Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: PotomacG on September 20, 2006, 01:02:45 pm
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Hello there hot tub folks!
Has anyone found a solid accurate thermometer that floats with a temp range around 80 - 110 degrees fahrenheit?
I have tried two different floating digital thermometers (ones with batteries inside) and they both failed miserably.
I really don't want a "rubber ducky" or "baby bath" type unit. I am also not fond of the cheaper "pool and spa" units because their temp range is too broad (making them hard to read).
Now that the weather is cooling down, I am not in a big hurry to get one. I am more interested in having one for the summer months when the tub's temp can rise several degrees on a really hot day.
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Have you seen this? I found it while googling for porn. Bible study material.
http://www.ambientweather.com/orscthwaflth.htm
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That's one of the two that I tried that failed miserably. The water tight inner compartment just isn't :o
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How odd - the FedEx guy just delivered that exact same one to me a few hrs ago.
The warranty insert says it has a 12 month warranty - the customer care # is 800.853.8883. Maybe they'll give you a refund?
Mine is going in the tub in a few minutes. How long did yours last before it failed? Will give a report on mine after it has seen some water time.
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I have an indoor wireless weather station (approx. $100) by Lacrosse that accepts up to 3 remote wireless sensors. One of these (the sensor itself is on the side of the spa, the wire to the thermocouple and the small thermocouple itself sits in the spa filter well) remote units is for the spa, another remote sensor is for the wine storage unit, and the third for outdoor temp and humidity.
I can (and have) set an alarm on the base unit that alerts me if the spa water temp goes above 104 or below 99. The wine cooler alarm goes off if temp rises above 59 or below 49.
This way, I can check all temps from my bedside when going to bed or getting up before getting in the spa. Lacrosse also has a unit that hooks to your internet connection so you can check any temps (including spa) from wherever you happen to be that has an internet connection.
No particular preference to Lacrosse, many other mfgrs make weather stations that accept wireless remote sensors. Once in the spa, my Artisian displays the temp on the LCD display on deck.
I love this arrangement, couldn't live without it...
John F
LV, NV
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Have you seen this? I found it while googling for porn. Bible study material.
Drewstar, you are a hoot.... :D ;D :) ::) 8-)
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I have an indoor wireless weather station (approx. $100) by Lacrosse that accepts up to 3 remote wireless sensors. One of these (the sensor itself is on the side of the spa, the wire to the thermocouple and the small thermocouple itself sits in the spa filter well) remote units is for the spa, another remote sensor is for the wine storage unit, and the third for outdoor temp and humidity.
I can (and have) set an alarm on the base unit that alerts me if the spa water temp goes above 104 or below 99. The wine cooler alarm goes off if temp rises above 59 or below 49.
This way, I can check all temps from my bedside when going to bed or getting up before getting in the spa. Lacrosse also has a unit that hooks to your internet connection so you can check any temps (including spa) from wherever you happen to be that has an internet connection.
No particular preference to Lacrosse, many other mfgrs make weather stations that accept wireless remote sensors. Once in the spa, my Artisian displays the temp on the LCD display on deck.
I love this arrangement, couldn't live without it...
John F
LV, NV
Does the Artesian temp display match up with the Lacrosse reading? Just curious how accurate the temps are that display on the spas.
Marc
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How odd - the FedEx guy just delivered that exact same one to me a few hrs ago.
The warranty insert says it has a 12 month warranty - the customer care # is 800.853.8883. Maybe they'll give you a refund?
Mine is going in the tub in a few minutes. How long did yours last before it failed? Will give a report on mine after it has seen some water time.
Please let us know how yours does. I am very interested in one of these. Did you get these two units?
http://www.ambientweather.com/orscbawipoan.html
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It is astounding how closely and consistantly the readings match - always to the degree - just lucky to get two thermostats that match closely. The weather station reads to tenth's of a degree, the spa deck with no decimal.
John F
LV, NV
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How odd - the FedEx guy just delivered that exact same one to me a few hrs ago.
The warranty insert says it has a 12 month warranty - the customer care # is 800.853.8883. Maybe they'll give you a refund?
Mine is going in the tub in a few minutes. How long did yours last before it failed? Will give a report on mine after it has seen some water time.
Keep us posted as to how it works for you. I had my eye on the same one.
Slight thread hijack - my current floating (ducky) thermometer keeps ending up in the filter well. Any issue with him or this wireless until living in there? I don't want to screw up my filtration.
