Monitoring bilge temp while away

[Newbie]

My boat is in the water year round and being in NC, I'm not planning to winterize anything in the bilge (engines, genset etc) I'm not sure if I need a heater or not either, its rare to have an extended period in the 20's on our coast and I'd imagine the water temps stay above 40* all winter. What I would like to do though is find a thermometer that can be left in the bilge with the ability to check the temps over the marina's wifi network. Does such a thing exist? If temps get too low in the bilge the first night that it dips below freezing, I'll at least know I need to do something else. Thanks SB

 

[dsteele1]

I don't know of a computer interfaced thermometer but this may be just what you need: http://www.opticsplanet.net/control-company-vwr-minimum-maximum-memory-thermometer-4105.html

It's a digital min-max memory thermometer that holds the lowest or highest temp in memory.

EDIT: This is the one I finally ended up with - works great! http://cgi.ebay.com/4821-Fridge-Fre...ry-Magnet_W0QQitemZ290277680139QQcmdZViewItem

Todd (see post below) found the lowest priced one I've seen http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=79632-53921-00886GTSB&lpage=none $8+ !!!

I have a bilge heater on my boat in Texas and keep my boat in the water year round. I just tested the BoatSafe Heater to make sure it works OK as it's going down to freezing tonight. :wow: I leave the cabin Air Conditioner on at 55 degrees and the bilge heater should take care of the rest. I may get one of these thermometers to make sure the bilge heater is working.

 

[Dave S]

You can buy a small digital thermometer at Wally World for around 10 bucks that will store high and low temperature in memory. That's what I use in my bilge. If you want something that can be remotoely monitored then I am sure it is available but the costs will probably be substantially higher.

 

[Uplate]

I don't know of a computer interfaced thermometer but this may be just what you need: http://www.opticsplanet.net/control-company-vwr-minimum-maximum-memory-thermometer-4105.html

It's a digital min-max memory thermometer that holds the lowest or highest temp in memory.

I have a bilge heater on my boat in Texas and keep my boat in the water year round. I just tested the BoatSafe Heater to make sure it works OK as it's going down to freezing tonight. :wow: I leave the cabin Air Conditioner on at 55 degrees and the bilge heater should take care of the rest. I may get one of these thermometers to make sure the bilge heater is working.

Hi Don-

I wanted to thank you for this link. I bought one and am now a little concerned. As you may know, this thermometer has both an inside and outside reading. It came from what looks to be a very scientific company and showed certificate of calibration. I placed the unit in the cockpit and ran the Outside probe down to the engine compartment.

Scary thing is twice since installing it the recorded low temps in the engine has been 21 degrees! No idea for how long it stayed there though. After the first 21 reading I did a reset or the unit and came back a week later to read a low of 21 again.

So to make sure there is not an issue with the probe, I placed the entire thing in the engine compartment. I plan on going back and taking another look in a few days.

I have a Boatsafe 750, tested it with the freeze spray several times, and the marina did not loose power (or so they say). Breaker that powers the heater never tripped.

Both starboard and port vents are well sealed with sponge material.

I have a call into Boatsafe to discuss with their engineer.

May put in a lightbulb as Frank suggested just in case!

 

[Nehalennia]

I bought one at Lowes yesterday for $8.97. Work on a AAA battery and has a 10' wire. I'm hanging it on the side of the boat, and I have a goldenrod in the engine bay. I put it there last night since we're in a cold snap(temps in the teens at night).

I'll be stopping by the garage tonight and see what the temps inside the engine bay are.
It has a min/max so I'll know how cold it got since the 24 hrs since I'll have been gone.

 

[Luckydogs]

I don't know of a computer interfaced thermometer but this may be just what you need: http://www.opticsplanet.net/control-company-vwr-minimum-maximum-memory-thermometer-4105.html

It's a digital min-max memory thermometer that holds the lowest or highest temp in memory.

I have a bilge heater on my boat in Texas and keep my boat in the water year round. I just tested the BoatSafe Heater to make sure it works OK as it's going down to freezing tonight. :wow: I leave the cabin Air Conditioner on at 55 degrees and the bilge heater should take care of the rest. I may get one of these thermometers to make sure the bilge heater is working.

Do you have the Boatsafe heater or the Extreme? I bought the Boatsafe and tested per the manual and the heater cut on but there wasn't much heat coming out before it cut off.

