External Temperature Sensor

For the first year of the Revel (2018), Winnebago offered an upgraded audio 'infotainment' system that had an external temperature sensor on the screen. After I replaced the audio system, I was always sorry that I also lost the ability to monitor the external temperature.




However, Walter Abercrombie from the Facebook group recently found a good thermometer (ThermPro TP63) that offers a waterproof, rechargeable external sensor, and I bought one for use in our Revel. 


The problem, though, was where to mount the sensor.  The requirements that I saw were the following:

  • Must be isolated from the sun's influence;
  • Must be isolated from engine heat;
  • Must be exposed to open air;
  • Must be easily accessible for recharging while on the road.

Unfortunately, the sensor doesn't have good hooks or holes that I could use to attach it to a surface, so I decided to suspend the sensor in a mesh BBQ bag, reasoning that if the bag can survive the heat & punishment of a grill, then it can survive the splashes under the van.

I decided to mount the bag and sensor in a place where it's thermally protected, yet easily accessible for removal when it needs recharged: behind the rear bumper on the passenger side. I attached it with two self-drilling screws. 


Update September 2020: 

I'm now recharging the sensor for the first time in 6.5 months, so a single charge will last almost 7 months.  System has worked beautifully.


Update May 2021:

Back in black.







2020-02-24

No comments: