Paralyzed by options. Wanted to order a kit yesterday.


 
BrunoBronosky

BrunoBronosky

New member
I'm new to this forum. I have spent hours reading but still don't feel confident ordering.

The goal
  • Order all needed electrical parts (PCBs + components) kits for a HeaterMeter v4.3 (or later) to solder and combine with one of my RPi 3B+ SBCs.
  • Order all needed mechanical parts for Adapt-a Damper and the HM case
What I have
  • Soldering skills
  • TS100 soldering iron
  • Deep knowledge of RPi, Linux, and software development
  • Dozens of RPis laying around
  • Basic knowledge of Arduino and AVR development
  • Hundreds of Arduinos, AVR based boards, loose AVR chips, and ESP8266/ESP32 based boards laying around
  • A nearby Home Depot to get the Ethernet stuff
  • Money
What I lack
  • Time and patience for mistakes, rework, reorders, etc.
  • Basic EE knowledge (I just search for answers and never really learned to do for myself)
  • Basic EE components (I just moved cross country and donated everything to my MakerSpace rather than deciding what to keep)
  • Understanding of this whole HeaterMeter, RD3 vs Adapt-a-Damper feud, RDTC Aux board, etc. thing
    • This is the big one. I don't know what info is current and relevant versus old and outdated.
What I think I want to buy is:
Questions
  • Am I missing anything?
  • Any advice for running this off of batteries?
  • Where can I get the RDTC board? Should I just skip the RDTC board for now? Is it at all less reliable?
  • Does anyone have any experience with that -58 to 2200°F ceramic thermocouple?
 
There is a variant for the box portion for the Adapt-a-Damper on Thingiverse if you have access to a 3D printer or know someone with one. The file is BottomCaseBox_V2_TCboard.stl

www.thingiverse.com

Heatermeter Rotary Fan/Damper - The Adapt-a-Damper by wbegg

10/05/18 - ADded a threaded version so the top and bottom screw together for a more secure fit. It fits the Delta fan. Remember to screw together BEFORE attaching the servo to the LAN plug, or use fittings (servo plug) for a quick connect. 07/29/17 - Added new adapter with 1" NPT thread for...
www.thingiverse.com www.thingiverse.com
 
Have you considered a assembled one? Have you gone here : https://store.heatermeter.com/ I went with the 4.3 kit and added thermocouple and blower. The page then shows you what you need, i ordered the pwr supply and case. They are not hard to assemble but do need GOOD eyes, the parts are small and a solder mistake is easy to make. I ordered the rd3 from Ralph thrimble(sorry if i messed your last name Ralph) Your thermocouple will not work for smoking you want one with a metal probe on it. when your on the HM store page on the right side Bryan has all the info you need for probes. From the voice of experience pay attention to cable temp and the probe temp. My first cheapy probe the tip was 700 degrees and the cable 400, i think you can guess how that worked out for me. Bryon has good videos on his site. Both Bryon and Ralph are nice to work with
 
Larry Naylor said:
Your thermocouple will not work for smoking you want one with a metal probe on it.
Click to expand...

Why is this? I'm basing my selection on https://github.com/CapnBry/HeaterMeter/wiki/HeaterMeter-Probes#thermocouples where it says:

CapnBry said:
Any K-type thermocouple is supported, and the HeaterMeter jack is a standard miniature type connector.
Click to expand...

However, it also says:

CapnBry said:
Crocodile Clip Oven Probe NOT RECOMMENDED the exposed tip is too sensitive to passing heated air currents
Click to expand...

So, maybe you are suggesting that my selected thermocouple would also be too sensitive. If I experience a problem with it being too (thermo-mechanically) sensitive, I (expect that I) can put a brass, aluminum, or silicone sleeve over it to dampen the swings. If the problem is electrical, I am less equipped to be able to solve that with circuitry modifications. (Though if someone versed in EE were able to suggest a circuit, I could build it.) Please clarify your concerns on this issue. This is the part of your post that is most impactful at this moment.

Larry Naylor said:
Have you gone here : https://store.heatermeter.com/
Click to expand...

Yes and I posted 3 URLs to that domain in my original post.

I ended up ordering the following from store.heatermeter.com:
  • HeaterMeter v4.3 Kit - Thermocouple / Delta 50mm 6.7cfm
  • Case for HeaterMeter - 4.3 / Any
  • Adapt-A-Damper
  • Probe Spool for Maverick and Thermoworks Probes
I haven't placed my Thermoworks order yet, but planned to do it today.

Larry Naylor said:
They are not hard to assemble but do need GOOD eyes, the parts are small and a solder mistake is easy to make.
Click to expand...

I've been soldering since I was 4 years old. Grabbed the iron from the wrong end in an effort to take it away from my Dad. Only made that mistake once in 42 years.
 
