Hey gang. I’m looking for the best type of sensor to detect open/close position of an auto doggie door such as the High Tech Pet Power Pet Electronic Pet Door or the Solo Automatic Electronic Dog Door.
The challenge is that the door slides up and down similar to how a pocket door works. In the fully open position, the door is completely inside the housing making convention door and window sensors not an option. Additionally, the door itself is 1/4" thick lexan.
I’m new to smartthings so I’m sure there is something out there that I just haven’t come across yet.
Might able to use a standard door sensor and substitute a strip of steel tape on your door for the “dumb” side of the sensor… I’ve seen some steel tape that is only 0.004” thick.
The typical stick on open/close sensor has a reed relay inside of them which triggers with a magnet. The one they include is large, and as you stated, would likely not work. You might be able to replace the default magnet with a thin stick on neodymium magnet. There are many sizes and shapes, some with and without sticky pads. Depending on the gap between the door and the frame you have it might be possible to stick this on the bottom of the door.
Get a few neodymium magnets (Harbor Freight, K&J Magnets). Drill hole/s in the lexan. Glue the magnets in the holes with 5 min epoxy. Then use a any old contact switch that has a magnetic reed switch to sense the magnets. Make sure you experiment a bit first to get the right arrangement of magnets to reliably trigger.
Is there an access panel above the door to service the mechanism? If so perhaps you could put the sensor in there with less hassle.
Thx guys. I did look into sensitive. Don’t think it will work on the outside of the door. Next step I think is to take the door apart to see if I can fit something on the inside. Thanks.