hi looking for info on how to monitor ground loop incoming and outgoing temperature -- no temperature gauges were installed, what sort of thermometer (recommendations appreciated) and where to connect/place?  thanks

Depends on how complicated you want to get. I simply have relatively inexpensive indoor / outdoor thermometers with wired probes. I bought about 8 of them and put all the probes in water and grouped them by how close they were, they were all with 1F of each other and 4 matched to .1F. I then just used electrical tape and attached them to the copper on the in and out and then put the insulation back over the pipes. I can see the temp difference as it's running and also see a min temp it hits which I reset and record weekly.

Someday I hope to install a http://www.welserver.com/ to monitor it, but the two thermometers have been working great so far

I have access to the manifold (brass) inside the house, so I got meat probe thermometers ($5/each I think online). I got several and tested them as above to make sure they were all very close to each other.
Originally, I was shoving the probe into the p/t ports of the geothermal, but I discovered that if I put a few layers of aluminum foil around the probe tip, then zip-tie the probe tip/foil to the brass manifold body, then cover the foil/probe tip with a ring of insulation, that the temperature measured is within .1 F of what the temp was when I stuck it in the p/t port. I'm pretty sure if you google about the tin-foil you'll find the best way to do it...it might even be on this forum somewhere.
I go down every morning, turn the probes on (since the unit has been usually running for an hour by then) and record the temperature.

I too want to go the WELserver route, but it's a bit pricey right now.

My EWT is hovering around 34 and my LWT is about 30.

Posted By stuart.wyss on 04 Jan 2011 01:17 PM
My EWT is hovering around 30 and my LWT is about 34.

Other way around?

Yep...fixed :-)

biggest point when using multiple measuring devices is to ensure they are of like mind on temperature and confirm them often (in freezing water). i recently had a very high end (~$300) device fail by reading ~10* low. it cost me hundreds in visits and tests (and a few extra gray hairs). at this time it has been replaced by a $15 cooper.
j

input from all appreciated! cheers