Fireplace control with manual control (power outage)

I’ve been looking at a different thread regarding connecting a gas fireplace to SmartThings. (Connecting my gas fireplace) One of my concerns, which was somewhat addressed is the ability to control the fireplace without ST. Specifically, I want to be able to control it when there is a power outage.

I was looking at the Remotec Z-Wave ZFM-80 dry contact, but from what I can tell it requires 120v to run and would not operate via the manual button if the power is out. Can anybody confirm that or has anybody that has done this been able to get it to work when the power is out?

You would be correct, ZFM-80 requires power to operate, no power = no local control.
You’re only option is to jimmy in an emergency manual switch in parallel with the ZFM-80 dry contacts, with the understanding that as long as that switch is on, the fireplace will be on, power or no power.
Electrically it would be possible to create a circuit using a relay, such that if the power goes off, the relay can transfer control to the emergency switch, however I feel this is a dangerous solution. When the power comes back on, control will transfer back to the remotec and the fireplace will go off, you will then forget to turn the emergency switch off, and the next time the power goes out, your fireplace will go on, without your knowledge.
If you did the relay setup with a wind up electrical timer, that would be safe.

That’s exactly what I was thinking. Perhaps someone should come up with a dedicated fireplace control with an unpowered override built in. {hint hint Samsung}

My fireplace already has a manual switch. Just wire the smartthings relay in parallel with the existing wiring as Mike suggested. If the manual switch is turned on the fireplace works. If the smartthings relay turns on the fireplace works.
I decided to wire mine in series and use the manual switch as a safety feature to disable the unit. I don’t want one of my kids accidently turning on the fireplace with smartthings or the living room minimote remote. I can disable it by turning off the manual switch. I’m especially concerned when my entire family is gone and my mother-in-law stays in our house. I never considered how complex my STs system is until she used “double tap” on my kitchen lights to turn on every light in my house. At the time this included the fireplace and ceiling fans outside by mistake. We were at Disney and I saw that she had literally turned on everything in the house :scream:
Now I have modes “parents away” and “away” that do not allow the fireplace relay to work
If your fireplace has an electric ignitor you will need power just to light the flame and open the gas valve. My unit works on 2 D-Cell batteries if the power goes out.
Cheers,
Scott

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consider the remotec, it has a built in safety feature that I exposed in a custom device type, you can set the max on time, after that time expires the switch will turn itself off without any involvement from ST.
The auto off works whether the device is turned on via zwave, the button on the switch, or the remote button you can connect to it.
It’s perfect for fireplaces in that regard.

Would you mind posting the device type with the safety and instructions for install? Sounds like a good thing to have!