A challenging problem.

[Lazy-Ferret]

OK, here's a challenge for the techno/gadget bods on here...

First I will explain the back ground.

Ferrets do not cope with heat, if the temperature is above 26c it can kill them, and a very nasty death it is as well. So, when we take our ferrets away in the caravan we have a small air-conditioner that can keep their end of the caravan down at at an acceptable temperature for them. We have used this for a few years, and on mains hook up, it is very good at even the worst temps we have hit. We also have a large(ish) sinewave generator so we can run it when not on hook up, like when we attend steam fairs etc. I have the generator rigged up with an extra 20l fuel tank, which means it could in theory run for 2 days non-stop.

The problem.

The generator is getting older, and while it serviced and looked after, it is obviously outside the caravan, so although locked up, it is still possible for someone to at the very least to turn it off, or it stalls, or stops for some reason. Because the only way the air conditioner can cool their end of the van down, is by shutting all the windows, and the dividing door, so if the aircon went off in a hot day, it would not take long for the caravan temperature to shoot up, and possible kill the ferrets.

A solution?

The caravan has it's own Wifi, with an external aerial connecting it to the WWW.

I an looking to get something like Sonoff to be able to use my phone remotely to keep an eye on the temperature inside the ferret end of the caravan while I am out and about looking at steam engines, and also to let me know if the electricity supply should be turned off.

So far, all of the units I have found seem to run on mains power, which means that should the generator stop, they would also stop, so I am looking to find a solution that runs off the 12v side, but can monitor the temp and mains.

Anyone seen, or know of anything like this, that is a reasonable price as well.

 

[jims-terrano]

Whatever a Sonoff is that does your monitoring, could it run from an inverter connected to a 12v battery that is also on charge from the genny. Then if the mains power or genny fails the Sonoff will still run for a while and provide your warning?

 

[terranosaurusdoug]

I reckon the 240v devices will be like most things and have a transformer on the plug or inline, they probably only need 6v (for eg) or summat! See if you can get that info in the specs, if I'm right create a 6v (for eg) from the caravans 12v, I'll leave that bit upto you :lol but surely possible :thumb2

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Whatever a Sonoff is that does your monitoring, could it run from an inverter connected to a 12v battery that is also on charge from the genny. Then if the mains power or genny fails the Sonoff will still run for a while and provide your warning?

That is on my list of possibilities, but I am trying to keep it as simple as possible, as the more components you put in, the more chance you have of something else failing. The problem is, the Sonoff is the device that also monitors the electricity.

I think I need some sort of device that has some digital inputs, so I can put a relay across the mains, and when it drops out, it shorts out an input, which then sends me a Text/email etc... a bit like a small home alarm..

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

I reckon the 240v devices will be like most things and have a transformer on the plug or inline, they probably only need 6v (for eg) or summat! See if you can get that info in the specs, if I'm right create a 6v (for eg) from the caravans 12v, I'll leave that bit upto you :lol but surely possible :thumb2

That's another thought, but I need to order one of these devices, and as they are mainly Chinese/Hong Kong finding info is almost impossible.

Wading through Ebay at the moment trying to get ideas.

 

[zippy656]

That's dead simple.


New swift caravan, with air con and alde heating.

You can via your phone control, lights. Heating , air con,monitors battery, 230v, solar panel output andneven thenfridge.

Called Swift command

 

[don simon]

What temperature do you need to achieve?

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

That's dead simple.


New swift caravan, with air con and alde heating.

You can via your phone control, lights. Heating , air con,monitors battery, 230v, solar panel output andneven thenfridge.

Called Swift command

Sounds perfect, do they need someone to do a test run on one for a week?

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[Lazy-Ferret]

What temperature do you need to achieve?

We need to keep them under about 23c, the air con gets it down to 21c on the hottest days, and once the sun goes off, it dropped to about 14c.

The aircon is a small unit, and one of its problems is you physically have to press a button to turn it on after power is turned on.

I am going to order the sonoff th16 and see if I can adapt it to run on 12v. I have seen some hacks that allow you to use an extra pin as an input, so could use a relay connected to that to monitor the mains... only problem is, not sure if I can do the programming that needs to be done.

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[don simon]

what I'm trying to work out is whether there is a solution that won't require aircon. The biggest problem is that there's no thermal mass in a caravan, so it'd need to be introduced in the form of a phase change material/ The downside is that it's capital cost is high, running cost is low and no parts to breakdown.
Otherwise I'd look at a natural solution as air temps don't really get that high, but you'd be reliant on a fan to get the air inside/outside, and therefore not gaining anything except reduced leccy bills.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

what I'm trying to work out is whether there is a solution that won't require aircon. The biggest problem is that there's no thermal mass in a caravan, so it'd need to be introduced in the form of a phase change material/ The downside is that it's capital cost is high, running cost is low and no parts to breakdown.
Otherwise I'd look at a natural solution as air temps don't really get that high, but you'd be reliant on a fan to get the air inside/outside, and therefore not gaining anything except reduced leccy bills.

