Electronic DEVELOPMENT thread for sensors, monitors, controls

Use dynamic dns if your IP changes. My home built router supports it, others probably do out of the box.

Prototype 1 Flame Sensor PICS and adjustment for range
Flame sensor module is VERY SENSITIVE, especially to sunlight, as expected. Here is a pic on laptop keyboard for scale.
Even with POT turned all the way down, this is how it looks next to a windows on an overcast day, with a 680k resistor added between the sensors analog output and the Arduino Mega 2650 A0 analog input. I tried 330k, then jumped to 680k.

The RAW value means more than the percentage, which is just a map of the 0-1023 sensor value.

A benefit of testing in sunlight is the ability to test saturation of the sensor without heat. Hoping to tweak the first, mitigate the second.

A very scientific and controlled test using the most sensitive and calibrated equipment available showed an idle fire right at idle fire settings in the program, with the POT turned to max resistance (ie lowest, since values are inverted from what you might expect) "Opened door and stuck contraption in the opening"

Utilizing the same equipment, inserting the sensor into the draft hole in my fire door saturated right away. My instruments told me it was due to the hot door radiating the IR/heat. I reset my instrument by removing it quickly and spitting on it so my finger wouldn't blister. LOL.

Pleased to say my visual instruments functioned perfectly and read the OLED quite clearly without the need for glasses. LOL.

So now I have to work out a housing that allows the sensor to see the fire but not touch or be affected by the heat.

It may be the mica window, perhaps with a housing to prevent ambient light and separate the sensor from the door for heat purposes and likely shield some of the IR light.

I'm pleased with the OLD display, which is much cheaper than LCD and easier to read with white text on black than I expected.

Enjoy the pic

Wow, neat setup. I think the sensitivity would be required, in order for it to be in some type of housing thing. I wonder if a short piece of fiber optic cable would work. I would think that going the mica route at the end of a tube would work, but that the window would need to be held mechanically(threaded) due to heat. Great job keep it going.

Jkohanski wrote: ↑

Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 4:23 pm

Wow, neat setup. I think the sensitivity would be required, in order for it to be in some type of housing thing. I wonder if a short piece of fiber optic cable would work. I would think that going the mica route at the end of a tube would work, but that the window would need to be held mechanically(threaded) due to heat. Great job keep it going.

Thanks for the kind words!

The mica window has two holes to bolt it on. I'm thinking if I use a bit longer bolt and an extra nut on the outside, I can use the head of the bolts to slip a mount over it for the sensor, so it can be removed, like the slots in this bracket (Not this bracket of course, just showing the slot)

https://www.nelsencorp.com/ecomm_images/items/lar ... 150060.jpg

If I finish the upgrades to the 3D printer, I can probably print something with a slot that allows me to slip in a piece of sheet metal with a slot, hole, holes, etc until I get it right

Here's a pic of the mica window I have.

I'm thinking about this shield for my zone Supply/Return temp sensors (once I remember where I put them )

https://www.ebay.com/itm/383719978047
Hard to go wrong for $6 and stateside.

that sheild looks like it will do it all. yestetday I tested using an old ac wall charger that has 5v dc out for senseing when the circ pump is running. I can find these by the box at a flea market for 1.00 apiece. will just run a plug in parrell with the motor, and done. much cheaper then any sensor.

Jkohanski wrote: ↑

Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 7:50 pm

that sheild looks like it will do it all. yestetday I tested using an old ac wall charger that has 5v dc out for senseing when the circ pump is running. I can find these by the box at a flea market for 1.00 apiece. will just run a plug in parrell with the motor, and done. much cheaper then any sensor.

Are you saying you plug the walwort into the same receptacle as the pump? Or some other method? Inquiring minds want to know

Tip: I added 120V LEDs to the circulators, tapped right into the wire nuts. Makes it obvious when each circulator gets power. Between that and the zone lights on the zone controllers, makes it easy to see status at a glance and troubleshoot.

PS- I finally ordered the ultrasonic sensors for the coal level sensor

CoalisCoolxWarm wrote: ↑

Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 9:06 pm

Are you saying you plug the walwort into the same receptacle as the pump? Or some other method? Inquiring minds want to know

Tip: I added 120V LEDs to the circulators, tapped right into the wire nuts. Makes it obvious when each circulator gets power. Between that and the zone lights on the zone controllers, makes it easy to see status at a glance and troubleshoot.

