Question

Been searching for a ST-compatible temperature monitor with a remote (wired) sensor. Is there such a thing? I'd like to monitor temps inside fridge and freezers.  

Answer 1

I use a fibaro door sensor for it. I have set rules for open fridge door and dropped temperatur

Comments

I've read about folks doing that. Seems like the battery would suffer in cold temperatures. It would also be "nice to have" a display on the outside.  

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@underbodice756 Battery change twice per year

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I would keep the Fibaro outside and wire up the temp probe DS152B or something. I’m doing that with to monitor my pools temperature.  

Answer 2

I just use sensors inside the freezer.  

Comments

Me too. SmartThings buttons, specifically. Battery life is reduced some especially in the freezer, but it looks even worse than it is - the sensors seem to run for months at 20%  

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Me too. I use a Visonic open/close sensor in my freezer, works great. I just use the temp reading, not the open/close reading.  

Answer 3

Im using an EverSpring ST814 inside the freezer. I have to change ths batteries about every 6mo. Works great.  

Answer 4

I suppose one could remote the power supply.  

Comments

@underbodice756 I've done that on an old freezer. Sensor is inside, wires go through the side to a battery pack on the outside. I wanted to try it on an old unit before taking a drill to our new freezer. Packed the hole with expanding foam to stop temp loss. I used a small drill as the wires are very thin, the hole was about the thickness of a wooden toothpick. So far its working fine. The new freezer has the same type of sensor but with battery in the freezer, waiting to see if there is any actual difference in battery life. In freezer reads 20%, outside battery pack reads 80%. Both are about 5 months now, but the 20% dropped to that almost instantly, so fairly sure it's not an accurate reading, hasn't dropped any more the whole time. Both still going strong.  

Answer 5

Karl. this is what I use in my pond for temperature monitoring. I also remote power it and never have to worry about batteries. EVER! It's been running for two years now without issues.  
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0...HZ3Z/

Comments

It gets treated like a thermostat, but it's easy to just pull the temperature using WebCoRE or whatever.  

Answer 6

Konnected (or Wemo D1)+ DS18B20

Comments

I'd love to see a step by step for doing this. Wemos D1 with a little OLED or ePaper display would be amazing!  

Answer 7

I’m using Xiaomi temp sensor (battery powered). Works well in my refrigerator. They also work well in freezer.  

Answer 8

I use a smarthings multi sensor and have it inside my deep freezer. Temps are -12 F. Battery lasted almost a year. Just replaced it last week. And in my other freezer I am using a Iris 1st gen contact sensor. Battery lasted about 8 months between changes.  

Comments

@geilich I have a ST multisensor in my freezer. So far it’s good at 5F. What are you using for alerts? Not finding a SmartApp yet that fits my needs.  

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@underbodice756 look into webcore for smart things. I moved away from ST as it was not as reliable as I needed. Hate the whole cloud crap. I moved to hubitat as its local processing. But I used webcore when I had ST and it worked great for creating rules/alerts

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I tried one of these in my freezer and the signal always dropped when I hit about -10F. Not sure if the device quit working or if the signal somehow got weaker due to the cold (lower battery output? ). It didn't seem good for those coin cell batteries either.  

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It's working so far, although the battery now says 60%. I'm impressed that the signal gets out at all. Had issues with one in my metal mailbox and ended up mounting the sensor outside. Plan B would be to 3D-print a battery eliminator insert and run the wires through the back of the lid opening (no cutting). I've installed webCoRE and have started the learning process on how to make my first piston. I also considered adding a door open monitor, but the lid design is such that it doesn't lend well to installing the ST multi-sensor. For now, it's just sitting in a ziploc bag.  

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Mine is currently at -20. 5F with no issues, just stuck it to the interior roof of the freezer. (its is in my garage, hub is inside the house about 50 feet away) Battery lasts about 6-8 months

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@geilich At 3 days in and 3F, the battery is down to 19%.  

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@underbodice756 wow. That is odd. Maybe the wall of the frezzer are too thick. Maybe put a Zigbee plug near it to act as a repeater and see if that helps battery life

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@geilich I may try the external battery approach. I used 2 AAs on my mailbox sensor. Lasts a long time.  

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Waaay too much work. 3-D printed a little 2450 battery insert and powered the sensor from a battery pack outside the freezer. Would have been much easier just to solder wires to the battery connectors, but this way I can remove it easily and use if for another purpose if necessary. 7F at 95% battery.