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How odd - the FedEx guy just delivered that exact same one to me a few hrs ago.
The warranty insert says it has a 12 month warranty - the customer care # is 800.853.8883. Maybe they'll give you a refund?
Mine is going in the tub in a few minutes. How long did yours last before it failed? Will give a report on mine after it has seen some water time.
I actually went through two of these. I received a replacement unit on the first one and a full refund on the second. It's a nice looking unit and it would be great if it lasted. The problem is, the four screws that hold the electronics to the battery compartment have no O-rings, just little plastic washers. The first unit stayed water tight for over a week. The second unit failed within 48 hours. Also, the screws are threaded into plastic posts, thus you can not overly tighten them without stripping them.
This unit will not last in a hot tub the way it is currently designed. And before you ask: I always removed the unit from the tub prior to soaking or running the jets.
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I have an indoor wireless weather station (approx. $100) by Lacrosse that accepts up to 3 remote wireless sensors. One of these (the sensor itself is on the side of the spa, the wire to the thermocouple and the small thermocouple itself sits in the spa filter well) ...
John,
Is the thermocouple made of metal? Might it scratch the tub?
Also, can you provide a link to a picture of this unit?
Thanks.
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I'll post pictures this afternoon after work. No chance of any scratching...
John F
LV, NV
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How odd - the FedEx guy just delivered that exact same one to me a few hrs ago.
The warranty insert says it has a 12 month warranty - the customer care # is 800.853.8883. Maybe they'll give you a refund?
Mine is going in the tub in a few minutes. How long did yours last before it failed? Will give a report on mine after it has seen some water time.
Please let us know how yours does. I am very interested in one of these. Did you get these two units?
http://www.ambientweather.com/orscbawipoan.html
No I didn't get teh whole setup - just wanted the thermometer to guage how accurate the onboard one is. So far, they have been the same, but the little one gives 1/10th degrees too so while the tub may read 100o, the little one reads 100.6o.
So far, so good. Used tub last night - left thermometer in - & it still works. Might take it out today, let it completely dry, & add a touch of silicone to the screws & reinstall them. If those are the weak link, maybe that will fix it.
Slight thread hijack - my current floating (ducky) thermometer keeps ending up in the filter well. Any issue with him or this wireless until living in there? I don't want to screw up my filtration.
I have 2 plastic blanks where the speakers would go if I had the sound option. I "flossed" the tether under one of those so it can float around a few feet, but stays on the other side of tub from filter & away from more powerful jets.
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OK, for those interested, here are some pics of a way to keep an eye on your spa temp from inside the house. The sensor is good for around 100' from the base unit, 2 3AAA batteries last over a year (I've had it almost 2 years now without changing yet.)
Here is the base unit. Notice the 2nd row always displays indoor temp and humidity, and the 6th row displays the choosen remote sensor. The spa is 'out 2', the wine cooler is 'out 1' and outside temp & humidity is 'out 3) - you cycle through them by pressing the 'Ch' (channel) button on the lower right.
The spa sensor is temp only, thus the blank 'RH' (humidity.) The wine cooler and outside sensor show both temp and humidity.
http://members.cox.net/barshnik/MainUnit.jpg
Here is the sensor attached to the glass block upper left (wire to the themocouple, wireless to the main unit):
http://members.cox.net/barshnik/Sensor.jpg
And now the thermocouple, you can see it is plastic covered, and cannot scratch anything. The wire is thin enough to have no effect on the spa cover.
http://members.cox.net/barshnik/Thermocouple.jpg
And the deck display, showing the same temp (minus the decimal):
http://members.cox.net/barshnik/DeckDisplay.jpg
Hope this helps,
John F
LV, NV
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Thanks for the pics John. I don't know if I want to spend quite that much. Your setup is quite nice though. 8-)
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keep those pics coming. got any more of the artesian and your setup?
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keep those pics coming. got any more of the artesian and your setup?
We are just starting a major renovation of our back yard, and the spa is sitting on the concrete pad my old spa was on, next to the house just outside sliding glass doors from our master bedroom.
In a few months when the contractors are out of here, I'll post the final results... Hey, it's only a little 7', 3 seater (expensive little bugger, though.) Besides, I don't want to be accused of pushing Artisian <g>. I liked the Sundance Capri and HS Jetsetter every bit as much, and more in some ways, but wished to support a local manufacturer with a really good product as well. Also, I liked the idea of 3 individual pumps for the 3 seats (oh oh, just might result in a thread hijack...)
