Arduino temp monitor/control

[chris-uk]

I've been contemplating the principle of using an Arduino board (Pinjohn, just stop read here ) , some temp diodes, and relays to make up a viv control unit. Before I throw myself at this (and it may have to wait until I have more time at the end of the hockey season) has anyone else already done/contemplated/given-up this?

The principles are pretty exciting and I think it would be cost effective in a multi-vivarium environment. The stats I us vary in price from £25 to £45 and each digital thermometer costs between £5 and £10, and timer plugs at around £10... so about £45 on control stuff for a viv. I reckon that an Arduino board and a few more components could control 4 vivs easily, and possibly 8 vivs - that's heating mat controlled, temp displayed and logged, and lighting on programmed timer. As an IT geek I'd also get the benefit of having full control over the functions. And I think I could build a 4 vivs system for about the same cost as the Lucky Reptile Thermocontrol II PRO that I use on just one of our vivs.

So, has anyone else looked at Arduino?

[Stefan-A]

I'll have the 8 viv model, please. But, I want the heating mats controlled AND on a timer.

Contemplated, yes.

[chris-uk]

I'm getting more interested. Controlled with multifunction touchscreen display.
Timing is essential, I want it controlling lights and heat on a preset timer. I've been reading up for a couple of hours and I think the time it will take to put the hardware together and programme it is going to push this little project back to the summer when I don't have a hockey (field hockey, not ice) team to captain each week.

[EasternGirl]

I have no idea what you guys are talking about and wow you are up early. Can you explain a little to the tech stupid please.

[chris-uk]

... and wow you are up early...

Not really, considering where we live. I posted 10:13am. That's a lie in.

[chris-uk]

Arduino is a cheap, open hardware platform with a programmable processor and lots of input and output pins.

In short, it's a platform where in principle I could wire up 8 temperature sensors (the thermistors cost peanuts, around £3 each) to the inputs, wire up a screen to display the temperatures with the processor programmed to cycle through four vivs. At the same time the processor checks each temp against a preset level,checks the time to see if it's day or night, and decides whether the heatmat should be on or off. Meanwhile, each time the temps are checked (say every 5 minutes) they are written to a file that we can plot a graph against later (possibly even on the screen we're already using).
It would also be relatively easy to get the monitor to send updates to a PC which could fire off emails to notify me if there are any problems with temps. And I could have a website that allows me to check on everything from my phone.
The other outputs could be used to control LED lights on a timer.

So I'd essentially end up with a system similar to the Lucky Reptile Thermocontrol II PRO unit we have on the girls' viv, but it would control 4 (or maybe 8) vivs instead of one viv. When a Thermocontrol II costs £45-60 each, and the electronics for this would be maybe £150, with 4 vivs there's a saving, with 8 vivs it's significant. And so, so much cooler.