is if I had a devise to monitor my temp and RH from my phone, computer or any portable devise that couldn't cause security risks

 

[Sinisterzane]

Or you use one of these....

http://cpc.farnell.com/tekview/irps1363/gsm-power-socket-tekview-irps1363/dp/TE06922

Just been playing with one 30mins ago (got it today)...it has a built in stat so when the room temp goes over the set level it will shut off the lights. Its 13A so can run 4 or 5 x 600s using its in built timed on/off function (no need for a time clock as you tell it to come on and off for 18/6 or 12/12 all remotely by txt message) then if the room goes above say 30 degrees centigrade it will shut them down...and it tells you exactly whats happening by text and is fully programmed by text message...if you need more than 3KW (13 Amps) then you can get it to trigger an external relay easily enough....

Chuck a picture messaging camera in there also (facing away from the plants) so you can take pics for piece of mind that the lights have gone on and off...if need be

Heres my phone controlled hydro system..

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=240915

...currently working on a soil/coco system

 

[samba]

Or you use one of these....

http://cpc.farnell.com/tekview/irps1363/gsm-power-socket-tekview-irps1363/dp/TE06922

Just been playing with one 30mins ago (got it today)...it has a built in stat so when the room temp goes over the set level it will shut off the lights. Its 13A so can run 4 or 5 x 600s using its in built timed on/off function (no need for a time clock as you tell it to come on and off for 18/6 or 12/12 all remotely by txt message) then if the room goes above say 30 degrees centigrade it will shut them down...and it tells you exactly whats happening by text and is fully programmed by text message...if you need more than 3KW (13 Amps) then you can get it to trigger an external relay easily enough....

Chuck a picture messaging camera in there also (facing away from the plants) so you can take pics for piece of mind that the lights have gone on and off...if need be

Heres my phone controlled hydro system..

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=240915

...currently working on a soil/coco system

How the hell do you find this shit?
Thats an great piece of kit!!!

 

[Rolldaddy]

Sinisterzane,

From the looks of it that little thing looks like it will do wonders for me if it will text me room temp. Even better if it will send RH. Thanks for sharing that info. That thing is amazing. I will prolly have to use that with a relay because I'm using 220v system and my pannel runs 6 1k lights. Very neat.

I've driven an hour in each direction several times before just to check the room temp. Just being able to communicate via text to know all the girls are good is priceless.

Thanks

 

[Sinisterzane]

Sinisterzane,

From the looks of it that little thing looks like it will do wonders for me if it will text me room temp. Even better if it will send RH. Thanks for sharing that info. That thing is amazing. I will prolly have to use that with a relay because I'm using 220v system and my pannel runs 6 1k lights. Very neat.

I've driven an hour in each direction several times before just to check the room temp. Just being able to communicate via text to know all the girls are good is priceless.

Thanks

Hello Rolldaddy,

The easiest way to get round your problem without having to build a controller etc would be to get a MMS (picture messaging) camera...see this video from my system

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLut55lLY90

and mount it in front of a board so its fixed in position and have it pointed at the following..

Tri meter

http://www.getbluelab.com/shop/Bluelab+Guardian+Monitor.html

This will give you your water temp, PH and CF

A stand alone temp and humidity sensor (this will give you the rooms temp and humidity)

Some soil moisture meters (stabbed into the soil at random places)....if your not using hydro

A CO2 meter so you can see the ppms

You then get the picture cameras to send to any e-mail address on sending the picture requests by phone and get nice clear shots of your rooms stats

Use the GSM socket as your temperature kill switch and lighting time clock..its easy to make or get made a mains power relay to control the 6 1K lights....

I am in the UK and the GSM kit is a lot more readily available in the US etc and a lot cheaper to

I can help you with sourcing the correct camera and socket...

 

[Rolldaddy]

Sinister,

You've got some great gadgets and I watched your videos on the forum you started showing your system. Please post a link were I can check out were to order one of those camaras from.

Out of curiosity what price would ask for one of those complete remote operated systems?

 

[Sinisterzane]

Sinister,

You've got some great gadgets and I watched your videos on the forum you started showing your system. Please post a link were I can check out were to order one of those camaras from.

Out of curiosity what price would ask for one of those complete remote operated systems?

sending you a pm mate....

 

[lemonade]

OK simple. Here's what i do:

Let me explain. The subpanel controls the lighting. Power to the subpanel is controlled by the contactor in the box on the right. The contactor is NO (normally open) meaning when it doesn't have juice its not engaged so your lights aren't on. The contactor is controlled by that intermatic timer and a thermostat controlled relay on the other side of the wall in the grow room.

These work well:

So the conctactor gets neutral from the inermatic timer and hot from the thermostat relay. You assign a setpoint on the thermostat and delay so the lights don't turn on right away. When it gets too hot in the room power is cut to the contactor and your lights stay off till it cools down and the delay you set has expired. All you need is a contactor and a thermostat controlled relay so $150 - $300 depending on contactor size.

 

[rives]

So the conctactor gets neutral from the inermatic timer and hot from the thermostat relay. You assign a setpoint on the thermostat and delay so the lights don't turn on right away. When it gets too hot in the room power is cut to the contactor and your lights stay off till it cools down and the delay you set has expired. All you need is a contactor and a thermostat controlled relay so $150 - $300 depending on contactor size.

The neutral should always be unswitched, it is a serious code violation to do otherwise and can set the stage for a potentially fatal situation. If you get in series with the open neutral, the load current will flow through you. You should take the hot wire through both the timer and the thermostat relay, and leave the neutral continuous.

 

[lemonade]

Good point. Your absolutely correct and I should have mentioned that. Props for attention to detail. Only reason I did it that way was so I could use the thermostat relay to visually guage temp in the room when the timer is off. If I ran the hot through the timer to the thermostat relay i wouldn't be able to use the thermostat relay as a thermometer when lights are off.


But definitely something to keep in mind if your doing a med show or are want everything as "safe" as possible. Personally I'm not worried about the slim chance of getting between an open neutral on a 15a line in a grounded enclosure but i should have mentioned to others.

 

[rives]

I'm not understanding your reasoning here. Are you saying that you use the thermostat relay being powered or not to gauge the temperature? It will still change state, it would just be switching a cold wire. What am I missing?

 

[lemonade]

No I'm saying if the hot on the thermostat relay came through the intermatic timer the thermostat would be powered off when the timer is in off position which is fine for operation of the contactor/lights but I'm using the thermostat relay to check the temperature in the room during dark cycle, as it has a lcd readout and its next to the door, whereas my other thermostat which controls the AC is on the other side of the room, which is accessed through a series of other doors....Convenience basically sums it up.

 

[rives]

I was thinking that your thermostat was hot all the time and driving a relay switching the lighting circuit. It does sound like you could route it the other direction, though - leave the existing thermostat wiring as is but instead of hooking the switch leg to the contactor, route the switch leg through the Intermatic contacts and back to the contactor.