John F
LV, NV
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How odd - the FedEx guy just delivered that exact same one to me a few hrs ago.
The warranty insert says it has a 12 month warranty - the customer care # is 800.853.8883. Maybe they'll give you a refund?
Mine is going in the tub in a few minutes. How long did yours last before it failed? Will give a report on mine after it has seen some water time.
Please let us know how yours does. I am very interested in one of these. Did you get these two units?
http://www.ambientweather.com/orscbawipoan.html
No I didn't get teh whole setup - just wanted the thermometer to guage how accurate the onboard one is. So far, they have been the same, but the little one gives 1/10th degrees too so while the tub may read 100o, the little one reads 100.6o.
So far, so good. Used tub last night - left thermometer in - & it still works. Might take it out today, let it completely dry, & add a touch of silicone to the screws & reinstall them. If those are the weak link, maybe that will fix it.
Slight thread hijack - my current floating (ducky) thermometer keeps ending up in the filter well. Any issue with him or this wireless until living in there? I don't want to screw up my filtration.
I have 2 plastic blanks where the speakers would go if I had the sound option. I "flossed" the tether under one of those so it can float around a few feet, but stays on the other side of tub from filter & away from more powerful jets.
Thanks for the update....let us know how it is going in a couple of days.
Marc
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OK, for those interested, here are some pics of a way to keep an eye on your spa temp from inside the house. The sensor is good for around 100' from the base unit, 2 3AAA batteries last over a year (I've had it almost 2 years now without changing yet.)
Here is the base unit. Notice the 2nd row always displays indoor temp and humidity, and the 6th row displays the choosen remote sensor. The spa is 'out 2', the wine cooler is 'out 1' and outside temp & humidity is 'out 3) - you cycle through them by pressing the 'Ch' (channel) button on the lower right.
The spa sensor is temp only, thus the blank 'RH' (humidity.) The wine cooler and outside sensor show both temp and humidity.
(http://members.cox.net/barshnik/MainUnit.jpg)
Here is the sensor attached to the glass block upper left (wire to the themocouple, wireless to the main unit):
(http://members.cox.net/barshnik/Sensor.jpg)
And now the thermocouple, you can see it is plastic covered, and cannot scratch anything. The wire is thin enough to have no effect on the spa cover.
(http://members.cox.net/barshnik/Thermocouple.jpg)
And the deck display, showing the same temp (minus the decimal):
(http://members.cox.net/barshnik/DeckDisplay.jpg)
Hope this helps,
John F
LV, NV
Looks great! Is this the unit that you can also monitor on the internet? Also did it come with the three remotes or just one and where did you get it?
Thanks,
Marc
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I've had it a couple of years now, and don't remember which web site I bought it from. Mine does not hook to the internet, although they did have (more expensive) ones that did. By now I'm sure ones similar to it do for the same price I paid for mine back then. It came with 1 remote, I purchased 2 more. Just do a search 'weather station' and you'll have plenty to look at. Or, look at the LaCrosse web site for a start.
Oh, the high / low temp alarms, they only work for ONE remote sensor. I decided that my wine cooler was more important to get blared at if temps get out of whack than the spa, so I chose that one.
I've got more $ invested in wine than the spa (even though that is just south of 7k), so I want to know if somethling goes haywire with it...
John F
LV, NV
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I've had it a couple of years now, and don't remember which web site I bought it from. Mine does not hook to the internet, although they did have (more expensive) ones that did. By now I'm sure ones similar to it do for the same price I paid for mine back then. It came with 1 remote, I purchased 2 more. Just do a search 'weather station' and you'll have plenty to look at. Or, look at the LaCrosse web site for a start.
Oh, the high / low temp alarms, they only work for ONE remote sensor. I decided that my wine cooler was more important to get blared at if temps get out of whack than the spa, so I chose that one.
I've got more $ invested in wine than the spa (even though that is just south of 7k), so I want to know if somethling goes haywire with it...
John F
LV, NV
I hear ya! No wine cellar here so the min/max alarm would be for spa. From the pics I found your unit (Lacrosse WS-9119U). The one remote that comes with it doesn't have a probe but could be used outside, etc.:
(http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-37697109791737_1912_141363703)
The remote for the spa would need to be purchased...the one with the wire probe sensor (Lacrosse TX3UP):
(http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-37697109791737_1916_145872069)
I may buy it here: http://www.ambientweather.com/lacrtewsinwi.html
One more question. A couple of websites recommend AA and AAA Lithium batteries rather than plain Alkaline. It says it helps especially with outside remotes. Do you use the Lithium variety?
