jerlands Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I am just testing my washing machine here for water problems. After two spills this week that drained down a floor and triggered my leak detector I am real nervous about running the washing machine unwatched, nervously. Me thinks a large pan under the washer and laundry sink with a drain tube, leak sensor, On/Off module for the washer may be in order. I don't know where these large metal catch pans come from but the leak sensor is temporarily on the edge of the sink and the plug-in module is installed for the washer, so far. This to alleviate the immediate laundry sink overflow problem for now. A more permanent and coverall solution is being engineered. Are these large catch basins custom made? How large of a lip is recommended? Is a drain tube or some way to empty it needed? I assume the leak detector would have to mounted on a slight raised thickness or material to keep it off the metal. Anybody familiar with these things? Any custom sheet metal shop can fabricate. The lip height varies... 2" would probably do. If it's on wood floor you can drill through and use standard kitchen sink drain for 18 gauge (if you don't mind putting a large hole in your floor.) I put mine on a piece of plastic. Jon... Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Awesome. It doesn't spec how much current for the PS. It may run right off the I/O Linc aux output at 5vdc. I would imagine the venturi action would need to be handled somehow. Possibly a small air scoop that could be rotated to calibrate??? @Xathros: Need to fill it plain water but a large sign over it about "Corrosive acid solution". Intruders have to wonder nervously as it follows them around pointing and the sign flashes. I didn't get around to playing with it yesterday. I am hoping that the air pressure is high enough that it just max's out the 1.5 psi transducer so things like turbulence and venturi affect are irrelevant. The burst pressure on this particular unit is pretty high, like 15 psi or something, which it definitely will not encounter from the dryer vent. It may be that I need to use a small tube and point it directly into the air stream, which is super easy to do. The little drip irrigation hoses fit this transducer nipple perfectly. In fact, I think that is what I will do no matter what, then I can run the hose several feet and keep all the electronics in one package. The power draw on the transducer is negligible. Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 I finally got around to doing this. I used this http://www.freescale.com/files/sensors/doc/data_sheet/MPX5010.pdf It doesn't really work. Yes, it definitely registers an increase in pressure wen you turn the dryer on, but it is very small. About a .1 volt increase or about .03 PSI. So, you could make this work, but not by using an IO linc. I could program one of my webcontrol boards to do it and post to a variable on ISY. However, I am thinking that if you are going to take that route, a much easier way would be to use the webcontrol board plus a 1-wire temp sensor and use exhaust vent temp to detect when the dryer shuts off. This is cheaper than an IO linc, however, you need lan acess so either you pull ethernet to it or you need to buy a wireless to ethernet adapter. Looks like a $100 project to me. Temp would not be quite so instant when the dryer shuts off, but I bet 5 minutes or so. Link to comment
larryllix Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I had a thought about this today. I wonder if a few turns of one leg or both legs, opposite wound around a garage door sensor into an I/OLinc would work If they can detect a magnet within 2" it may be sensitive enough for the current to closed the contacts. Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 I had a thought about this today. I wonder if a few turns of one leg or both legs, opposite wound around a garage door sensor into an I/OLinc would work If they can detect a magnet within 2" it may be sensitive enough for the current to closed the contacts. It absolutely will work, they only question is how many turns around the wire it takes. You would need a bridge rectifier. Link to comment
jerlands Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 Here's an interesting project that "uses a dual-axis accelerometer to detect motion and vibration coming from the washer (or dryer) and alerts a phone via SMS text message when the machine is no longer vibrating." I mean... if you really have to know Jon... Link to comment
larryllix Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 It absolutely will work, they only question is how many turns around the wire it takes. You would need a bridge rectifier. hmmmm. many reed switches will take AC but if it is "sensitised" with a permanent magnet this may be a problem and the bridge would be needed. This precludes cutting into the conductors and then a small step up voltage or step down current transformer might be needed to get over the double diode voltage drops and then another coil for the reed switch. Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 hmmmm. many reed switches will take AC but if it is "sensitised" with a permanent magnet this may be a problem and the bridge would be needed. This precludes cutting into the conductors and then a small step up voltage or step down current transformer might be needed to get over the double diode voltage drops and then another coil for the reed switch. That's not what I was thinking. I was thinking running the coil wire to an IO linc input directly. It is looking for 5vdc to trip it (and it warns not to exceed 5v, I'm thinking 2 or 3 volts might be enough). I had an entirely different idea which may be better yet. Run a wire out your dryer vent to the outside where the flapper is. Put a standard alarm system magnetic reed switch. When it opens, dryer is running, closed dryer is off. Plus added bonus, if it fails to close, you know your flapper need cleaning. Link to comment
larryllix Posted September 27, 2015 Share Posted September 27, 2015 That's not what I was thinking. I was thinking running the coil wire to an IO linc input directly. It is looking for 5vdc to trip it (and it warns not to exceed 5v, I'm thinking 2 or 3 volts might be enough). I had an entirely different idea which may be better yet. Run a wire out your dryer vent to the outside where the flapper is. Put a standard alarm system magnetic reed switch. When it opens, dryer is running, closed dryer is off. Plus added bonus, if it fails to close, you know your flapper need cleaning. May be a problem a gas dryer but... How about detecting the position of a damper totally inside the building inside the non-ferrous vent pipe with a vein switch of some design. Would have to lift the magnet or rotating one on the axle outside the pipe may take less torque. Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 May be a problem a gas dryer but... How about detecting the position of a damper totally inside the building inside the non-ferrous vent pipe with a vein switch of some design. Would have to lift the magnet or rotating one on the axle outside the pipe may take less torque. If you have a gas dryer, just use a standard synchrolinc. What you are referring to is a sail switch. They make them for hvac systems. They cost about $40 and would require some creative mounting. Link to comment
