Low Tech and High Tech Gadgets

[DavyJones]

First the low tech. I am going to split this into 2 posts because of the pictures.

I thought I would share some pics of a couple of other items that are homemade. The first is really low tech but works like a charm and only cost a couple of dollars to make. The second item is more high tech and works great.

The first gadget is just a simple float to help me monitor the liquid level in my pan while I am boiling. I looked around for some kind of stainless float and after talking to a friend he said a cork would probably work and he was right it works great. I got the cork, dowel rod and aluminum tube all from tru-value which is now called America's Best Hardware. All the items probably cost me about $3 or $4. The cork was expensive it was like $1.5. The dowel rod is 1/8" diamater and the aluminum tube was real thin wall and 1/4" I.D. I used a razor knife to just cut the aluminum tube and bend it back so I could clip that tube to the side of my pan and the dowel can float up and down in the tube. I leveled up my pan and just poured in gallons of water and marked my dowel each gallon. Your first gallon will be a difference since it takes a little to displace the cork in the first place. After that the marks should be consistent.
I took a small piece of aluminum that I had laying around and bent it to make a little clip to hold the tube to the side of my pan.

http://www.jonzilla.com/thebittners/pictures/2009/Maple%20Syrup%20Season/Low%20Tech%20and%20High%20Tech/100_746008.jpg

Adding the water
http://www.jonzilla.com/thebittners/pictures/2009/Maple%20Syrup%20Season/Low%20Tech%20and%20High%20Tech/100_746412.jpg

Working like a charm
http://www.jonzilla.com/thebittners/pictures/2009/Maple%20Syrup%20Season/Low%20Tech%20and%20High%20Tech/100_746715.jpg

[DavyJones]

This second what I call high tech device I actually built several years ago and used this from time to time to monitor different temperatures of different things. I originally started out with a DS1820 one wire device and recently I built a second one of these and used a DS18B20. You can get these from Maxim (http://www.maxim-ic.com/products/1-wire/) for a couple of dollars each I think. The expensive ticket item was the serial adapter. They have a USB adapter too but I was given the serial adapter so that is what I am using. The serial adapter I have is the older DS9097. They have a newer one the DS9097U which I think I just have to install the new drivers for. Anyway I think you can build a 9097 if you are inclined to do so I've seen some people make their own serial adapter. The cool thing about these is they use regular phone wire and can go pretty far from the sensor to your computer or a PIC, I've seen some picbasic code for these pretty simple. They say that this temp sensor has a +-.5 degree error rate to 185F then after that it's +- 2 degrees. I have been using this thing for years along side of checking it with other store bought digi thermometers I have and have never seen it read more/less then .5 degree difference. I've asked Maxim also if they have ever seen that extrememe 2 degree diff and they said they have never seen it either and that it was only theroretical. I am convinced I probably never will see anything other then a possible .5 flucuation. If anyone has any questions let me know.

I actually rebuilt mine that I had for years because the phone wire I had used melted when it touched the side of my evaporator by accident so I got an piece of braided/glass thermocouple wire and made a new one. These things are pretty simple to make first you get a DS18B20, which looks just like a transistor, and you solder the ground and Vdd legs together and hook them up to your red wire and then the DQ leg gets connected to the green wire using regular phone wire. The other end is of course just connected to an RJ-11 jack which will plug into the 9097 serial adapter. I put mine in a small 1/4" stainless tube I got from Omega (http://www.omega.com/pptst/SS_INC_TUBES.html)

This is the device after it is soldered and has a small amount of thermal grease on it and I am just about to put it into the stainless tuber. http://www.jonzilla.com/thebittners/pictures/2009/Maple%20Syrup%20Season/Low%20Tech%20and%20High%20Tech/100_745402.jpg

Here is everything hooked up notice it is just an RJ11 jack plugged into the DS9097 http://www.jonzilla.com/thebittners/pictures/2009/Maple%20Syrup%20Season/Low%20Tech%20and%20High%20Tech/100_745301.jpg

I have my own software I wrote that allows me to monitor, set alarms, etc.. on my laptop. You can calibrate to boiling water at your location by actually boiling some water or based on the elevation and BP in your area set the boiling temperature and then calculate the target of 7 degress above that t the click of a button. http://www.jonzilla.com/thebittners/pictures/2009/Maple%20Syrup%20Season/Low%20Tech%20and%20High%20Tech/software.JPG

It also self publishes a web page so I can monitor this remotely. The kids get a kick out of watching the temp go up from inside the house.
http://www.jonzilla.com/thebittners/pictures/2009/Maple%20Syrup%20Season/Low%20Tech%20and%20High%20Tech/webpage.JPG

[mapleack]

Very interesting temperature sensor! Thanks for posting it!