Last edited:
Well first of all the tip of your thermal couple of choice is exposed to all the smoke and grease floating around it the grill but by all means feel free to use it, you asked for opinions and i gave you mine if you don't agree wellll ....I wasn't questioning your soldering skills i was just stating a fact plus i have 20 years more years, and last why would you buy something when the maker of the heater meter says not to use
 
For your air probe, I’m not sure about that ceramic one, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. However, I went with this one:
Air probe

The first air probe you list above (your “just in case” option) isn’t K-type and you can skip it.

I got most of my stuff from Bryan and the probes from Thermoworks, like you’re planning to do. It’d been many years since I soldered. Got a refresher from YouTube and followed Bryan’s video, and everything works great! The hardest part was figuring out the wiring for the blower/servo/HM connection... I saw the schematic; was more a matter of how to wire together into the Ethernet keystone jack. Got it done though and it works great.
 
Larry Naylor said:
Well first of all the tip of your thermal couple of choice is exposed to all the smoke and grease floating around it the grill but by all means feel free to use it, you asked for opinions and i gave you mine if you don't agree wellll
...
and last why would you buy something when the maker of the heater meter says not to use
Click to expand...

I seem to have caused offense. That was not my intent. I'm new here (2 posts) and certainly need much more from the community than I have to offer. I'm just trying to (A) gather context around the information available (B) use terseness to avoid [me] boring others. Aspergers makes it really hard to find that balance and understand how others will receive me. The fault is mine.

As for the thermocouple, I engaged Bryan on a past thread I found where he mentioned the "Crocodile Clip Oven Probe NOT RECOMMENDED" He did confirm that adding shielding to the probe worked for him. So, I decided to buy and try. If I have problems I'll get to improve the knowledge of the community and probably donate it. It's just money. I do appreciate you bringing it to my attention, Larry Naylor, because I hadn't noticed the potential issue and I'm sure I would have been very frustrated.

Dave B. said:
For your air probe, I’m not sure about that ceramic one, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. However, I went with this one:
Air probe

The first air probe you list above (your “just in case” option) isn’t K-type and you can skip it.

I got most of my stuff from Bryan and the probes from Thermoworks, like you’re planning to do. It’d been many years since I soldered. Got a refresher from YouTube and followed Bryan’s video, and everything works great! The hardest part was figuring out the wiring for the blower/servo/HM connection... I saw the schematic; was more a matter of how to wire together into the Ethernet keystone jack. Got it done though and it works great.
Click to expand...

Got my delivery from Bryan. Was surprised by how complete the Adapt-a-Damper kit was. It had the servo and keystone in it! I thought I was just getting the 3D printed stuff. I found a post by WBegg himself that got me settled on the wiring. I'll [try to] quote it below for posterity.

As for building the HeaterMeter kit. I had a great time building it with my 2.5 year old. I let her put in all the through hole components. I soldered them and we sang "Feeling Hot Hot Hot" (by Arrow, not Buster Poindexter). It went well until we got to the push buttons. Once I got them soldered in and showed her how to click them, she was done with me and insisted on playing with the board. I had to finish after bedtime. Everything... hardware, software, WiFi, SSH access, SMTP via GMail app password, alerts via Email, SMS, and Pushbullet, and shell scripting... EVERYTHING worked the first try. What an amazingly mature project! I'm so glad I decided to join this community and look forward to giving back.

WBegg said:
You're on the right track. All the Dampers here have a LAN plug on then, and they just need to be wired up as noted above.

Pin 3 = Servo 5V
Pin 4 = Ground of Servo AND Fan
Pin 5 = Fan +12V
Pin 6 = Servo signal wire

The damper is then connected to the HM with a CAT5 or CAT6 type LAN cable.
Click to expand...
 
BrunoBronosky said:
The fault is mine.
Click to expand...
Nah, ignore those comments.
I’m new to the HM “scene” too and when I’m about to drop $50+ on a single component (e.g., a probe), I want to know I’m buying the right thing too. It wasn’t you at all, it’s a good question.

BrunoBronosky said:
I found a post by WBegg himself that got me settled on the wiring. I'll [try to] quote it below for posterity.
Click to expand...
Yep, I’d seen that post. The issue for me was even more basic: what does a correctly wired keystone look like? Do I strip the individual Ethernet wires, or just punch down into the jack? The photos from old posts are dead links, so I was flying blind. I ended up carefully stripping them, tinning/soldering them together with the servo wires where needed, and then punching down. It works, so I guess I did something right!

Did my first cook last weekend. Would’ve cooked again this weekend, but rained again. This thing is so much fun. Now I want to connect it externally/to the WAN so it can be viewed outside the network...
 
I thought this was quite a good source for the wiring:
tvwbb.com

Brand New Damper Design - "The Micro Damper"

I've been off the forum for quite some time. I got married, been on vacation, and have had some medical problems keeping me away. The MicroDamper now has been modified to accept a 3.5mm phono jack since there has been a high demand for a connection. I have also made a model to accept a SG90...
tvwbb.com tvwbb.com
 
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