mrkenn Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 I have 2 wires that leave my gas fireplace and go to a switch on the wall. The switch is not powered- it simply closes or opens the circuit mechanically to turn on or off the fireplace. There is not a load wire to the wall box. Is there a non powered (or battery powered) Insteon device that I could control via an ISY to remotely control / schedule turning the fireplace on or off?
LeeG Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 No battery powered Relay device. Battery would not last long enough to be useful. An I/O Linc can be positioned any where there is power with a pair of low voltage wires running from mechanical wall switch (or fireplace which ever is easier to access) to I/O Linc relay contacts. If the mechanical switch and I/O Linc relay are wired in parallel either can turn on the fireplace. If the mechanical switch and I/O Linc relay are wired in series both have to be on (either would turn fireplace off) for the fireplace to work. I prefer the series wiring approach which insures the fireplace cannot be turned on by accident by the I/O Linc relay if the mechanical switch is Off.
mrkenn Posted December 5, 2012 Author Posted December 5, 2012 So I think I understand... My existing wires look like 2 strand speaker wire. When the wire ends are touched together, it closes the circuit and the fireplace starts. If I understand the diagrams correctly (assuming I can find a convenient place to plug in the i/o link), I would slip one wire in the n/c or n/o port (likely n/o, so it would show as "ON" when triggered the other way and "Close" the circuit on demand?), and the other in the common port. The series vs parallel is a little over my head (not an electrical guy), but I'm sure I can google it and figure it out. Does that sound about right? Also- thanks for the help, I really appreciate the hand.
LeeG Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 Run an additional pair of wires between the manual switch location and the I/O Linc Relay. Any home improvement store carries 2-conductor thermostat wire which is rated for in-wall installation. Remove one wire from the mechanical switch, attaching it to one of the new wires. Connect the other new wire to the mechanical switch where the wire was just removed. Connect the 2 wires at the I/O Linc Relay, one to Com and one to NO. With this wiring the mechanical switch has to be On and the I/O Linc Relay has to be On for the fireplace to turn On. That is what is referred to as a serial connection between the mechanical switch and I/O Linc Relay. The circuit has to be complete through both the mechanical switch and the I/O Linc Relay for the fireplace to work. Turning either Off will shut Off the fireplace. That makes the mechanical switch the failsafe. Turning if Off when leaving the house or going to bed insures the fireplace cannot accidentally start from an I/O Linc malfunction. With the mechanical switch On a RemoteLinc or RemoteLinc2 or KPL mounted in a table top enclosure can be linked to the I/O Linc Relay for remote fireplace control.
mrkenn Posted December 5, 2012 Author Posted December 5, 2012 That makes perfect sense. Thanks for all the help!
ejh3 Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 I used the Insteon Outlet to power the blower motor and a small plug in 12v transformer that is wired to a 12v relay I had left over from a remote start install in my car. The relay closes the Solenoid to the burner. When I power on the outlet, both the blower and solenoid closes to light the fireplace. Make sense? Ed
Davonavo Posted December 8, 2012 Posted December 8, 2012 I installed a remote control fireplace starter in a customers house a few years ago. Used a JDS Timecommander system accessed by a modem over phone line. The fact that I could sit at home fifty miles away and start a fire in his house at anytime made me feel a little creepy.
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