Temperature Probe

An instrument that is used to measure temperature. One probe is placed in the canopy, one is placed at the top of each Tower, and one backup is placed at the bottom of each tower.

A temperature probe is located at the top of each tower. Down in the canopy, both the temperature probe and the Canopy Radio are placed in the coldest part of the area that is being protected by the frost fan (based on historical and current temperature readings). The probe is hung where the lowest-hanging fruit is growing (or will grow) because frost starts on the ground.

The backup probe is located near the Engine at the bottom of each tower. If the canopy probe fails or cannot transmit information to the tower, the backup probe can provide information instead.

The temperature readings sent in from the canopy are what makes the Engine Auto-Controller start and stop the Blades. Information gathered by the backup probe won’t be as accurate as the canopy probe. This is because it’s located next to the engine, which is warmer than down in the canopy.

The impact of this is significant. Once a frost fan receives this less-accurate information, it will assume that the warmer temperature is now the norm. As a result, the engine auto-controller can no longer make an informed decision about whether to start or stop the blades, so the only thing it can do is keep them rotating until someone manually intervenes.