Automation for those cold mornings

[GC1710]

Didn’t know if there are any other geeks here. I have my block heater on a “zwave” switch controlled with “SmartThings”. (My whole house has over a hundred doodads...)

Anyways, I can have it turn on the block warmer at a preset time or I can tell Amazon Alexa to turn it on. Good for those nights when the snow is already falling.

 

[MossRoad]

I used to have most of my house controlled by x10 technology. Lights, dimmers, programs, routines, swimming pool pump, chlorine generator, holiday lights, etc...

5 minutes before my wife gets up, the closet lights come on at 20%. The kitchen lights, basement stairs, hallway and workout room lights all come on at 30%. She gets up, goes to workout, and as she works out, the lights brighten to 65% over 15 minutes. Lights in living room come on at 50% about 5 minutes before her workout ends. Kids aquarium light would come on 30% at her wake up time.... all lights but the kitchen go out 20 minutes after we leave if we forget to turn them off.... you get the idea.

Anyhow, it was fun for many years, but once in a while, if you're staying up late, or getting up early, you forget to override the program and you either get lights out on you or blinded while you're sleeping on a Monday holiday, or a vacation day....

About the only thing it was useful for was the timing of the outdoor holiday lighting and the pool pump, chlorine generator, and movie night. Hit the movie mode and it would slowly bring down the overhead lights over the course of 5 minutes until they were off, and the table lamps would go down to 10% and stay there for a nice, movie theater-like glow.

 

[Phillip w]

I don't know that is geeky, but moving technology down the road. My grandfather had a couple of plug ends in the machine shed wired so that they got there power from a light switch on the back porch. He would park his tractor and plug in the block heater. Then he go to the house, heater plugged in but no power to the plug in. Next morning he turn on the switch on the back porch to get power to the block heater. He had his breakfast, did his morning routine and walked out to a tractor ready to start. But with today's gadgets it in some aspects is more complex and yet way more convenient.

 

[4570Man]

If only I had a block heater that worked on a photo cell except in reverse. I’d want it to come on at daylight instead if going off.

 

[MossRoad]

If only I had a block heater that worked on a photo cell except in reverse. I’d want it to come on at daylight instead if going off.

Photocell applies power when it gets dark, and cuts power when it gets light.

So wire the photocell to hold a normal closed relay in the open position at night, and it'll close during the day, applying power to an outlet of your choice.

 

[GC1710]

If only I had a block heater that worked on a photo cell except in reverse. I’d want it to come on at daylight instead if going off.

You can use the sunrise/sunset time via NOAA to automate switches and movements. Self adjustment as the year changes is really nice for security and perimeter lighting

 

[aeblank]

I have multiple WeMo outlets. In the summer, I use them for window air conditioners.
In the winter, they run my block heaters. I did add a wifi access point in the garage for that, as well as general use.

If I'm going to blow snow tonight, I'll click it on before I leave work. hour drive, dinner, and it's plenty warm.
If I'm going to blow in the morning, I'll schedule it to come on at 3am and it'll be ready to go at 5.
If I'm going to drive the truck, I try to schedule it's switch to come on a couple hours before.

Of course, on Monday I set the tractor timer.............for PM instead of AM................ DOH.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Wasn't sure if an x10 would work through the main panel and out through the sub panel in my shed, and I don't think my WiFi signal is all that strong out there, so I bought a skylink remote and switch for my block heater. Works great!

 

[RobS]

I put a peephole in the garage door to the house so I can see if the overhead doors are shut without opening the interior door. Does that count?

Used to have a lot of the X-10 stuff but it wasn't terribly reliable. As Mossroad said, used mostly for Christmas lights. We have a lot of windows and I had a candlelight in each one. Photocell timer to turn them all on/off with the sun.

 

[MossRoad]

Wasn't sure if an x10 would work through the main panel and out through the sub panel in my shed, and I don't think my WiFi signal is all that strong out there, so I bought a skylink remote and switch for my block heater. Works great!

I ran my pool pump on an x10 20 amp outlet on the side of our garage, fed through a sub-panel from the main house of years and years. Christmas lights, too. As long as there isn't a transformer between the two, it'll work just fine.

 

[farmeratheart]

When we put power to the Tractor shed last year I put a quad outlet on the wall. One of the outlets is wired to a switch on the wall in the shed and to a switch in the house at the top of the basement stairs. The Tractor ‘s block heater is plugged into that switched outlet. Also, in that outlet by way of a 2 outlet splitter is an electric candle with one of those small nightlight bulbs. When the heater is on I can tell because the candle is ‘shining’ in the shed window.

 

[dnw64]

I have a TP-Link outlet that my block heater is plugged into (works off wifi - I had to add a range extender to get a reliable signal in the garage).

I can manually turn it on whenever I feel like it with my phone, or I can turn on a Schedule for it to turn on at a certain time.

If I'm at work and want to use it when I get home I'll manually turn it on roughly an hour before I leave. If it's snowing tonight (as it happens to be) I will turn the timer on for it to start at 4am so it's warmed up when I get up at 5 tomorrow morning.

 

[/pine]

Not so much for cold weather but for convenience etc...I set up outside flood light fixtures all around our cabin after the fact...I did not want to wire them all into one existing switch...so I installed a remote circuit switch board...it has multiple relays that are rated at 10amps each and are activated with a keyfob type remote...it works very well...

 

[JWR]

Didn稚 know if there are any other geeks here. I have my block heater on a 奴wave switch controlled with 鉄martThings? (My whole house has over a hundred doodads...)

Anyways, I can have it turn on the block warmer at a preset time or I can tell Amazon Alexa to turn it on. Good for those nights when the snow is already falling. QUOTE]

I just can't help laughing -- I was raised on a farm with the help of my grandfather I called Pap. He never had a car nor a driver's license. My parents bought a 1954 tractor [which you can see on my avatar picture] when Pap was in his old age but he was never on it. He used horses to do everything on the farm including mow areas I cannot get a tractor on today. I have to try to imagine what Pap would be thinking if he watched you tell Alexa to turn on the engine heater on a modern farm tractor !! My oh my.

 

[SueHender]

Not a bad alley with switch on the wall

 

[oosik]

I have a "Hotsy Pad" that I can put on that ever so cold vinyl seat on really cold mornings. That's about it for me.

 

[lpakiz]

I use a WION Smart switch. It plugs into an outlet like the timers one uses for Cmas lights. It’s controlled by my IPhone from where ever I’m at, or I can push a button on the device and turn it on or off right there.
I also have another Wion device wired to a motorized ball valve on the air compressor system. And one on the water supply solenoid (and drain down solenoid) in my basement, that supplies water to my Maple Syrup sugar house, across the yard.
Menards sells them for around $20, EBay for less than that.
Investigating installing one on on the church boiler, so I can control it from my recliner in the spring and fall, when constant heat is not needed. I already have a couple of Sensi brand wifi thermostats to monitor the temp in the church and the attached school.
The Wion can be controlled by phone, local touch or a myriad selection of automated schedules, including the aforementioned dawn and dusk settings. Pretty handy.

 

[Dmacleo]

I feel left out.
I have extension cord with dual outlet pigtail connected to my shed (few feet away) and run battery maintainer in winter (mid-maine) all the time.
my auto block heater is me taking the second end of pigtail and plugging heater in LOL