larryllix Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 If you have a gas dryer, just use a standard synchrolinc. What you are referring to is a sail switch. They make them for hvac systems. They cost about $40 and would require some creative mounting. Yes. I am already using one but just brainstorming for people that use 240v dryers. There should be a fairly easy way for others. Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Either way, you can use a standard alarm system door contactor regardless of whether the dryer vent and flapper is ferrous or not. Standard door contactors work just fine on steel doors. It's just a matter of proper mounting. Link to comment
JackL Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Why not put a relay on the line to the motor and read the on/off status with an i/o link? Link to comment
larryllix Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Why not put a relay on the line to the motor and read the on/off status with an i/o link? That means opening your appliance and mounting and wiring a relay inside the dryer. most aren't going to do that, may not want to, or are not capable of doing that.. You would require a fused circuit to protect the I/OLinc reducing the overcurrent protection to 15A or less. It will be a bit technical in view of no Insteon product for this application though. Link to comment
stusviews Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 If someone is going to do minor wiring, then it's easy to add a relay to trigger an I/O Linc. If a neutral is available, then a Syncrolinc is even easier. Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Why not put a relay on the line to the motor and read the on/off status with an i/o link? Depending on how it is put together, you might not be able to do it without cracking a warranty seal. Link to comment
DennisC Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 In the past I have used a Dwyer current switch to send the signal to An Insteon device. The current switch was fairly inexpensive and I haven't had any problems with it. It is available has a split device, which means it opens to wrap around your power wiring. Therefore, you don't need to open the appliance. You will need a box to mount it in however. I use this to monitor a 3/4 hp motor for a dock de icing system. Dennis Link to comment
larryllix Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 One of the logistic problems with most of these ideas is that you still need a 120vac receptacle to mount and run an I/OLinc module. This means some kind of wiring box to hold an overcurrent device, a receptacle and connections to hack into your 240vac dryer plug cord anyway. I suppose a small signal cable could be run from the sensing device around the room to the I/OLinc plugged into the nearest 120vac receptacle. Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 In the past I have used a Dwyer current switch to send the signal to An Insteon device. The current switch was fairly inexpensive and I haven't had any problems with it. It is available has a split device, which means it opens to wrap around your power wiring. Therefore, you don't need to open the appliance. You will need a box to mount it in however. I use this to monitor a 3/4 hp motor for a dock de icing system. Dennis This is the same thing as wrapping a small wire around one of the conductors, it is just a commercial version of the home made version. At least with my dryer, you don't need to do anything to install one of these since the dryer plug wire was installed in the dryer such that there is about 2 inches of individual conductor accessible where the outer jacket was stripped back further than what ended up being contained inside the hook-up box of the dryer. Link to comment
apostolakisl Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 One of the logistic problems with most of these ideas is that you still need a 120vac receptacle to mount and run an I/OLinc module. This means some kind of wiring box to hold an overcurrent device, a receptacle and connections to hack into your 240vac dryer plug cord anyway. I suppose a small signal cable could be run from the sensing device around the room to the I/OLinc plugged into the nearest 120vac receptacle. Everyone should have a 120vac plug behind their washer/dryer since the washer requires one. The alarm system contactor on the flapper door/io linc won't require any fuses or any "messing with dangerous stuff" at all. You would be using it as intended, to detect an open/closed door. It would not run the risk of voiding any warranties and probably would be one of the easiest to install. Link to comment
arw01 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Still on the project list, as one other poster noted, the wires are separate where they screw down to the terminals on the dryer itself to maybe get the transducer over one. Ideally I would like a little vibration sensor that would power from the io link 5v and be sensitive enough to just stick to the back with a magnet or double stick tape. Anyone comes across little vibration senors, maybe an ardino could power from the io link and then find the sensor? Link to comment
BCreekDave Posted November 19, 2015 Share Posted November 19, 2015 Wellll...if you are feeling adventurous you could start with this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Analog-Sound-Sensor-Board-Microphone-Mic-Controller-For-Aduino-/151535155655?hash=item234832f9c7:g:TQcAAOSwc3ZUo0Bd and a Smartenit EZIO 2X4 to power it and sense the signal output. This would "listen" for the chime-bell when the cycle is complete. Usually these are pretty loud. The nice thing is that it's all external (no messing with the existing washer-dryer wiring) Besides the EZIO device cost (~$105.00) it is cheap. The challenge would be to tune it for the chime. You would want to locate it as close to wherever the sound comes out of the washer. The downside would be possible false-positives from other sounds in the area. You could get creative with the isy to "arm" it whenever the washer is running by a using one of the other inputs on the EZIO. If you happen to have a sound meter you can benchmark the chime sound to see how much louder it is than other normal sounds in the area to see if this is viable. The EZIO device has other inputs and outputs that can be used for other things also. I use one for checking humidity in bathrooms. Link to comment
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