calberrt Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Hi Guys, I opened up my dryer and put in a contact sensor to track the rotations of the drum. I want it so that when it stops (ie. dryer completes) it will text us to let us know. I came up with a two programs to test for the drum stopping and then to notify us. Has dryer stopped - If Status 'dryer-Closed' is On Or Status 'dryer-Opened' is On Then Wait 15 seconds Wait 5 minutes Run Program 'Dryer is done - Notify' (If) Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') Dryer is done - Notify If - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition') Then Send Notification to 'Adam Cell' content 'Dryer is Done' Send Notification to 'Michelle Cell' content 'Dryer is Done' Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action') My problem is that sometime we don't get notification when the dryer stops. It seems to run inconsistently. Can anyone chime in and recommend some changes to my programs that would make them more consistent. I checked, signal strength is good and no communication errors. I'm not too familiar with programming using contact sensors (just installed my first 2) so some tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Calberrt
oberkc Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 My first inclination to wonder whether the use of of a sensor triggered on each drum rotation is a practical solution. I wonder if flooding the powerlines with insteon commands more than once per second will have unintended consequences, or whether it will even work reliably. Second, I am a little unclear how your sensor works. Does it have both an OPEN and CLOSED node? (Is it one of those wireless door sensors?) Does each node change status once per drum rotation? Is it possible that the status of your sensors are not updating fast enough that the ISY believes both sensors are OFF at the same time? I dont see anything wrong with the program that would cause intermittent problems. Have you ever watched the device status, program status, or the event viewer while the dryer is in operation?
DennisC Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Have you thought about using a current sensor connected to an IO Linc? This would enable you to trigger a text when the current draw stops after a specified time period. Dennis
LeeG Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Need information on how the Open Close Sensor is configured. Is an External sensor being used, is it configured for both nodes. If set up for two nodes, both nodes send On commands so "If Status" does not work. Once Status of both nodes changes to On the Program is not triggered. If configured for two nodes "If Control" must be used. No need for two Wait statements. A single Wait of 5 minutes is fine. Edited February 15, 2015 by LeeG
calberrt Posted February 15, 2015 Author Posted February 15, 2015 Hi guys. I would assume it's configured to operate with only 1 node or whatever the default option is
oberkc Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 I which case, you might not be getting signals from both nodes and one node moght be stopping at OFF. Best bet from here is to identify which nodes are changing status as the drum rotates.
LeeG Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Suggest the following changes when using default single node. If Status 'dryer-Opened' is Off Or Status 'dryer-Opened' is On Then Wait 15 seconds Wait 5 minutes Run Program 'Dryer is done - Notify' (Then) Else - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')
calberrt Posted February 15, 2015 Author Posted February 15, 2015 One other question. Should I be testing for the "change in status" or just what status the contact sensor is in? Ie. Change from open - on to open - off or just " isn't the sensor on or is the sensor off?
oberkc Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 I would first confirm which of your nodes is changing when the drum is rotated. Once determined, I would follow the programming suggestions of LeeG. With the ISY, one can test for "status" and/or "control" for any given device.
hart2hart Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Syncrolinc work great. I have one on washer, dryer, and dishwasher.
LeeG Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Not sure what the question is. If asking can "If Control" be used, yes. If Control 'dryer-Opened' is switched Off Or Control 'dryer-Opened' is switched On Then
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