Temperature/Humidity/CO2 Sensor

Man this thread is way over my head! Make my brain hurt! Lmao back to my office ! Lol

This is what one of the prototypes looked like. Grove wiring. Hand-wired PI-HAT with RTC.

This is what we call a proof of concept. The stuff works. The board on the left is a 4-channel I2C mux. The new board is half that size and has 8-channels.
I got mine (x4 ) on Tindie - but that dude isn't showing stock there anymore. You may have to order from his site to get it now.

So this deal is rather backwards from the usual suspects in tech.

The software is free and works. The hard part is building the hardware platform.

Now let me put this out there. The Raspberry Pi was designed exactly for 10 year olds. The learning path has that glide slope.
So if you are all into watching your grandkids and any random child run circles around you - there you have it.

I for my self choose another path. They will have to guess my passwords if they want a dime when I'm dead and I'm not making shit easy in the meanwhile.

I hope for the future. But I know I have to set an example for the little buggers. Reach until you can grasp, no more.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

cbr shadow said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd need:
- Raspberry pi module $50
- MH-Z16 Co2 Sensor $115
- Temp/humidity sensor $15
Total cost: $180 + setup time

Click to expand...

Moshmen said:

Man this thread is way over my head! Make my brain hurt! Lmao back to my office ! Lol

Click to expand...

It could run on a Pi-zero, but is slower. Thats about $10. I could sell ya a MH-Z19 CO2 sensor with a USB interface ( no fucking around with the serial port ) for $40. I think that includes shipping. I get your ROI mindset - I'm calling on the animal spirits of probably other folks.

Once you figure out you can control stuff with the GPIO pins in ways that the commercial stuff would require serious hacking to get working... If ever.
So many on the farm are well, control freak-ish and certainly interested in at least measuring. This is a path that is self-determined rather that vendor driven. I hate waiting for someone to bring some awesome thing to me. I'll find it and make it happen.

The automation tech is out there, you just gotta "pay" for it if you dont wanna figure it out yourself .


This is overkill for a tent but I love my sentinel controller. Only thing I cant do is track my readings on a chart throughout the day unless I do it by hand, but it does have a high/low memory. The newer model may have an interface for tracking readings, I'm really not sure. This one has given me zero issues over the past 5 or 6 years.

weedtech said:

So this deal is rather backwards from the usual suspects in tech.

The software is free and works. The hard part is building the hardware platform.

Now let me put this out there. The Raspberry Pi was designed exactly for 10 year olds. The learning path has that glide slope.
So if you are all into watching your grandkids and any random child run circles around you - there you have it.

I for my self choose another path. They will have to guess my passwords if they want a dime when I'm dead and I'm not making shit easy in the meanwhile.

I hope for the future. But I know I have to set an example for the little buggers. Reach until you can grasp, no more.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Click to expand...

I get your points for sure. I'm certainly not having grandchildren running circles around me in tech.. I'm 30 and am in a tech role at a major tech company in silicon valley. It's not that I don't think I can learn this stuff, but want to be clear about the value before I sink time (and frankly, more money) into something if there's already a solution that costs less and meets my general requirements.
For my little grow tent I'd like to justify having a dashboard and graphs, but I'm not sure they'd be all that useful in my case.
Keep this thread going though - it's interesting to read!

Still here. Reading along, checking out the updates as i play with mycodo myself, just ordered the 1gb raspberry pi to start out with. couldnt find a way to get rasbian to load third party. so ill sink the first 35 bucks into a custom fun controller. it should be here soon and then ill be moving along from there. I really like the idea of building my own automation, just as something to do while the plants grow.

did see that sentinel controller on amazon, but shit, 500 bucks is like a paycheck to my small lower class life hahaha. does look nice though.

Glad to find this thread, I have 3 Raspberry Pi 3's from my previous 3D printer addiction.
Definitely want to create this device!
I have a Telaire 8002 controller I was trying to make work but cannot get software update installed on it.
Subbed!

Love this thread.

I've been looking into creating a system that ties my environment, lighting, and irrigation through 110v sockets and sensors. Ive found bridgelux Vesta strips can be be controlled with inventronics drivers for spectrum control so I wanted to tie that to a gradually decreasing light schedule in the flower tent. C02, infrared thermometer, humidity, water content, EC, pH, water temp would all be logged. I was thinking WiFi outlet controllers with a private streaming from a camera with all the relevant info displayed in a HUD.

It's all beyond me intellectually and financially plus I'd rather spend my money on tissue culture lol. I still really want to do it though, it would fit SOG so well and save me money.

CosmoGrows said:

The tracking features of this software is whats really drawing me in. Im thinking about wiping my old laptop completely and trying to install a cpu version of rasbian, without a partitioned hard drive. Would turn my old laptop purely into a grow calculator/work comp

Click to expand...

Hot damn, that sounds perfect for a cheap used laptop special.

I'm huge into open source too (exclusively use linux, mainly Ubuntu), which is why I talk shit on Apple and Microsoft every chance I get. I'd rather run Ubuntu/Android than either and it's not even really close.

