fasttimes Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 We’ve got a problem in our house, and her name is Penny. Penny is the sweetest cat in the world, but there seems to be an inverse square ratio to sweetness to stink. Because when she takes a dump, the 1st floor of the house smells for hours, and I’m not exaggerating. Her litter box is in an unused bathroom on the first floor and I would like to have the fan turn on for 15 minutes after it senses motion to help make her perfume exit the house. But all of the motion sensors I see all claim they are pet immune, when I specifically want to detect the animal. I was hoping to find a switch with motion sensor that I could replace the fan switch with and have that work, but I fear it won’t pick her up. If I have to, I’ll go through the expense of installing an Insteon switch and use that with an external sensor, but I’m still having the issue of getting a sensor that works for 10lb cats. Any advice? It’s getting warm and the problem is only going to get worse. Link to comment
larryllix Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 I don;t think the Insteon MSes are "pet immune" If I have ever read that right those units have a blocking "piece of tape" on the bottom of the screen to block lower actions on the floor. This means that they wouldn't work for cat anyway, dependant on climbing cabinets. What happened to the smell absorbent kitty litter? Link to comment
Scottmichaelj Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 Aeotec MultiSensor 6 picks up my Italian Greyhounds (13lbs) just fine. I use it to light the way for them at night to be able to go outside. Link to comment
fasttimes Posted April 14, 2018 Author Share Posted April 14, 2018 Can the Insteon 2 motion sensor be configured with the ISY? Link to comment
larryllix Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 38 minutes ago, fasttimes said: Can the Insteon 2 motion sensor be configured with the ISY? I don't have any of those in my 13 MSes but. ... They can be used without settability or you can set them by use of a SH Hub 2. Link to comment
paulbates Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 We have the same issue and litter box is in a bathroom with a fan. I've been considering putting an MS inside the litterbox. Like larry, my MS are all original model and haven't bought one in a while. Since I'm on V5 I'm thinking about getting one of the new ones at Menards. I know there have been trouble with it sending offs and settings... however what I'll do is create a program that sees if its switched on, and then run the fan for 20 minutes and then turns it back off... that will ignore the "off" commands. For this application, I don't care about the options or if I can set them or not Paul Link to comment
larryllix Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 IMHO UDI needs to implement a solution / hack for this in their next release. Of course it would come with a disclaimer, it may cease to function at any time until SH releases the proper spec. to them. This has become an issue using this item as a negative marketing ploy, by certain individuals, against the ISY994i. This seems to be SH attempting to damage UDI. MS and IBM ended up in legal battles over this type of behaviour several times. Link to comment
paulbates Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 I don't think its nefarious.. I think they are heads down on developing their Cloud API, . This "story" doesn't show up on their "backlog". I have to agree that the whole thing is just ridiculous. Its a standalone device with a specific message behavior set. I believe that Insteon firmware still can not be field upgraded... so "it is what it is"... Just tell UDI what "it" is Link to comment
mwester Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 Insteon as we knew it is dead. The new Smarthome, with new leadership, doesn't know who UDI is, what an ISY is, and they don't care either. The new MS (and any other Insteon device they might happen to release) won't ever have it's API released to UDI, because that's just not in the business plan for the new Smarthome. The above is not really my opinion -- I know that there are those who vehemently disagree (they'll be posting shortly on this thread) -- but I think putting the above on a post-it note on your computer monitor is wise, just so you can make absolutely certain that you really want to do this when you click "Buy Now" on that order for more Insteon MS devices... (My real opinion FWIW: the new Smarthome is still thoroughly confused by what they bought when they acquired Insteon, the PLM, and all the users that come along with it -- somebody thought they were just getting into the way cool, awesome IoT market, and discovered that there's more too it than little boxes and cloud servers, and that it's those little details like capacitors and noise and FCC approvals and UL certification and, etc, etc. that matter. So, not really a matter of kicking UDI and all of us to the curb as unwanted customers, but in the end, the effect is the same -- make sure, absolutely sure, you really want to invest further, especially with devices that aren't supported now, and may never be... (and I'd love to be proven wrong on that point, let's see if 2018 will bring an API document to UDI...) Link to comment
KeviNH Posted April 14, 2018 Share Posted April 14, 2018 6 hours ago, larryllix said: I don;t think the Insteon MSes are "pet immune" If I have ever read that right those units have a blocking "piece of tape" on the bottom of the screen to block lower actions on the floor. This means that they wouldn't work for cat anyway, dependant on climbing cabinets. I use the original Insteon MS, mounted upside down and aimed directly at the litter box. It's part of a scene which turns on the automatic cat feeder and a light, plus I have a program which keeps a daily count of how many times the MS was triggered. See description here: Link to comment
fasttimes Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 8 hours ago, paulbates said: We have the same issue and litter box is in a bathroom with a fan. I've been considering putting an MS inside the litterbox. Like larry, my MS are all original model and haven't bought one in a while. Since I'm on V5 I'm thinking about getting one of the new ones at Menards. I know there have been trouble with it sending offs and settings... however what I'll do is create a program that sees if its switched on, and then run the fan for 20 minutes and then turns it back off... that will ignore the "off" commands. For this application, I don't care about the options or if I can set them or not Paul What’s V5? I just ordered a new on/off paddle switch for the fan, and the V2 motion sensor. I’ll try and do the same thing with writing a program for the ISY. Link to comment
paulbates Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 I meant V5 of ISY firmware versus v4. I've seen comments that the support is a little different for the new sensor on the 2 versions. Link to comment
fasttimes Posted April 15, 2018 Author Share Posted April 15, 2018 Oh... is V5 stable? I looked for a link to install it but couldn’t find anything Link to comment
mwester Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Reasonably stable -- there's a handful of relatively minor bugs, and I suspect the real reason it's still not released is based on some features yet to be added, not based on lack of quality. Read the thread carefully, especially the part about your passwords being reset, and go for it. Link to comment
paulbates Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 59 minutes ago, fasttimes said: Oh... is V5 stable? I looked for a link to install it but couldn’t find anything I've been using it for 2 1/2 years. But I would start by checking the current v4 thread to see if the new sensor basic function work there. I think I've read they do, but not 100% sure. Link to comment
smokegrub Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 I use the MS to deal with other "stinkers". I have used them for a long time in a small bathroom (the only one in a small vacation home). It is programmed to activate the exhaust fan for 15 minutes when it detects motion. No problem, 100% reliable. Just position the sensor so that it "sees" the cat. Link to comment
fasttimes Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 On 4/15/2018 at 7:51 AM, smokegrub said: I use the MS to deal with other "stinkers". I have used them for a long time in a small bathroom (the only one in a small vacation home). It is programmed to activate the exhaust fan for 15 minutes when it detects motion. No problem, 100% reliable. Just position the sensor so that it "sees" the cat. Can you share your program? I must admit, the ISY programming scheme is counterintuitive. Link to comment
smokegrub Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 use two simple programs. Fan Motion - [ID 0024][Parent 0023][Not Enabled] If Status 'Sensors (Motion) / Motion Sensor' is On Then Set 'Fans / Fan Bathroom' On Else Set 'Fans / Fan Bathroom' Off Bathroom Exhaust Fan - [ID 0007][Parent 0023] If Status 'Fans / Fan Bathroom' is 100% Then Wait 15 minutes Set 'Fans / Fan Bathroom' Off Else Set 'Fans / Fan Bathroom' Off This program turns the bathroom fan off automatically after it has run for 15 minutes. I Link to comment
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