Thanks for the info,
Marc
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<<Do you use the Lithium variety? >>
Lithiums hold voltage under very cold conditions much better than alkilines. I've always used regular alkilines here in LV - if I was back in North Dakota, I'm sure I'd use lithiums, though, at least in the winter...
Remember, only channel 1 is programmable for alarms on high or low temps, so if you have 2 or 3 remote sensors, you should put the batteries in your spa sensor first, then the others. I had to mess around a bit to get my wine cooler sensor to be recognized as channel 1.
I'll check out your link, and see how much cheaper it is now...
John F
LV, NV
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Barshnik,
We are in Northern NJ and in the winter low temps can get down to zero so I will use the lithium inn the outdoor remotes. Since the inside unit is indoors no reason to splurge on the lithiums unless it would help in the wireless reception, which I don't think it would. One final question...how do you keep the thermocouple from floating up to the surface of the tub? Or does that even matter?
Thanks again,
Marc
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Barshnik,
We are in Northern NJ and in the winter low temps can get down to zero so I will use the lithium inn the outdoor remotes. Since the inside unit is indoors no reason to splurge on the lithiums unless it would help in the wireless reception, which I don't think it would. One final question...how do you keep the thermocouple from floating up to the surface of the tub? Or does that even matter?
Thanks again,
Marc
Use regular alkalines for the base unit. The wired thermocouple has just enough weight to sink to whatever level the wire allows it to with no pumps on. Since I just stick it in a filter well, with the pumps on there is a downward flow that keeps it down, although I doubt if it matters much.
Since the base unit sits on my bedstand, it's kind of nice to be able to check the spa temp when I wake up before even getting up (and jumping in.)
I'm kind of a weather junkie, so the spa and wine monitoring were sort of a bonus - the barometric graphing is really cool, and is a really good indicator of coming changes. Right now it reads 102.1, perfect, so I'm getting in with a glass of Babich Sauv Blanc ($11.99 at Costco by the way, and a nice 'summer' wine) and going to bed...
John F
LV, NV
John F
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Just checked, now much cheaper than when I bought. I forgot, what I find most interesting with both the spa and wine readings are the min/max (resetable) so you can see how much variation there is from period to period - to the day and time when the low and the high were reached, and what they were.
High variations of spa temp not explainable by outside temp/wind/useage could be an indicator of a failing heater unit, so this is useful information to have... I just checked the min/max of my wine cooler - today the min was 54.4 and the max was 54.9 - pretty good regulation. But then, I didn't have the door open today, drank the wine from Costco.
The spa varied from 100.1 (8:09 am.) to 102.8 (8:20 pm.), but I was in and out of it a few times, and I have the control set to only heat between 4pm and 9pm (even though the circ pump runs continously.) The spa is set to 102, so again, good regulation and insulation is indicated (max daytime outdoor temp reached 83 at 4:01 pm.)
John F
LV, NV
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Update: Still works like it should. It stays in the water & gets knocked around & throughly soaked when tub is running. Still no issues. Have not added silicone to the screws & am thinking "if it ain't broke....."
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Mine cr*pped out this morning. 3+ weeks. I am NOT amused. :-[
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Slight thread hijack - my current floating (ducky) thermometer keeps ending up in the filter well. Any issue with him or this wireless until living in there? I don't want to screw up my filtration.
I've had the same floating ducky spa thermometer (sans the ducky) in my filter well of my Prodigy for over ten years. It still works fine and has never caused a problem hidden back in there. Its the SPA version that goes up to 120 degrees, rather than a pool one that only goes up to about 110. I agree the pool thermometers are hard to read that far up the scale.
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I've found another, less expensive solution for those that are interested.
People seem to have had good luck with LaCrosse Technology wireless systems. They are expensive though. I found a much less expense LaCrosse model that seems to do the trick.
Look at the LaCrosse WS-9029U-IT. It is $29.95, monitors indoor temp and humidity, outdoor temp wirelessly, and includes a probe for the tub! http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/9029/
I ordered one from Wind & Weather and installed it this afternoon. Works great. I just ran the wire probe into my filter compartment. It is very thin so no issue with the cover.
http://www.windandweather.com/store/Weather_Instruments___ThermometersID3628?Args=