Question

So what are people using for a refrigerator temperature sensor?  

Answer 1

The refrigerator. It cost me 2500 dollars. It better keep an accurate temperature.  

Comments

@puca1903 what happens if it gets left open?  

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What happens if the temp sensor in the fridge fails?  

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Yeah, that's what I thought too until my whirlpool would get warm on me about every 4 months

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@sudor48 almost all built in the last 10 years will beep.  

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Imo this is a bit Overkill. If the frig fails you will notice it within a short amount of time. And either way the food inside will still be ok for hours after you find it, unless it's a vacation house. And you wouldn't normally be stirring perishable food there anyways. I get wanting to sense and automate things. But some things are just being done to say you did it. Like the guys back in the day who put their toasters on WiFi.  

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I month supply of insulin. Cost more than that fridge so I can see why some want tempature sensors

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@haemo252 again what does beeping do if you can’t hear the beeping.  

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@sudor48. Are you deaf? If so, then obviously something like this is needed. But beyond that I can hear the frig beeping from everywhere in my house. And if it's getting opened then someone is in the house and it will get noticed. Obviously do what you want. Just seems like overkill since at absolute worst you only lose SOME of the food in the frig with no other risk to the house.  

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One of the sensors posted is only $20. So if you really are worried about this, at least it's not the most expensive sensor.  

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@glume. The meds thing is something I didn't consider. So may be another valid use case there.  

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. in the US. It costs so little to make that the even in other countries were it is much cheaper the manufacturers still make as profit without the limitless price gouging.  

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@haemo252 I’m on board with monitoring. Our compressor started going very slowly. My guess is that we lost a degree every week until it was around 43°. It was akin to the frog being brought to a slow boil. I figure we were eating bad meat and dairy for around 2-3 weeks. Finally the ice started melting. It’s a Whirlpool just outside of its warranty and the guy that came out said every truck in town carries the LG compressor replacement part. They all go for 3-7 years and kaput.  

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Exactly! It was so slow of a temperature gain, I never even notice it until one day we pour out a glass of chunky milk.  

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@glume side note, insulin from Canada is waaaay cheaper than us. My cat was on Lantus for years (same exact thing as Lantus for humans) Example Thank you for ordering from RXCanada4less (please do not reply to this email confirmation) Order Summary:Lantus Solostar 5x3ml CAN Thankspe: Brand , Strength: 100U/ml , Qty:1 box of 5 pens only, Units:ml, Medication Thankspe: Rx, Description: Qty: 1 box of 5 pens only, Price: 133. 99, Quantity: 1, Total: 133. 99 Shipping: $19. 95Total: $153. 94

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@haemo252 no but I’m not within earshot of the fridge. I unfortunately have hours sometimes days when no one is home. I’d like to think I’m Superman but supersonic hearing is not one of my powers.  

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@sudor48 tap into the beep with a sensor to your home automation.  

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@dispassionate if you fridge beeps. Again this only works if the door is open not if the fridge is loosing temp

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@sudor48 It beeps at me

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@chromatophore 10 year warranty. Never had a temp sensor go bad and I was raised in the 60's when everything broke down.  

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How often do you go in your fridge. 8 - 10 times a day? You'll know when it's not cooling. Yes, you could be on vacation and it fails. Odds very slim. but you would have cleared your fridge if your gone for any extended time. But knock yourself out.  

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@puca1903 I’m glad yours has features you like? Unsure how your advocacy against automation fits with what OP wanted or really what this group is about.  

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@sudor48 I appreciate that Mark. But I just answered the question of what I use to monitor my refrigerator temperature and when I answered I was asked what I did when the door was left open or if I was away. I'm all for tech and automation. I just don't think it necessary in every area of a home unless you think it important to you. Not an advocate against automation. I'm an advocate for sensible automation in relation to my needs.  

Answer 2

I use a Fibaro FGMS-001

Answer 3

The inbuilt one

Comments

@intervale what happens if it’s left open?  

