Connecting my gas fireplace

It’s not a direct size replacement for decora switches. Some users modify the cover plates with a dremal and sand paper and rejigger the mounting bracket.

But yes, that would be an option.

Where do I find a decora style switch?

[quote=“625alex, post:78, topic:960, full:true”]
I meant to say that the physical state of switch must not be out of sync with the state of fireplace. When I press “off” fire should definitely turn off and the look of the toggle switch must not be deceiving.[/quote]

For what it’s worth, I’m using the ZFM, and while the switch can get out of sync, it only get out of sync half-way.

What I mean is this:

Let’s say I turn on my fireplace remotely. The physical switch is still set to off. Now if I go to the physical switch and flip it on… nothing happens. The fireplace remains on. The relay remain on. But if I now flip the physical switch to off, the reply, and the fireplace goes off.

It works the same if I turn on the fireplace with the physical switch, but then turn it off remotely.

Turning the physical switch ON will never turn the fireplace off. And turning the physical switch OFF will never turn on the fireplace.

Family Approval Factor was never an issue for me, even with the “half way out of sync” possible situation. Obviously your millage may vary…

On, and purely side note: My blower is controlled via a thermostat inside the fireplace. Once a certain temp is hit, it turn on. Then turns off after temp drop below that level. You could easily mimic this if you have a temp sensor near the fire place.

Or the poor man’s version: Just set it up as a delay… turn ON the blower 20 minutes after the fireplace is turn on. Turn OFF the blower 20 minutes after the fireplace has been turned off.

OK, so I have the V2 hub and a Mimolite relay. I’m gotten the Mimolite to work well with my garage door opener. Now I’d like to use it for my new gas fireplaces. Are folks successfully doing this with Mimolite and the V2 hub? I’ve read through lots of posts, and even downloaded a couple of device handlers, with mixed results. Any help out there? Looking for the best device handler for the Mimolite for a fireplace.

Early in this post, someone mentioned this dry contact relay:

http://www.zwaveproducts.com/shop/controllers/contact-modules-and-repeaters/15-amp-dry-contact-module

It appears to have a manual on/off switch in addition to its relay functionality. Assuming that 110 volts could be routed to it to operate the Z-wave radio, couldn’t it be used to replace an existing fireplace switch? The relay contacts would replace the existing switch, so one could use SmartThings to turn the fireplace on/off as well as the manual switch which is part of the relay, so one would have the best of both worlds. This relay appears to fit into a standard paddle switch faceplate.

The switch is out of stock everywhere. It was the solution I came to as the best option for my setup, yet no where to get it.

It does not quite fit into a standard paddle, rumor is that you have to Dremel some to make it work.

I’m having the same issue with finding that model with the switch connection. Had anyone found anything similar to the Remotec?

From another thread.: Remotec Remotec ZFM-80 on sale?

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which icon gives you the fireplace image?

Thanks @jake and @btmec I just installed the Frotrez MIMOlite on my gas fireplace using the instructions and the illustration. My blower on/off switch was controlling the power feed into the outlets below the fireplace so I put a GE z wave plug-in smart switch below the fireplace to have the blower attached to the Z wave side and the MIMo attached to the standard with the on/off switch hard wired. Now I am able to control my blower & fireplace with smartThings. I also am able to use the on/off switch for the fireplace just not the blower.

Has anyone had any luck getting both the MIMOLite and Analog Switch to work lately for their gas fireplace? I can only get the control to work with SmartThings. The SIG1 Analog Input will change the LED on the MIMOLite but won’t toggle the relay. If someone has both working - would you mind posting your current device handler code?

Good evening. Thanks for all the great information! Hopefully you can help me. From the picture you included in the pasthttps://global.discourse-cdn.com/smartthings/original/2X/a/a305dcf37cb59d22a7608e50c3d42c080ea9d8cc.jpg:

  • What are the “COM” and “NO” wiring running to…Dry Contact switch or Fireplace?
  • What are the + and - wired to?

I really look forward to your reply!

Good evening. To confirm based on your pic you only wired your MIMOlite to the dry contact wires running to your fireplace and operating the fireplace with ZWave/ST?

I look forward to your reply as I’m having some difficulty and really appreciate the assistance!

Thanks

The “com” and “no” go directly to the fireplace. With just the "com and "no"connected you should be able to turn on and off the fireplace from the smartthings app. The “+” and “-” are the power connections for the mimo, use the included power supply. The center blue block is for the dry contact switch. If If remember correctly you must set up a virtual switch in the smartthings IDE if you would like to connect a physical switch.

Works amazing with Alexa. Thank You for confirming.

My fireplace uses something like a Real Fyre RR-1A ON/OFF Fireplace Remote Control . It uses batteries what can i use to make alexa turn it on and off? . http://www.fireplaceremotecontrols.com/real-fyre-rr-1a-on-off-fireplace-remote-control.html?ibp-adgroup=adwords&ibp-keyword=&ibp-matchtype=&ibp-custom=&gclid=CjwKEAiAg5_CBRDo4o6e4o3NtG0SJAB-IatYJqIIwtJY4vc8otP5ddcTzF6JQta0EqAjGLMwQMtcchoCOkbw_wcB

Do you have a pilot flame that is always on? Do you have to hold on until it’s on and off on remote until it’s off? If so you have a similar setup as me:

But unfortunately ST discontinued the Arduino Thing Shield so you would have to figure out something else to integrate with ST.

Thx for the quick answer i have 2 questions. First how do i supply it
power can a battery be used and where do i put it outside the fireplace?
And do i need to write any code to make this work or will it be hook up in
front of box and that will be my new remote but using alexa?

Arduinos do require power. A battery will work, but one of the reasons I set this up was to eliminate batteries in my old remote and box as I grew tired of changing them. I have a long wire and have my Arduino in a cabinet beside my fireplace.

You will be required to write code both for the Arduino and a device handler in the SmartThings IDE. Since the SmartThings Shield is no longer available my setup won’t work for you since you will need to figure out another way to bridge communication between the Arduino and SmartThings. You could probably set this up using a Raspberry Pi, though I have no experience to help.

But I just wanted to make you aware you could automate your setup if you are comfortable coding a want to spend some time on it.

So what does our remote use . Radio frequency? Or something different? If
so couldnt i just get a zigbee or zwave to control remote box?