Trying to turn my analog dryer smart

I use the the Aeon Home Energy Meter for this. I have one clamp on the dryer and one on washer. Unfortunately I don’t think they are available new any more(???). Some on ebay but little pricey… https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=aeon+home+energy&_sacat=0&rt=nc&LH_BIN=1

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Try this SmartApp with the multipurpose sensor.

It was originally in the SmartThings public repo, but I have added recently some announcement feature.

I hope this would work for you.

I installed it and am giving it a try! I’ll let you know! Looks like it will already be better than the , “wait 5 minutes” rule I’ve instituted using sharptools.io

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How did you hook this up? I have one but don’t use it.

I have it installed inside my electrical circuit breaker box. If you aren’t familiar with this, you should have an electrician install it. It is simple to do but you cannot turn off the mains inside this box. I put one clamp on each line, one for washer one for dryer.

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Related, yet different question here. Either a 220v 40 amp heavy duty plug that can be used with the dyer. If not, at least a way to use the Aeotec or GE Heavy Duty Switches with a dryer (or an electric stove/range, for that matter). Here is what I would like to achieve with the dryer: get a “Smart Dry” sensor and link it to ST (yeah, it is still on labs, but from what I read, seems to be working just fine). Then, when the Smart Dry detects that the laundry is dry, I want either the smart plug or the Smart Switch to turn the appliance off, so that clothes don’t continue to be exposed to heat unnecessarily. It must be heavy duty 220v 40amp kind, I am in the US and the dryer is electric. I am not interested in it telling me that the dryer “thinks” it has finished drying. I just want to be able to turn it off remotely, or for it to turn itself off when the clothes are dry. Any ideas? I saw some things on the Hubitat forums (I don’t have Hubitat, but they had some of the same questions. One person described a method he used, but I am not electricity savvy and when and if I call the electrician, I want to know what to ask him to do.

How could it be done, pretty please? Connect it to the appliance? To the outlet? To the breaker? Thank you!

Ok, there are multiple choices here. But first, let me ask what kind of dryer you have and where are you exactly?

Answers differs by Country and sometimes by state as well, regarding regulations.

The Aeotec Heavy duty switch should be installed before the socket, or the dryer should be wired directly to it. It is up to you where you want to place it. As it is a wall mounted thing cable going in and out of it, maybe you can fit it into a recessed box as well. But I believe it needs air ventilation that’s why the design like that.
The relay provides consumption readings and on/off function as well, so you can automate when to turn off by that without a smart dry gadget.

Other option, to use a Switch bot to turn off the dryer. It would press the on/off button when triggered.

But! If you have a modern dryer which has an automatic cooldown function which automatically turns the drum and cools down the air inside, or has an anti-crease function which turns the drum for a while automatically, then you do not need to shut off the power. And do not overthink it. It would just cost you a fortune on smart gadgets to solve a non existent problem.

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How about a different angle of attack. Use a vibration sensor. When it is done bouncing around, it is done drying.

I’m thinking that monitoring the temperature of the air exhaust could be useful to turn off a heavy duty switch.

Depending on how often a temperature sensor reports temperature changes, one might prove more useful than others.

Otherwise, for near instant response a temperature switch could be wired to a contact sensor/leak sensor etc…

If you have washer and dryer side by side or on top of each other, the result would not be what you expect when the washer is running too.

Long ago I saw a sensor on Amazon that gets placed inside the dryer and determines if it is tumbling. Since it works with Alexa perhaps you can use it to trigger a virtual switch in DumbThings.

@KenW48360, exactly what the previous poster was asking about.

I’m tired of trying to get the dryer to consistently notify when done. So I’m going to try some more. lol

All dryers, of any power type, have one thing in common: they move air. Almost always, through and out of a vent pipe. So it seems to me that an air flow sensor, similar to the MAF sensor in your car, would be the desirable universal tool. Insert such a sensor into the vent pipe, and you’re rolling. It would have to be easily removable for cleaning, because even the best lint collection screens pass lint, but such an item should be able to function for many months before needing to be cleaned.

Have it be normally closed. When opened by the moving air for some seconds the dryer is running; when closed for some seconds, the dry cycle is complete. So functionally in the app, it would be a mere contact sensor. Depending on position, a very light spring (positioned outside the vent tube) or perhaps even mere gravity could do the job of keeping it closed.

I’ll have to start working on the details.

In the meantime, I’m gonna make one final attempt at using the accelerometer in the multisensor. It has worked sporadically in the past. Problem is that it does not pick up much vibration from my dryer so it’s inconsistent. But it occurs to me that I don’t need it to be constantly reporting motion; I only need it sporadically! So my approach will be something like the following:

Piston should, any time motion is recorded, state device is running and add one to a variable:
x = x + 1.

Y = 0 at start of operation.

Every five minutes, the piston should

A. check to see whether x = y

B. If x > y, set Y = current value of X

If x still = y, then the cycle is finished and alert the house via Alexa.

The following piston tests very well, moving the sensor around the room. Closing virtual AlexaSimContact triggers volume control routines on my Echo Dots (raises volume for the anticipated duration of the announcement, which is 15 seconds, then drops the volume on each Dot), and closing virtual contact AlexaSimLaundryDryer triggers the announcement.

Now we’ll see if it actually works on my dryer. I’m going to use the stickiest double-sided tape I can find, and will remove the cover from the sensor to make it lighter… and hopefully, therefore more sensitive to vibration.

EDIT: the key was to un-balance the dryer! Just ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. The sensor is stuck on a part of the side that vibrates most, and after my un-balancing act it is now sending events to the piston. Now that that’s ironed out, it’s time to ensure there are no false alerts from merely opening, closing, loading, unloading, or just bumping into it.

I found a great way to do it!

I saw that Aeotec makes a heavy-duty smart switch.

I installed it with a device handler that monitors energy usage and set an alert for when the energy drops below a certain level…indicating the heating element is off. Been working great so far for me!

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How was the installation on this item? I’ve installed plenty of outlets in my life, but I hear there is not a lot of room in the housing. But if it does the job, I’d consider it.

My fear now is that I’ll install it, and then immediately the dryer that came with this house I purchased 23 years ago craps out right away lol

It’s not intended for inwall installation, you typically mount it on top of the wall nearby. It’s about 6” square. A lot of people use it outdoors for pool equipment.

It’s a white plastic housing, looks OK, so it should be fine on the wall of a laundry room.

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It’s controlling the circuit branch, not the device, so you can probably wire it to the socket, not the device. Then If you replace your dryer with a new one, as long as it plugs into the same socket you don’t have to change anything about the aeotec device. :sunglasses: I think the main negative with this one is the cost, it’s much more expensive than most of the other options.

I meant that my dryer will die, and I’ll get a smart dryer to replace it - thereby obsoleting the Aotec. My dryer of course currently (see what I did there?) plugs into a wall-mount 220v outlet in my basement, and it is that outlet I’d replace. Who knows, might be a good investment regardless

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I mounted mine to the back of the dryer. Dryer to 220 smart switch, 220 dryer plug to smart switch. Worked fine. But if you think you’ll go all-in on a smart dryer…then perhaps just go for whatever coding is working. I have a brand new dryer, not smart, but now it is. The ability to kill the switch in an overheat situation is great.

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