Just to add another issue, it's parked in a field with 1000 other caravans, all spaced about 6metres apart, amd not all the other caravan owners are as honest as they should be, so leaving windows wide open is not really an option. There are people there who would actually steal the ferrets!!

We have in the past used a large 12v fan to move the air, and put camouflage net across the windows to create shade, but the temp still got a bit uncomfortably high.

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[kitchenman]

try a Google search for sonoff 12 volt, I got several hits

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

try a Google search for sonoff 12 volt, I got several hits

I have done that, but they only do the remote switch in those, not the sensor ones.

The problem is, I want physical feedback to say everything is fine. It's ok sending a signal to turn something on, but I need to know it is running.

In the mains version's you have a pow unit that lets you see voltage and power useage, and you have the TH ones that allow you to see temp and humidity.

I am looking to see if I can find something like a burglar alarm that allows you to receive a text when a specific sensor is triggered.

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[jonny]

not sure if this would apply but in this hot weather I put frozen bottles of water in the rabbit hutches. They lie against them if it gets too hot and also lick the outside to cool down.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

not sure if this would apply but in this hot weather I put frozen bottles of water in the rabbit hutches. They lie against them if it gets too hot and also lick the outside to cool down.

Thanks for that, we do that at home, or when traveling in the car, but freezing decent sized bottles that would stay frozen for a whole day in the caravan opens a whole new bag of worms.

We have some ice blocks that fit in the caravan fridge freezer box, but they only stay cold for a couple of hours in hot weather.

The current set up has worked well for several years, I just want to add in some safety feedback so should something go wrong I know, and can head back to the caravan to sort stuff out before things get deadly.

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[kitchenman]

I have a little device on my motor bike which senses vibration or noise
The makers have many variations and can be found here
https://www.my-gps.org/145-Reachfar-RFV16-SMS-configuration-Manual
OK this is the manual for the one I have but I think it links to other devices.
This gadget worked out of the box unlike all the others I have tried [20+]
I rings my phone if the bike is touched and I can listen in to hear what is going on
With the speaker turned on you can talk to persons nearby by ringing the device through the button, read all about it to get the gist

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

I have a little device on my motor bike which senses vibration or noise
The makers have many variations and can be found here
https://www.my-gps.org/145-Reachfar-RFV16-SMS-configuration-Manual
OK this is the manual for the one I have but I think it links to other devices.
This gadget worked out of the box unlike all the others I have tried [20+]
I rings my phone if the bike is touched and I can listen in to hear what is going on
With the speaker turned on you can talk to persons nearby by ringing the device through the button, read all about it to get the gist

I have a tracker from Suz's Dads invalid buggy, and I was saying to Suz, I wonder if I could use that. It has an SOS button, which I could use to let me know the genny had stopped, but not sure how to get it to let me know the temp... having said that, I only need to know if the temp goes above 25ish, so could use a thermostat.

That one you linked to is nice and small, how do you find it regarding getting phone signal, as the first tracker I got spent more time out of signal than in. The one on the buggy has external aerials, which is why I got it.

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[kitchenman]

This thing works with both wifi and the sim card. Most coms are via wifi, so it is cheap to run
I was amazed how simple it was and how reliable, so long as you have a power supply and a phone signal
I have a 2nd battery on my bike to run my toys, dash cam front and back, this also powers via USB the Reachfar gadget.
With my bike 2nd battery plugged into an Aldi solar panel it will run the gadget for days when the bike is out of use
Tech support is good I have had help via Skype or WhatsApp, just have to be around when China is a work
At around <£25 a bargain.

 

[kitchenman]

I only need to know if the temp goes above 25ish, so could use a thermostat.


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If you set on of the gadget up to warn of noise you could make the noise with a stat connected to a buzzer,
Buzzer goes off, your phone rings and you can hear the buzzer [simples]

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

This thing works with both wifi and the sim card. Most coms are via wifi, so it is cheap to run
I was amazed how simple it was and how reliable, so long as you have a power supply and a phone signal
I have a 2nd battery on my bike to run my toys, dash cam front and back, this also powers via USB the Reachfar gadget.
With my bike 2nd battery plugged into an Aldi solar panel it will run the gadget for days when the bike is out of use
Tech support is good I have had help via Skype or WhatsApp, just have to be around when China is a work
At around <£25 a bargain.

Cheers, the Wifi is handy, as we have that in the van already, and we can then have a sim with a different provider to give better coverage.

I'll give it some more looking.

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