 

[fc3]

Google says: http://www.controlbyweb.com/temperature/index.html

 

[Uplate]

Do you have the Boatsafe heater or the Extreme? I bought the Boatsafe and tested per the manual and the heater cut on but there wasn't much heat coming out before it cut off.

I found that the boatsafe needs some warm up time before hot air is evident. I usually have to do several squirts to get it to warm up.

 

[mrsrobinson]

I found that the boatsafe needs some warm up time before hot air is evident. I usually have to do several squirts to get it to warm up.

+1

It's very slow to heat up and I have never felt hot hot air coming out of it.

 

[CSR_Admin]

The boatsafe heaters only go on when the temp gets down to like 40, and then they just put out enough heat to maintain that temp. So I doubt you will feel much heat from them. I have 2 of them and can't say I've ever felt heat from them. I actually though they were defective until I realized both performed the same way and I actually read the manual.

 

[Go Aweigh2452]

You can buy a small digital thermometer at Wally World for around 10 bucks that will store high and low temperature in memory. That's what I use in my bilge. If you want something that can be remotoely monitored then I am sure it is available but the costs will probably be substantially higher.

Wally world and other retailers (Target) have remote readers good to 300 ft. I bought one at Target for $12.00 on sale. It is pink (probably why it was on sale) and I keep it with an older one (I have two in the bilge). They record w/i .01 degrees so far. They also record min and max temps. I have an Xtreme 600w heater in the engine bay and a really long golden rod under the raw water section of the engine... The engine is winterized. The Xtreme puts out hardly any heat the I can detect but feels warmish to the touch.

I'll find out how well they did when I return to home from NY next week.

 

[avguy]

Our boat is not winterized and sits on the trailer within view of my home office window. I have an Extreme 600w heater & a $20 atomic clock w/remote temp (Sams Club). Doesn't store any readings but does allow me to keep an eye on the bilge temp.

FYI....anyone thinking of doing the same thing (not winterizing a trailered boat) get the largest heater you can. I watched my bilge temps struggle to stay at 35-36 degreees last night when the temps got into the teens. Scott

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

I purchased a thermostatic electric bilge heater from West Marine on sale. Once I opened it up and read the detailed instructions it became clear why they were on sale, not to be used in closed spaces! :smt021 But I keep the boat stored inside so the heater sits on the concrete next to the out drive keeping the whole room above 40. I would have normally already wintereized by now but between work and a few other distractions I have not made the trip to the shop. It's something that will have to get done in January now! :huh::smt009

 

[dsteele1]

Hi Don-

I wanted to thank you for this link. I bought one and am now a little concerned. As you may know, this thermometer has both an inside and outside reading. It came from what looks to be a very scientific company and showed certificate of calibration. I placed the unit in the cockpit and ran the Outside probe down to the engine compartment.

Scary thing is twice since installing it the recorded low temps in the engine has been 21 degrees! No idea for how long it stayed there though. After the first 21 reading I did a reset or the unit and came back a week later to read a low of 21 again.

So to make sure there is not an issue with the probe, I placed the entire thing in the engine compartment. I plan on going back and taking another look in a few days.

I have a Boatsafe 750, tested it with the freeze spray several times, and the marina did not loose power (or so they say). Breaker that powers the heater never tripped.

Both starboard and port vents are well sealed with sponge material.

I have a call into Boatsafe to discuss with their engineer.

May put in a lightbulb as Frank suggested just in case!

I have my min / max thermometer in the bilge and the lowest temp so far (with 17 degree night time lowest temp) has been 40.5 degrees. I'd be very concerned if your bilge temp has been 21 degrees...

 

[dsteele1]

Do you have the Boatsafe heater or the Extreme? I bought the Boatsafe and tested per the manual and the heater cut on but there wasn't much heat coming out before it cut off.

I have the BoatSafe 250 watt model (installed by MMax).

 

[Uplate]

I have my min / max thermometer in the bilge and the lowest temp so far (with 17 degree night time lowest temp) has been 40.5 degrees. I'd be very concerned if your bilge temp has been 21 degrees...

Yes, concerned. This has been discussed in another thread.
Boatsafe sent me a new unit and it is going in tomorrow.

Great to see how others are working. Thanks for posting yours.

 

[Alibuma]

My wife leases and sells cellular based temperature monitoring devices to commercial buildings for use in fire control rooms to ensure sprinkler mains dont freeze if the unit heater in the room fails. They are also popular in vacancies to ensure brokers dont leave the heat on or the roof-top-units fail. This might work in your case.

