Can anyone describe the symptoms of a z-wave switch that’s barely in range? I’ve got a generic GE outdoor Zwave outlet attached to my pond pump and it’s driving me crazy.
Every time I test it, it seems to work halfway or better: almost all the time it will turn OFF via ST, but it responds slowly (like 30+ seconds). Worse, even when I get reliable OFFs, it seems very hit or miss with ONs. Which isn’t a tragedy now in the spring, but when the pond water is 85° the fish need regular oxygenation.
The net result seems to be that 4 out of 5 mornings, the pump is off when Sunrise should have turned it on.
Please help me with your experience before my fish die!
I have two also and they have never failed. When I had one way away from the house for Xmas lights, I plugged the other in at an outside outlet to act just as a repeater and worked perfect.
Yesterday I added one outside 200’ from the hub and 165’ from the next closest Z-Wave device and to my surprise it paired right up! On was almost immediate and off was about two seconds. I tried to add another fifty feet further but it failed to pair. I added one between the first two and all was well. Either way, the range was much better than specified.
You may want to try “Repair Z-Wave Network” in the IDE and check the logs for errors. I had a bad Z-Wave device which this flushed out.
That is pretty well outside the recommended 30-50 feet for Z-Wave. That is great. Repairing the Z-Wave network is a good option, especially if you have been adding a lot of devices.
Just curious, but has anybody installed a GE in-wall outlet outdoors and protected/covered it with a Weatherproof cover like this? This would keep the look of my outdoor outlets. The GE Outdoor Switch outlet has the potential of being stolen.
I am in the process of putting outlets and switches on my outdoor kitchen with those exact covers. They’re made of PVC so it should be no problem as long as I’m within range. I might have to add an outlet inside on the nearest wall to help build the zwave mesh.