Pellet stove meter: prototype needed

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.
we dont really need to measure fuel as the manufactrurer has already rated the appliance for min and max

OK, but the Stove Monitor would need to sense at what "Power Level" the user is running the stove at.......measure the auger ON-times....like I suggested.
 
The tee caps are single wall, Probable the best place for an exhaust sensor...... No reason to disturb the double wall and risk a leak.

Sounds like the best thing to do is get info on what is exactly expected before you move forward. What data do they really need?
 
Sure, you would see a drop from 6amps or so down to 3amps, thus knowing proof of fire was achieved.
What if the stove is dirty, or if the ignitor fails to light?

If it is as simple as reading the current, maybe you could utillize one of those Kill-A-Watt EZ that they sell at Depot?

If so I have one I could donate to the cause...[Hearth.com] Pellet stove meter: prototype needed
 
I have a Kill-A-Watt - it is not really usefull as it does not log data

The information you want is probably available on the power line except you have no access to what the user has done - fan changes will dwarf the auger signal.

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11005

A cheap split core current sensor would get you the auger run or you could use a hall effect sensor to pick up coil current.
 
As someone who codes for a living, this project is anything but easy peasy...

What are your goals with monitoring the auger turn? If it's energy used, then you add an inline method to measuring the energy sent to the auger. I can't see any reason to measure the actual times the auger turns - you either need to know the energy to turn it or how many pellets it's moving over time, which is simply measured by the weight of the pellets going in versus what's left after a period of time.

I think to build an interface is unlikely, as you would have to build it individually for each brand stove, as the data from each will be completely different (different formats, etc.).

What you are asking for is similar to asking a application programmer to make a program that runs on windows, mac and the linux operating system that runs the CNC machine down at the plant. Due to the different nature of those operating systems, it can't be done.

What you "might" be able to do (with some heavy $$$ investment) is have something that purely records data from each stove (no parsing/evaluation - pure data dump) and then you would have to either manually interpret the data or have a fairly sophisticated software to normalize the data from different stoves in different formats and parse it all into something readable.

good luck.

Your best best is to use a diagnostics tool that comes with the stove, plus any readily available sensors - kilowatt measurement, temp, etc.
 
Maybe the state can shed some light on how they would like to see the data presented to them, or what method they are currently using to grant checks...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.