Operational temperature


 
M

Melvin C

New member
Just got my order of Thermoworks probes now I'm ready to order the Heatermeter parts, then it's a hunt for a Raspberry Pi after that.

One quick question, I live in Toronto and it drops down in temperature pretty low(today was -24C with windchill at 10am), can the hardware function at this temperature for an extended period? If I make an insulated case of some sort, would it help?

I looked around in the Raspberry Pi forums and it seems it's operating temp is a pretty large range and it does function ok at 0C.

Want to know if anybody has experienced problems at extreme cold temperatures. I've got a Broil King Keg so I'm not worried about ceramics cracking when doing winter cooks.
 
Hey Melvin,

I use my heatermeter all the time in the winter in the GTA. With the heatermeter in a case, I've had no probs leaving it exposed to the cold for 24+ hours.
 
Steve_M said:
Hey Melvin,

I use my heatermeter all the time in the winter in the GTA. With the heatermeter in a case, I've had no probs leaving it exposed to the cold for 24+ hours.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve,
That's awesome! Do you just have the normal 3D printed case or did you make one of your own?
Thanks!
 
Melvin, electronics are typically rated in all different ranges but 0-70 Celsius is pretty typically for something like the rPi (which is the operating temp spec). You'll see "extended temp" of -40 to 85 Celsius for military applications (in the US) and they all have different storage temperatures as well as operating. The good news is that windchill has nothing to do with actual temperature so you only need to be concerned with actual temperature. I'd think that for most of your cooks, you'd be ok taking it outside from inside and firing it up as it's going to generate some heat inside the case. I'd add the thermistor on the last probe port and keep an eye on it if it was really cold perhaps. Leaving it outside in sub-freezing temperatures for long periods of time probably isn't going to be a good idea though.
 
Perfect, just the answers that I'm looking for. I was thinking if I had to make any special considerations on the case. Thanks all!
 
Just to add a note to this... You can use a CAT5 cable to run the blower, servo and a variety of pit/food probes... If done right you can use a long-ish cable (say 50ft or so) which might enable you to get your HM out of the weather entirely. That's what I do over the winter...
 
RalphTrimble said:
Just to add a note to this... You can use a CAT5 cable to run the blower, servo and a variety of pit/food probes... If done right you can use a long-ish cable (say 50ft or so) which might enable you to get your HM out of the weather entirely. That's what I do over the winter...
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Interesting, the length of cable doesn't affect the readings you get from the probes?
 
Standard probes work really well over the CAT5 cable, just make sure to run a dedicated ground wire for the probes in the CAT5 cable, if you share the ground for the probes and the servo/blower when the servo/blower operate it will effect the probe readings. So with 4 spare CAT5 wires you can do 3 standard probes... The cable from my roto damper to my Heater Meter is about 50ft I would guess and its fine. There is a point where the probes will drop, and more likely the servo will flake out in you. 50ft was near the limit when I tested (HMv4.0)... the problem you'll have with cold weather is ice and snow on the connectors, but if you connect them while dry and leave them connected they usually stay pretty solid.
 
An idea about the length. cat5 wire is 26 gauge but cat6 is 25 guage. That should give better distance and/or reliability. Any thoughts Ralph. Also, the architecture of the solid cat6 is with a plastic spline running through the center will give a lot more stability and protection for the wire.
 
Melvin C said:
Just got my order of Thermoworks probes now I'm ready to order the Heatermeter parts, then it's a hunt for a Raspberry Pi after that.

One quick question, I live in Toronto and it drops down in temperature pretty low(today was -24C with windchill at 10am), can the hardware function at this temperature for an extended period? If I make an insulated case of some sort, would it help?

I looked around in the Raspberry Pi forums and it seems it's operating temp is a pretty large range and it does function ok at 0C.

Want to know if anybody has experienced problems at extreme cold temperatures. I've got a Broil King Keg so I'm not worried about ceramics cracking when doing winter cooks.
Click to expand...

I have a Keg as well, I'm not far from you in Breslau. You'll want a damper for the keg, not just a blower, I have RalphTrimble's rotodamper and HM case. I ordered my rPi and servo off amazon.ca
 
Bob Ivey said:
An idea about the length. cat5 wire is 26 gauge but cat6 is 25 guage. That should give better distance and/or reliability. Any thoughts Ralph. Also, the architecture of the solid cat6 is with a plastic spline running through the center will give a lot more stability and protection for the wire.
Click to expand...

The cable I have been using is CAT5e. It has solid wire and also has the plastic spline running through it. If you are going to use a punch down connector on the CAT5 jack you pretty much need to use a solid wire, not stranded...
 
RalphTrimble said:
The cable I have been using is CAT5e. It has solid wire and also has the plastic spline running through it. If you are going to use a punch down connector on the CAT5 jack you pretty much need to use a solid wire, not stranded...
Click to expand...

It sounds as if the wire you are using is cat6. The only solid cat wire I have seen is cat6 and I install it in my work. Never seen any cat5e with a spline down the center.
 
Ralph you are right. My boxes of cat6 are 23AWG. If you are running a fifty foot cable plugged into the jack on the HM and the RD I think it would help. I have the advantage of stocking the cable and plugs and make them myself. The cat5 punch down can be somewhat of a problem if using cat6 cable due to the different size wire. On the punch down jacks that you use in the HM it won't make any difference since they will take a cat6 plug so if you are going to use a 50ft extension then use a cat 6 for the larger wire gauge.
 
Personally I have a couple spools here of this wire and it works well for me so that's what I'll be using... Looks like a lifetime supply to me! LOL Might be good advice for someone that needs to buy wire. BTW, the 500ft and 1000ft boxes of cable I have did come from Home Depot (a few years back)....
 
More and more customers are asking us to run cat6 so I am going to standardize on that. It also works better when we have to run HDMI over cat. Cat6 is about 40% more expensive than cat5 and the connectors are MUCH higher priced. Not fun having to stock them but it comes with the job.
 
Do you create essentially an extension cable with the CAT6 cable? One end with a male plug and the other end with a female? Or is there another way?
 
I make standard cables, male on both ends.. The HM has a CAT5 jack and my Roto Damper also has a CAT5 jack, they mate together with the cable. You can get a CAT5 Jack at Home Depot for $3 for the grill end, or wire it up any way you choose really...
 
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