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Is It Dry Yet?

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Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#61

Post by badgerbbbadger »

rrauenza wrote: post #20
badgerbbbadger wrote: post #2

I got tired of my dryer being dumb.

I wonder if you could have done it like a motion sensor scheme. If you consume 100watts, reset a countdown timer. So as home assistant polls the outlet, it should keep resetting the timer. If the timer expires, then notify that the dryer is done.

That might be a smarter way to do it! Right now I have this thing where if we don't unload the dryer it does a sort of warming cycle every 20 minutes or so. And that triggers another alert. We don't mind because that just means we _should_ unload the dryer to stop it from consuming more power.

But I suppose the countdown approach would still trigger the same thing. I suppose if I didn't really want the extra alerts I should be monitoring the duration of power consumption and exclude the ones that are of a shorter duration.

I might try the countdown approach for something different and see what results I get. Thanks for the idea!

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#62

Post by badgerbbbadger »

0x457 wrote: post #5
badgerbbbadger wrote: post #2

I got tired of my dryer being dumb.

They do sell dryers and washers that can notify you. HN crowd probably doesn't like those because "OMG why does it need internet?". They don't even cost that much compared to ones that aren't connected.

We did look into such dryers as well but my girlfriend and I wanted to use our ecocheques and we also wanted a cheap dryer that just got the job done. The nearest smart dryer was at least a 100 euros more expensive.

And it ended up being a fun project for me ^.^

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#63

Post by badgerbbbadger »

ziddoap wrote: post #35
culebron21 wrote: post #30

Mechanical kitchen timer will suffice. You usually know the duration of most used programs. Doesn't need a hundred taps in the phone to get it working. Mental effort to set the timer is lower than with phone timer. You dial it and carry in a pocket. Zero distraction when you set it up or get notified -- you won't sink into the timer scrolling for half an hour. And in the end you'll get the notification.

Also not as fun or educational.

Mainly this. The project taught me a lot, was a good way to have material to work further on my blogging skills and will hopefully lay a foundation for more interesting projects in the future.

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#64

Post by badgerbbbadger »

firloop wrote: post #40
xandrius wrote: post #24

This seems exactly the same approach as the rice cooker post. Maybe inspired? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39902207

Yes, I had the same thought. Suspicious or coincidental.

Coincidental. Probably a case of this being one of the simpler solutions to implement. Convergent problem solving? (like how in evolution different species can converge on the same trait?)

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#65

Post by badgerbbbadger »

xandrius wrote: post #24

This seems exactly the same approach as the rice cooker post. Maybe inspired? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39902207

It wasn't inspired but thanks for the link! If I had known of the device notification integration, I would have just used that instead of trying to roll my own logic :D

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#66

Post by badgerbbbadger »

mbil wrote: post #31

Hah, this reminds me of one of the first programs I wrote for personal use. My Macbook at the time had an accelerometer or gyro of some kind. So I made a program to monitor the output from that sensor, and it would send me an email when the motion stopped. I'd run the program, set the laptop on top of my running dryer, and go upstairs. In retrospect it was probably not smart to leave a laptop on top of the dryer for…

This is one of the most bodgy things I've come across and I love it! Did you end up replacing it with something else?

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#68

Post by LegitShady »

gspencley wrote: post #50
LegitShady wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never heard of this. Doesn't the moisture just freeze in the clothes?

I think that there are two assumptions that we tend to make that causes the idea of air drying frozen clothes to be unintuitive: 1. We don't expect solids to evaporate, because it's not something we notice often (though if you think about the fact that a few inches of snow can disappear in a couple of days while the temperature remains below zero Celsius, you suddenly realize that you do observe it if you live in a c…

I live in a place where there is ice outside all winter. During winter the cold air can't hold moisture as much as hot air and most of the days are at 100% humidity even at -20 because the air simply can't hold more.

I might try this out on the deck next season but I don't assume ice is just going to sublimate away because it's literally outside all winter and doesn't go anywhere.

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#69

Post by rrauenza »

badgerbbbadger wrote: post #61
rrauenza wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if you could have done it like a motion sensor scheme. If you consume 100watts, reset a countdown timer. So as home assistant polls the outlet, it should keep resetting the timer. If the timer expires, then notify that the dryer is done.

That might be a smarter way to do it! Right now I have this thing where if we don't unload the dryer it does a sort of warming cycle every 20 minutes or so. And that triggers another alert. We don't mind because that just means we _should_ unload the dryer to stop it from consuming more power. But I suppose the countdown approach would still trigger the same thing. I suppose if I didn't really want the extra alerts I…

You're welcome! I installed home assistant about a month ago and have been really liking it ...

I was thinking of doing something similar to what you are dong but was trying to think of how to do it without the custom virtual device.

Re: Is It Dry Yet?

#70

Post by marcinzm »

I did something similar except I used a vibration sensor since we have shared laundry for the floor. When doing laundry we take the sensor and then stick it, using the magnets glued to the back, onto the dryer/washer. The distance drops the signal strength of the sensor which is what tells the automation that clothes washing/drying is in progress. Once vibration has stopped it knows that the laundry is done. Alexa then loudly notifies us of it (great fun if it happens in the middle of an interview) and the e-paper display in the living room shows an alert so we don't forget.
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