PS- I finally ordered the ultrasonic sensors for the coal level sensor

No, I made a short cord, and wire nutted to existing wiring in pump with small cord to receptacle. Here is a picture.
Used LED to limit current.

Jkohanski wrote: ↑

Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 11:35 pm

No, I made a short cord, and wire nutted to existing wiring in pump with small cord to receptacle. Here is a picture.
Used LED to limit current.

Simple, elegant. Might want to add a resistor between adapter and LED, something like a 220-Ohm, to keep the LED happy.

I drilled a hole in the cover bracket of the Taco 007 pumps and mounted pilot light. You might be able to do the same thing for a neat and tidy install.

Here's a post I made about it Post by CoalisCoolxWarm - Keystoker KA-6 no heat ???

I have been busy with heath issues, just dodged cancer bullet. that said back to finishing up my monitor system. I posted in another thread, that the pi or even an arduino, is great to monitor a boiler,but would not trust it for full control. keep in mind that these hobby computers are super cool,but not prime time for industrial control. do not ever try to replace a ul listed high temp control. to go all in on a digital solution, I would use an industrial plc controller. here is a link to the pi vs plc for real world comparison. https://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2020/raspb ... d-control/

Hi all. I found this site while searching for information about Honeywell enviracom.

I thought I'd share my heating system monitoring experience here...
I have been developing a monitoring system for my oil-fired boiler. I wanted to know how often each of my two zones called for heat, and how often and how long the the circulator ( 1 circulator and 2 zone valves) and burner ran.
I started off measuring the temperature of the tankless coil output, the cold water input to a mixing valve, and the output of the mixing valve because I was having some hot water issues... (turned out hard water was affecting the mixing valve)
I am using a raspberry Pi with 1-wire network temperature sensors (DS18B20) to make the temperature readings easy.

When I wanted to expand the monitoring to include the boiler, circulator, etc. I researched all kinds of methods that were discussed here previously. I finally found an efficient, safe, and easy option in a 120/240v AC opto-isolator board.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081D1N443/

This tiny board takes an AC input voltage between 20 and 240 volts, and has an output that is logic level high or low for easy interface into a Raspberry Pi and similar platforms. The board is available in a single channel, 3 channel and 8 channel configuration.
These are great because they electrically isolate the AC signals from the logic level signals with an optical isolator IC - an LED and photo transistor in a single 4 pin package. I also use one of the boards to monitor my sump pump usage.

I have a python script that polls the status of all of these inputs every 5 seconds and feeds the status to an InfluxDB database running on the same Raspberry Pi. I then graph the database with Grafana also running on the same Raspberry Pi. Grafana allows you to create a nice at-a-glance dashboard of everything and also graph it over time to look for trends, etc.
My next step is to swap out my old mechanical Honeywell triple Aquastat with the electronic version and try to read the boiler temperature from the enviracom interface of the aquastat so that I can track that temperature as well.

Cheers,
Tony

love it, can you give a link for the board. this is the part that is jamming me up, and I have a kludge workaround. I have a pi that I use to monitor, and this would solve a lot of problems. looks good keep us posted.

oops, ok got the link, was too excited.

Welcome aboard Tony!

The triple aquastat I have with Enviracom is Honeywell L7224U-1002. Here's the link, though check around as all prices are wild on things today.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00096ZQYA

If you want to play with Enviracom, I have some more info on it, and even some info on a project someone sent me- though it uses an older version than is on Github.

I'd be quite pleased to see this going places

Thanks everyone.

I actually bought the electronic triple aquastat over two years ago! (facepalm)
I just haven't had a good enough reason to install it yet. Now that the heating season here in New England is winding down, I feel better about messing with it, so I might install it in the coming weeks.

The 3 channel opto isolator board is low in stock on amazon, but I did find it available here: https://www.mondaykids.com/monday-kids-3-channel- ... odule.html along with a lot of other interesting boards, etc.
It's much cheaper, but ships from China. Since it was so cheap I took my chances and it took almost exactly a month to receive them. I ordered them on February 13th, and they just arrived today!

I'd really like more info on Enviracom. It's disappointing that there isn't more formal documentation available for it.

-Tony