Do we have a forum resource on VPN's and other online privacy stuff? I'd love to see what everyone else is using for security.

Dbear180 said:

This is overkill for a tent but I love my sentinel controller.

Click to expand...

And that is all that matters, really. For me I get this itching in the back of my brain that fucks with me. I envy your satisfaction.

cbr shadow said:

I'm 30 and am in a tech role at a major tech company in silicon valley.

Click to expand...

We should have beers together, at least. I'm in North Bay. I get the ROI thing, And the busy thing - I contract in the valley and they have me awake at odd hours doing devops experiments. But I did not come from anything like wealth. My perceptions are shaped by scarcity - like many who do this thing in basements, garages and closets. I strive to live in abundance - part of that is showing the folks around me how to roll their own if they lack that information.

CosmoGrows said:

I really like the idea of building my own automation, just as something to do while the plants grow.

Click to expand...

Me too. I started doing it after being laid off from a job I did for 16 years and I had WAY too much time, energy and desire for purpose. It was in transition to legal where I live, and it was exciting from a momentum perspective. And then the land zoning was not in my favor. And lots of other issues became apparent. So I decided it is a science experiment for me - something to do while the plants grow. A very good way to spend time between waterings. :)

Kanzeon said:

Hot damn, that sounds perfect for a cheap used laptop special.

Click to expand...

That would work for display - but the sensor end pretty much requires that hacky thing the raspi does so well. I mean, if ya wanna go nuts, Kyle has a containerized port of Mycodo that needs more exposure and testing - but I haven't thought much about using a laptop alone as the controller.

Kanzeon said:

Do we have a forum resource on VPN's and other online privacy stuff? I'd love to see what everyone else is using for security.

Click to expand...

If we don't, we should. OPSEC is a thing, my friend. Many here probably require that consideration and discussion.

Came across this thread looking to see what everyone was using. I found this a while ago and going to make the plunge. It's all configured and ready to go, so you can spend time getting the data and using it. Has anyone using a raspberry Pi?

Not yet, that and arduino are long-term goals for me though.

I am going to try to fiddle with some open source stuff just because im a glutton for punishment, but heres two cheap and easy solutions for co2 that can be monitored from your phone. I run 2 of the first ones, and they work, but as to how sensitive they are, I am not sure as I dont have anything to compare them to. But works well enough for just a few plants for headstash imo

@jaguarlax That first option is def a easy and affordable. If it's accurate enough, then maybe enough for at the moment. Have you found it useful thus far? Are you able to determine when you need to raise C02 levels with this device and see the results? I'm a noob in the garden so only going by theory atm with C02.

Tommy_Green said:

@jaguarlax That first option is def a easy and affordable. If it's accurate enough, then maybe enough for at the moment. Have you found it useful thus far? Are you able to determine when you need to raise C02 levels with this device and see the results? I'm a noob in the garden so only going by theory atm with C02.

Click to expand...

Yup. It tracks current levels in ppm, and reports over time

Not to burst a bubble or throw shade - TVOC and eCO2 are derived and not really useful IMHO. That sensor type was designed for monitoring habitation spaces where the gas mix is decidedly originating from human occupation and activities. I think I can probably guess the devices used - I've evaluated most available and found that NDIR type CO2 sensors are the most reliable and robust over time.

Numbers can be comforting and reassuring - the vendors know that. But it doesn't mean they are correct in unintended applications. Precision is not accuracy.

I came across this thread and thought you guys might be interested in an article and video produced by the developer of Mycodo, building an automated hydroponic system. It's an NFT system, but the principles should easily apply to other types.

etiolation said:

I came across this thread and thought you guys might be interested in an article and video produced by the developer of Mycodo, building an automated hydroponic system. It's an NFT system, but the principles should easily apply to other types.

Automated Hydroponic System Build – Projects | Kyle Gabriel

kylegabriel.com

Click to expand...

Wow!!! Thanks for the share... Great ideas and potential here. So many skills I've been wanting to learn and now I have a very good reason to learn it... It's so amazing what you can do with automation. Keeping this in mind for when I'm ready.

weedtech said:

And this is why you should build your own. The expensive component is the CO2 sensor. Temp and humidity can be covered with a AM2315 probe ( ~$15 ) and I recommend the MH-Z16 for the CO2 sensor ( cost would vary depending on using serial or I2C ) Raspberry Pi as the compute/display device.

Seems like alot of detail, huh? The upside is you can use the data collected to provide control signals if you want to implement automation.

This, you cannot buy. But you can build it.

View attachment 912931

Click to expand...

Can you provide more info on the screenshot? I would love to know how this was created, template online or from scratch etc. and what language? I am looking at the AC Infinity controller but the wifi version isn't out yet and Vivosun is releasing a controller in a few days. I'm just getting started and I have several Raspberry Pi devices and a hydroponic lettuce setup with EC/PPM and PH all monitored by one of the Pi devices already so I would love to give creating my own controller a try. I can do web and python coding and mysql among others so whatever hardware/software info you can provide would be great or even code if you don't mind sharing. I can figure whatever I need out from whatever you can provide.

Thanks!