Workshop Heating

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

I have a couple of those Lascar loggers somewhere, without LCD they used to be cheaper. I kept on in my work bag for a while and it would register the change in temperature as I left the house, the car warming up inside as I drove, getting out when I arrived and the reverse on the way home. I was able to time my journey and work hours from it.
You can also get 1-Wire logging buttons which we have used at work but you need a special interface to read them.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

See what you've done now? Had to venture near to Maplin today whilst gathering the weekly provisions and ended up getting one of those TP Link HS110 wifi controlled plug with energy monitoring. It was almost inevitable I suppose.

Mixed result. It allows you to control the power on a socket anywhere within range of your wifi network, from anywhere in the world, assuming you have a broadband connection. You can also toggle it on and off manually with a button on the front. You can only use a smart phone (iOS or Android) for remote operation / monitoring – no PC yet. This version (with energy monitoring) reports the current (instantaneous) power usage and also the cumulative energy usage today, this week and last 30 days. That's pretty interesting perhaps but you don't have any means of displaying the power against time or exporting the data – hardly surprising, although it would be good to see it happen at some point.

For me it's not a massive disappointment. I have a 3300VA site transformer down in the workshop to run my various 120V machines from (bandsaw, belt sander, Bridgeport power feed etc) and like to make sure it is turned off at the end of the day's play, as it gets quite warm, even on standby. It's a PITA to have to head out there to see if I've forgotten, so this allows me to see if it's on, to turn it off from the comfort of the lounge – and also to set the timer to automatically turn it off at a fixed time or after a period of operation.

The HS110 claims to be rated at 3kW /13A load. The switching element is a relay, judging by the clicking noise.

Murray

Edited By Muzzer on 25/11/2017 19:02:41

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

How about rigging up a light in parallel with the heater where you can see it from the house. it would give you some idea, not brilliant granted.

[Donald MitchellParticipant @donaldmitchell68891]

A light in parallel with the heater, a good idea, but sadly could only be seen from the kitchen and not when I am reclining on the sofa. Maybe an electronic door bell, there's food for thought. I'll get back on the sofa and think about it a bit more.

Edited By Donald Mitchell on 25/11/2017 20:00:19

[Ed DuffnerParticipant @edduffner79357]

Would one of the products from Efergy suit your requirements?

Ed.

[LimpetParticipant @limpet]

I use one of the efergy monitoring the electric for my pond it will show graphs of usage against time so you would see when your heater is on and how long. Mine has a transmitter that I clip around the live feeding the pond the receiver is a mobile unit to see the graphs you have to download the data to a pc. I find it very useful to monitor when air pumps have been turned on etc.

[Nick HulmeParticipant @nickhulme30114]

I don't use heating in the workshop since I insulated it, on a really cold, frosty night it occasionally dips slightly below 10C, but a 5.4Tb RAID5 NAS box prevents it getting really cold, lights, a PC, me or a machine running soon gets it much warmer when I'm working.

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