Washer/Dryer Notifications?

I started early on with the V1 system on Kickstarter and wasn’t very happy with it but I’m ready to give it another try with V2. I’d like to use a couple of Multi-Sensors to let us know when our clothes are done. Does that work well? How are you notified when the washer or dryer are done?

Ah thanks Robin, the problem is my dryer is 220v.

Don’t know about the UK, but in the US I’m having trouble finding one. Maybe in the UK 220VAC is normal and you don’t just run 60A appliances on it? I did see a link to a 220VAC 40A switch with power monitoring, but can’t find much about it other than the $149 price tag.

Yea I don’t know why no one is making a 220v monitor in the US. The closest thing I’ve found are gadgets that monitor an entire house and are “supposed” to be able to differentiate the difference between the appliances in your house. I bough this one and so far it isn’t doing a very good job of letting me know when the washer is running and it confuses the dryer with the microwave lol. They say it takes about a month to learn your house.

In the US, most power circuit are 110VAC with 15A or 20A breakers. A microwave or dishwasher or coffee maker or clothing washer will plug into that. Bigger stuff is 220VAC, at 30, 40 or even 60 amps. AC compressors, clothing dryers, water heaters, electric stove are good examples.

UPDATE: I just read your post again. Many of these appliances are supposed (per electrical codes) to have a dedicated circuit. Most people who remodel their kitchen learn that now, they need a dedicated circuit for the microwave and dishwasher even though these are ordinary 110VAC appliances. The 220VAC appliances, like a stove or clothing dryer, absolutely have dedicated circuits.

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@anon36505037 remember with AC circuits, voltage and current have an inverse relationship. when you put 220VAC ito a transformer that changes it into 110VAC, you get twice as much current.

There is one service entrance. 220VAC is a pair of 110VAC feeds. So you can go from either of the two “hots” to a neutral for 110VAC or you can use both “hots” for 220VAC. This is two phase service.

I like that he was thinking ahead though!

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I use a multisensor on my washing machine. When the cycle is complete, it flashes a lamp twice and my android control pad announces it. It works well and reliably.

I don’t see the dryer as needing it… and it has a loud buzzer. If you forget the dryer, the clothes are still dry. Forget the washer, and the clothes get musty.

I’ve been using this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YTCZZF0 which is GE Z-Wave Smart Switch for Large Appliances, 40 Amp, Direct-Wire, Indoor/Outdoor. Using it for a window AC unit, and it is great at turning the unit on and off, and giving power usage. It would be pretty easy to wire for a washer or dryer. Able to do 120 or 240 depending on how you wire it.

For the washer, I’m using a smart plug, and CoRE set when power drops below a certain point to notify me. Works flawlessly. For the Dryer, I’m using a Multipurpose Sensor and CoRE to detect both vibration and temperature. Vibration alone wasn’t as reliable because sometimes the sensor would go “inactive” for a minute a few times during the cycle. But with the temp and vibration both it is probably about 95% reliable.

I have a Wemo Insight Switch. It’s supposed to notify me when the cycle is done and the power consumption drops below an adjustable set point. It works about once in every 100 washes :confused:

@anon36505037, I was going to buy the Samsung “Smart” Washer too, but the reviews I read about the practicality of it were kind of horrible. The cycle monitoring was the most used feature (when users could actually get their phones synced properly). I decided to save a couple hundred bucks and just get a “dumb” washer.

It’s a Christmas surprise for the wife that arrives this Monday, so, I think I’m going for the metered power solution.

Others have noted that Multi-Sensors don’t really perform well in modern washer/dryer “on” state monitoring, which is why the power meter solution was presented.

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It may be possible to use one of these instead. The clamps wrap around the wires of your dryer and sense the wattage flowing through. I don’t know the specifics, but I linked another thread that briefly mentioned it. Maybe @Mike_Maxwell can chime in on this.
http://www.zwaveproducts.com/shop/climate-control/z-wave-energy-management/z-wave-smart-energy-meter

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Aeon Power Meter. Can’t go wrong with these CoRE pistons. I tried the Multisensor and way too false positives.

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I just had to replaced a broken dryer, already had a HEM on it so couldn’t fathom a need for a smart one, so got a dumb Samsung instead. Very happy with it and the HEM works exceedingly well for any 220v devices you may have.

My SmartThings Multi-Sensor wasn’t sensitive enough to reliably detect activity on the washer or dryer and my dryer is 220v so I couldn’t monitor energy.

I ended up using a regular contact sensors on my washing machine and laundry room doors, a virtual switch for each machine.

I created a custom SmartApp that detects when each machine has started/stopped based on those devices and run time settings and it sends audio notifications and 5 minute reminders for each machine.

It works great for me, but it’s customized towards my setup and there are multiple laundry monitoring SmartApps so I didn’t post it to GitHub.

I recently installed a Aeon HEM Power Meter v1 to notify me me when my Washer or Dryer completes a cycle. This is much more reliable than using a multisensor for our machines.

I used the following Device Handler from @Mike_Maxwell as a starting point and made a few tweaks to suit my needs. Works like a champ!

I had false positives, until I adjusted for the duty cycle of my washer. It vibrates while washing and then while spinning, but not while filling… you just have to extend the minimum cycle time and fill time to cover it. Mine are 35 and 8 minutes respectively. Long as the sensor battery is still good, it works very well. Of course, it’s a fairly old washer by now…, perhaps 12 years old.

Wow thanks for all of the input ! I’m going to try a power meter on the washer and multi on my dryer.