Hey all,
SDome of you might be interested in this one: I thought I'd explain how I controlled the exact temperature of a germination pad, using an Auber WS low temperature water bath controller (aka PID) from my Sous Vide cooking system.
Anyhoo, I have the whole thing in my furnace room (around 24 degrees celsius, usually). With the germination pad power cable plugged into the back of my Sous Vide machine (with which I can set a temperature for the soil to remain at...the Sous Vide machine controls the power to the pad (turning it off and on at the precise time, calculated by its internal algorythm), analyzing incoming data from its wired temperature probe inserted into the soil). I set it to 28, and it has stayed at 28. It even seems to be able to handle the various densities: in my case, water for cooking and the soil for germinating. Spooky!
...then, all I need to do is monitor the soil for moisture, etc.
Here's a link to a pic of it:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8136806/Chili%20Pepper-related/Gernmination%2C%20System.JPG
SDome of you might be interested in this one: I thought I'd explain how I controlled the exact temperature of a germination pad, using an Auber WS low temperature water bath controller (aka PID) from my Sous Vide cooking system.
Anyhoo, I have the whole thing in my furnace room (around 24 degrees celsius, usually). With the germination pad power cable plugged into the back of my Sous Vide machine (with which I can set a temperature for the soil to remain at...the Sous Vide machine controls the power to the pad (turning it off and on at the precise time, calculated by its internal algorythm), analyzing incoming data from its wired temperature probe inserted into the soil). I set it to 28, and it has stayed at 28. It even seems to be able to handle the various densities: in my case, water for cooking and the soil for germinating. Spooky!
...then, all I need to do is monitor the soil for moisture, etc.
Here's a link to a pic of it:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8136806/Chili%20Pepper-related/Gernmination%2C%20System.JPG