Good and simple way to monitor temperature on hot pipes in central wood boiler heating system?

While you need to be cautious of esp clones, they can be ok if you’re not asking too much of them.

I think a 10pack of d1 mini clones would probably be ok for the job if you want to keep costs down. I haven’t had any drama with these ones.

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I’ve been using these temp sensors a bit. They seem ok. With ESPHOME you can always calibrate if you need.

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When you get to configuring them, you might find using the append Mac address option useful so you can use the same config for all devices.

Can you get 5v usb power to the locations you need?
Is the idea the sensors would be taped to the outside of the pipes/tanks etc?