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@sudor48 the kid gets a thick ear

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@intervale and you get a warm fridge when you find it. Again that’s not automation.  

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@sudor48 for how often that might happen  3 times in 42yrs for me

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@intervale I guess your lucky. Our fridge likes to sometimes not close. It unfortunately seems like it’s closed until we get home from work and find it open with everything inside room temp.  

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@sudor48 what would automation entail a servo to close the last 6mm ? I’d rather deal with warm food than the ridicule of either a device to close it or a message on my phone to say hey dumb ass guess what you didn’t do again  

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@intervale send some of that extra money my way instead of throwing away $200 of food once or twice a week. Although auto closure of the fridge would be cool

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@sudor48 on a serious note , could an easy solution be monitor load at the socket ? I’d assume the pump will keep going if it’s constantly trying to get the temp down ? Not sure what sockets have load monitoring ?  

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@intervale that could work. Only issue could be is if you set something warm in there causing the compressor to work until the temp has been met. But that’s not a bad idea. It does leave one major issue and that is if the compressor isn’t working/ temp sensor sticks off

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@sudor48 I would check the balance on your fridge. It should close with little effort.  

Answer 4

This POS was 2800. It's been repaired 4x and still not keeping temp, so I bought a new one and would like to put a temperature sensor in this one. There is a reason why I want an alert if my fridge gets above 40 degrees or what ever.  

Comments

@limner sane model. Posted above. Crappiest compressor out there. I was told that they were shooting for efficiency and the design sucks for longevity. Ultimately becomes a 1000 btu heater.  

Answer 5

I have wanted to put a esp inside or on the side with a sensor for the fridge and freezer. Something like a DS18b20 may work since it’s i2c and multiples can be used with one esp. Not certain how the gasket would seal with a wire going outside. Perhaps drill and seal a small hole?  

Comments

@sudor48 be carful where you still you’ll most likely hit coils in the paneling.  

Answer 6

My fridge beeps loudly every 30 seconds of the door being open unless you mute it

Comments

@terrie Thanksng our frig isn’t that loud so when you are in the other room you can’t here it.  

Answer 7

A company that we support at work uses ‘DataAngel’ to monitor the temperature of their industrial freezers. It can send reports when temperature is out of range and can also send a nightly report of temperatures at every hour (the newer ones might do more than the older kit they use) It has a battery powered temp sensor inside which then wireless connects to a base station that does the processing

Answer 8

BleBox tempSensor

Answer 9

Xiaomi Aqara

Answer 10

Smartthings buttons or contact sensors for me

Answer 11

Esp8266 and a ds18b20.  

Answer 12

LG has refrigerators that notify you when the door is left open via their smart thinq app. it won't close it for you, but it notifies at least. Mine I can only control the temperature and it will remind me of when the filter is due. doesn't have the door left open feature :(

Answer 13

An ESP8266 and DS18B20 I found at the bottom of a drawer. Don't need it, don't use it, but I have pretty graphs.  

Answer 14

All for smart homes but this is overkill

Comments

@edsel Not really, I it'll be well worth it if you have a 2yr old at home who doesn't close the door well every time.  

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@ransom my fridge beeps!  

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@edsel when the door stays open, not when the temperature rises above what is recommended. Today’s appliances are disposable Chinesium.  

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@sequential91 OK

Answer 15

Built in on mine and can monitor or change in the app.  

Answer 16

I have magnet contact for the door. but do not care about the temerature

Answer 17

I built my own. :)

Answer 18

A shim under the front of the fridge to tilt it back ever so slightly will stop your doors from ever not closing all the way. Unless you overload the door and its blocked, then that's on you.  

Answer 19

I'm using RuuviTag with Meazurem ()
https://www.meazurem.com/

Answer 20

I have this same fridge. it has a built in temp sensor and an annoying beep when the door is left open for like 10 secs (annoying when putting groceries away)  

Comments

Same. It shows me the temp and tells me if I leave the door open. Smart enough.  

Answer 21

I have a Smartthings Multipurpose Sensor that I use to monitor temps.