Attach 1Wire to pipework

[MN]

I have some 1Wire sensors I want to attach to pipework

Anyone out there have a good method to attach them?

They are DS18B20s

Thanks

MN

[wyleu]

Frankly it's a pain.
I use sprung pipe clips from farnell and then silicone the sensor in such a position as to keep the body of the chip against the pipe. It's all a bit messy but it does work. I've not been able to discover if the earth pin of the chip is actually the temperature sensing element because then you could just solder the 0v pin onto the pipe clip.

[Mike N.]

I have some 1Wire sensors I want to attach to pipework Anyone out there have a good method to attach them? They are DS18B20s Thanks MN

I have used a variety of methods: Tucked under a terry clip, plastic cable tie, stuck on with mastic, tucked inside the insulation. All after soldering the leads and shrink sleeving the legs. Gaffer tape looks effective when you do it but seems to always work itself off with any amount of warmth and slight gravity.

Mike

[wookey]

I've just been doing this for much of today (slow job soldering up sensors and connectors and making interconnect cables). I used 'twisted wire' to hold the sensors to the pipe. I have some nice straps for holding insulation I was planning to use but they turned out to be too wide for the places I wanted to put them. By 'twisted wire' I mean thin galvanised garden wire, twisted taught with a pair of pliers. Frankly this is a very fiddly way of doing it, but was best thing I could find to hand. What I really wanted was some nice spring-clips. I have tool-clips (terry clips) which are ideal except that they have a big bulge on the back for screwing to the wall. That is no good under insulation. Somone must make nearly the same thing but just circlip-shaped, although half and hour's browsing failed to find such a thing.

For attaching sensors to the tank body I use silicone and that seems to work very nicely (thermal paste under chip body, silcone all around to hold in place). This could work on pipes too, I suspect. They need not to be under too much physical strain. from the cable.

I would upload some pics but its nearly 3am and I have a pile of stuff to do tomorrow. Later.

I now have 5 sensors up height of tank and 4 on PHE. A couple more are due to be added to the panels and then I'll have 'plenty' of data.

[guydewdney]

what about 15mm (or whatever) pipe clips

and cut off the excess?

[ericw]

For attaching to pipe, I slit and opened up a tiny length of pipe into a C shape and added a screw and nut in the top of the C to tighten it to the pipe

For the cylinder I solder a inch long length of 6mm pipe at right angles to a 22 mm disk of copper.  Then carefully remove a 22 mm core of insulation using a piece of pipe as the cutter, make a hole in this core and fit around the pipe above. Put the assembly back into the hole in the insulation using plenty of heatpaste.

You can also trap a sensor under an existing cylinder thermostat by using a thin plate of copper (cut from scrap pipe) with a groove bent in it to hold the sensor.

[MN]

What do you think of a small section of this:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=221326&doy=1m9&C=SO&U=strat15
To keep next to pipe

Then seal with:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=N71BZ&source=15&SD=Y

They are so small you wouldn't need a lot

P.s. Is this type of thing 'Thernal Paste'
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=33695&doy=1m9&C=SO&U=strat15

[mespilus]

That Maplin RTV neutral cure Silicone looks expensive.

Only important bit is the 'neutral cure': ie it does not give off vinegar(acetic acid) during the curing process.

Should be able to find a 380/400ml tube at a decent (independent) Builders Merchant for less than that.