Thought this might be of interest to others who keep a close eye on the carcasses in their chillers.
I have been using a temperature logger in the chiller for some time, which does a great job of tracking the temperature in the chiller throughout the day and producing a useful report for the larder records. However you have to be within Bluetooth range of the logger to be able to access the data. Whilst normally fine, my real job typically involves quite a bit of travel, which makes keeping an eye on the logger something of a challenge. Therefore I've been thinking for a while about finding a way that allows me to monitor the temperatures remotely.
Then last week I received the questionairre from my local authority for the renewal of my Food Business Operator registration, and a question in there about temperature checking gave me the incentive to find a more elegant way of doing things.
I had a look on Amazon and found these WiFi temperature and humidity loggers. For a penny under £28 I thought it was worth a try, so I ordered one which was delivered a couple of days ago.
Amazon product ASIN B08Y8XHNL8
Having downloaded their App onto your phone, you initially use Bluetooth to connect your phone to the logger to do some basic configuration - Celsius or Farenheit, the min/max temperature range to monitor, the refresh rate, etc, - and also to link the logger to your home Wifi network. Once that's done, they just pop the logger into the chiller and off you go.
The App then lets you see the temperature inside the chiller, updated every 10 minutes (this is configurable for a longer refresh rate if needed).
You can see in the last screenshot above how the logger initially cooled down when placed in the chiller, as well as a couple of "blips" when I've had it open for cleaning, moving the carcass, etc.
You can export the data in a report if you want to maintain a permanent record, and also set up a timed report (every month, etc) to make life a bit easier still. Also you can set a min/max temperature range, with automated alerts if it goes beyond this.
Now when at home I can be monitoring the chiller temperature without having to pop down to the larder. In my case the larder is at the end of the garden, in an old brick outhouse. I was worried as to whether the WiFi signal from the house would be strong enough, so I checked using my phone first before ordering and there were a couple of Wifi bars, certainly sufficient enough for doing a Google search or looking at New Posts on SD. Since installation the logger has performed faultlessly, refreshing the reading on the phone every 10 minutes. My chiller has a double-glazed door, which might help in terms of picking up the WiFi, but I did read about others who were using the loggers to monitor the temperature inside laboratory fridges and freezers without problems. No alerts as yet, but it gives some peace of mind to know that I'll be told about any as soon as they happen.
Extending this, I have also inserted a "smart plug" between the fridge plug and the socket itself. This also hooks up via an App on the phone (albeit a different App to the one above that controls the temperature logger). This now means that, should the chiller be empty and switched off, I can switch it on after I've shot an animal so that by the time I get home it is already down to the right temperature.
Hope this helps others, and if you've got any questions I'll do my best to answer them.
I have been using a temperature logger in the chiller for some time, which does a great job of tracking the temperature in the chiller throughout the day and producing a useful report for the larder records. However you have to be within Bluetooth range of the logger to be able to access the data. Whilst normally fine, my real job typically involves quite a bit of travel, which makes keeping an eye on the logger something of a challenge. Therefore I've been thinking for a while about finding a way that allows me to monitor the temperatures remotely.
Then last week I received the questionairre from my local authority for the renewal of my Food Business Operator registration, and a question in there about temperature checking gave me the incentive to find a more elegant way of doing things.
I had a look on Amazon and found these WiFi temperature and humidity loggers. For a penny under £28 I thought it was worth a try, so I ordered one which was delivered a couple of days ago.
Amazon product ASIN B08Y8XHNL8
Having downloaded their App onto your phone, you initially use Bluetooth to connect your phone to the logger to do some basic configuration - Celsius or Farenheit, the min/max temperature range to monitor, the refresh rate, etc, - and also to link the logger to your home Wifi network. Once that's done, they just pop the logger into the chiller and off you go.
The App then lets you see the temperature inside the chiller, updated every 10 minutes (this is configurable for a longer refresh rate if needed).
You can see in the last screenshot above how the logger initially cooled down when placed in the chiller, as well as a couple of "blips" when I've had it open for cleaning, moving the carcass, etc.
You can export the data in a report if you want to maintain a permanent record, and also set up a timed report (every month, etc) to make life a bit easier still. Also you can set a min/max temperature range, with automated alerts if it goes beyond this.
Now when at home I can be monitoring the chiller temperature without having to pop down to the larder. In my case the larder is at the end of the garden, in an old brick outhouse. I was worried as to whether the WiFi signal from the house would be strong enough, so I checked using my phone first before ordering and there were a couple of Wifi bars, certainly sufficient enough for doing a Google search or looking at New Posts on SD. Since installation the logger has performed faultlessly, refreshing the reading on the phone every 10 minutes. My chiller has a double-glazed door, which might help in terms of picking up the WiFi, but I did read about others who were using the loggers to monitor the temperature inside laboratory fridges and freezers without problems. No alerts as yet, but it gives some peace of mind to know that I'll be told about any as soon as they happen.
Extending this, I have also inserted a "smart plug" between the fridge plug and the socket itself. This also hooks up via an App on the phone (albeit a different App to the one above that controls the temperature logger). This now means that, should the chiller be empty and switched off, I can switch it on after I've shot an animal so that by the time I get home it is already down to the right temperature.
Hope this helps others, and if you've got any questions I'll do my best to answer them.
. I'd have had no idea otherwise, as it's only with this latest device that the humidity is even being recorded.