The device monitors the temp and "checks in" with the hosted server every 15 minutes via a cellular signal. If the temperature is outside the min/max settings, a phone call, email, and text alert are sent out. All data is stored on the host server and the property managers can log in at anytime to view current temperatures, download history, and see graphs. They plug into a regular duplex outlet and have a battery backup. Battery backups will run for over a week if the power fails. The temperture sensor has a 10' lead.

They are a really neat device. My wife started this business as a distributor of the devices this fall. I had thought about trying to market them to the boating market but thought there wouldnt be a large demand. They cost $399 to purchase and the monthly subscription fees vary depending on how frequently the device checks in ($19 to $25/mo IIRC).

 

[searaycaddy]

Rigged a 'MacGyver' solution using free www.skype.com software a few weeks ago and still working well.

1. Old laptop with USB cheap webcam
2. Oregon Wireless digital sensor with 3 channels
3. 2 extra remote sensors for the above
4. Free download of Skype VOIP software
5. Assumes you have power onboard for the laptop and access to wireless or other Internet connection.

Subscribing to a service would still be the best way to go. I live fairly close so can run down if something were to go sideways and I needed to run down and reset this rig.

Install
A. Downloaded and installed free Skype software. Created a new user ID and password for my boat. Had one already for home.
B. Configured Skype to automatically answer and turn on the webcam for any incoming Skype call from a known person in my contact list. (i.e. my home Skype name)
C. Put the digital readout in front of the webcam and dropped one of the remote sensors into the ER and the other one in a forward bilge.
D. Configure laptop to NEVER sleep or shut off screen. The light from the laptop screen illuminates my Oregon digital readout at night! Or could leave a light on, but laptop must stay awake. Skype call will not wake it up.

Bonus is the webcam also gives me audio so I can hear if the WM box heater is running in the cabin (set to freezing setting). The webcam also has a wider view than the digital sensor so can see part of the cabin (i.e. crude security). Not really useful for security, but can gaze wishfully while away this winter....

Second bonus is if lose power the laptop might stay on for an hour or so before hibernating. If power out longer than that, up here in Wisconsin I'm headed down to fire up a generator or figure out some type of heat source!

Tips:
1. If do not have an old laptop handy, I guess a $280 netbook would do the trick if it has a webcam builtin.
2. I am guessing the 'screen burn' is going to be pretty bad by spring, so be sure you can live with a damaged laptop.
3. Skype configuration for auto answer
Tools>Options>Calls>Advanced>Answer Automatically
4. Get the whole thing working at home, then take to the boat.

This also works as a home nanny cam when away on vacation, but you can set the screen to blank or go into screen saver mode because at home can leave a light on.

Cons:
A. Maybe rough on the on laptop.
B. Need solid Internet connection
C. No alarm, you have to call and look to see what is happening. So if serious potential for freeze damage before you can get there to avoid, subscribe to a paid monitoring service.
D. No way to push a button to see high and low temps on the Oregon sensor. I am looking for a new sensor that will automatically scroll through the readings, no luck yet.

Just checked in, ER is 43 degrees (have a boatsafe 750W heater, salon temp is 63 degrees.

 

[Uplate]

Searaycaddy-

What a great way to use an old outdated laptop! Saving it from the landfill.

 

[comsnark]

My wife leases and sells cellular based temperature monitoring devices to commercial buildings for use in fire control rooms to ensure sprinkler mains dont freeze if the unit heater in the room fails. They are also popular in vacancies to ensure brokers dont leave the heat on or the roof-top-units fail. This might work in your case.

The device monitors the temp and "checks in" with the hosted server every 15 minutes via a cellular signal. If the temperature is outside the min/max settings, a phone call, email, and text alert are sent out. All data is stored on the host server and the property managers can log in at anytime to view current temperatures, download history, and see graphs. They plug into a regular duplex outlet and have a battery backup. Battery backups will run for over a week if the power fails. The temperture sensor has a 10' lead.

They are a really neat device. My wife started this business as a distributor of the devices this fall. I had thought about trying to market them to the boating market but thought there wouldnt be a large demand. They cost $399 to purchase and the monthly subscription fees vary depending on how frequently the device checks in ($19 to $25/mo IIRC).

Another choice:

http://www.smarthome.com/7008/Sensa...nitoring-and-Alarm-Notification-System/p.aspx

Also in the $300-$400 range. . . but it gives you live readings.

Smarthome.com has all types of home monitoring and remote control stuff.