[Stickey]

Impressive DavyJones. I am most proud of the stack on my arch. It is a concrete culvert and when I get it running just right, it roars, sounds like a commercial jetliner going by. LOL check out the picture through my link. I am also really happy with my coffee can w/ nail hole feeder tank which is an Idea that I got from this forum, thank you (whoever it came from). I am diigin the float too, I might have to make one up. It is tough to see the level in the pan when you've got color and heavy steam.

[DavyJones]

Stickey, I love it that is so cool. I like the coffee can thats a good idea actually.

Take care

[Jerome]

DavyJones
what are you doing posting this???? patent the temperature gauge and sell the package with the software I'll take one where do I send the Money????

[Acer]

Davy you are a geek.


Maple is a nice antidote for too much EE work, until you EE the maple setup. Never thought i'd see a post here about dallas parts. cool thing you done.

Yah I'm an EE mapler, though I am trying hard to keep them separate. There is that draw off alarm I've been thinking about..........And the proportional drawoff, and the homebrew RO...............

[Peepers]

Davy that rocks! Have you thought about wiring that thermometer into an 802.11 device for those of us evaporating further from the house? :D

Since the wife loves the syruping too this might be my excuse to get a welder. its only my 2nd year but I'm liking it!

[DavyJones]

Davy that rocks! Have you thought about wiring that thermometer into an 802.11 device for those of us evaporating further from the house? :D

Since the wife loves the syruping too this might be my excuse to get a welder. its only my 2nd year but I'm liking it!

Peepers, The probe is software controled from a program that I wrote that runs on a windows platform. So as it stands it can be a world away. Since it has to be plugged into a desktop or laptop and that device is wireless... It self publishes a web page. If you are running windows you just need to enable IIS. Of course you need 2 computers one remote near the probe then one in your house. The last picture in my series shows the web page it publishes which auto updates in your browser every 5 seconds. If you wanted to go completely wireless I suppose you could but you need some type of programmable device to read the probe. Dallas make a device called a TINI which is programmable in JAVA which can talk to the probe and it has an ethernet connection but it's wired. You can also talk to the probe with a PIC but I've not seen any examples of a PIC-->802.11. Interesting I'll have to look around.

[buck3m]

That's very impressive! Obviously you are a whole lot smarter than I am.

[DavyJones]

That's very impressive! Obviously you are a whole lot smarter than I am.

Nah! I am just a geek like acer said.

[Peepers]

looks like someone thought of it before me Davy - Patent app 20070077899 is what I was thinking about. A wireless temp probe that I could access from inside my house without having a laptop or PC near my evap. I'm hoping we see more of this type of thing. I'd like to have a 802.11 wireless game cam as well so I don't have to pull the flash card out of my camera to check pics. Just get within wireless range and download em without having to pay for wireless WAN.

great stuff! Keep up the innovation - this site and the folks on it are awesome!!

[DavyJones]

looks like someone thought of it before me Davy - Patent app 20070077899 is what I was thinking about. A wireless temp probe that I could access from inside my house without having a laptop or PC near my evap. I'm hoping we see more of this type of thing. I'd like to have a 802.11 wireless game cam as well so I don't have to pull the flash card out of my camera to check pics. Just get within wireless range and download em without having to pay for wireless WAN.

great stuff! Keep up the innovation - this site and the folks on it are awesome!!

Why even take the flash memory out? Why not just have the pic's upload as soon as they are taken? hehehe http://www.eye.fi/

The sort of cool thing with the 1-wire devices and my temp probe is that they are addressable and can all run on the same wire. I could plug 4 temp probes in, one in each corner of my pan, and plug one rj11 into my laptop and monitor each temp. That wouldn't accomplish much but 1-wire is pretty cool. I think they are meant more for HVAC you know have one in each room and open and close dampers. They make a 1-wire switch that is addressable you can turn things on and off via the programming.

[sapbrush]

wow thats what im looking for thanks i have never been able to keep the sap in the pain at a 1 and a half inch level this will work thanks again

[Brian Kloepfer]

Very nice DavyJones I like this a lot.

[trackerguy]

David,

Very clever and a bit tempting.