Washer & dryer monitor

[KevinT]

Hi everyone,
I'd like to share my latest project.
I've built up a node which monitors our washing machine for leaks and monitors our dryer for operation.
The node uses an arduino pro mini with an RFM69 radio. It runs continuously on a 5V wall wart supply regulated down to 3.3V.


The leak sensor is a classic probe type with 2 parallel conductors and a signal conditioner board (transistor based) which generates an analog voltage to represent the leak signal. When the signal exceeds the programmed threshold the leak is reported (using a binary sensor).


I used 14 gage solid copper wire to make the probe.

Dryer operation is sensed using an MPU-6050 accelerometer. I use the absolute value of the vibration signal and pass it through a moving average filter to get a steady signal.
The node is mounted to the dryer using magnets glued to the enclosure.

I also threw in a JDY-31 bluetooth module for serial monitoring/debug. So cheap and easy, why not?!

The vibration threshold can be set in Home Assistant, to allow for easy fine tuning.

I also added running statistics, updated every minute, of min (var1), max (var2) and average (var3) vibration levels to make it easier to set the threshold.

And to keep the wife happy , I have our home made smart speakers announce when the dryer is done.

[mfalkvidd]

Very nice, @KevinT Thanks for sharing.

The black things on the leak probe, what are they? Looks like some sort of spacer?

[KevinT]

@mfalkvidd Thanks. Yes those are spacers that snap on to the wires. I 3d printed them as well as the enclosure.

[RiceVidakovic]

I have been seen this which you shared here. I have been same question here. i am going to bookmark this thread to see the discussion here https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/11851/washer-dryer-monitor/3-reviews.

[ejlane]

Yes, that does look nice, and I'm going to have to think about doing something similar. Water leak can really ruin your day!

However, how can you just casually mention "home made smart speakers" without giving more detail??? That's what I want to hear about!

I was about ready to make a bunch of them using snips.ai and was even starting on 3d printing enclosures when they announced that it was being taken over and was no longer available.

I still plan to do it, but I haven't been able to make the time yet, and I haven't settled on which setup to use instead of snips. Though most likely is Project Alice, which is kind of/sort of an open source fork of snips. (With a lot less polish. We'll see how it goes.)

[KevinT]

@ejlane So far, I have a leak sensor under my clothes washer and hot water heater. I got the idea after my dish washer began leaking and damaged my kitchen cabinets. Dish washer is next...
I should clarify regarding the smart speaker. They really are MQTT text to speech speakers built from old cell phones I had laying around the house. I wrote an app in MIT app inventor. It could be expanded to play mp3 files of course and displaying images too.
I would like to create a smart speaker using Jetson Nano, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Smart speakers might be an idea for a new thread. I haven't looked into it very deeply and could use some ideas too.

[ejlane]

@KevinT yes, besides electrical issues and fires, there's not much that will destroy a house faster than water! Very important to catch it quickly!

As far as the speakers, I did start a new thread. https://forum.mysensors.org/topic/11853/smart-speakers

[CrankyCoder]

Alright... you got me... im interested. Have some questions lol.

1. what bluetooth modules did you use? i have been considering doing this for a number of my devices too
2. do you have the code for the vibration stuff setup? I just recently added monitoring stuff for my washer. dryer was up next.

Not sure if you have looked into the rhasspy project for your smart speakers. I am currently working on that myself. I have my first one built and testing satellites with a main "brain" running on a beefier piece of equipment.

[ejlane]

@CrankyCoder Rhasspy is a good one to add to my list!

I've seen the name before, but I suspect I thought it was tied to something else? For some reason I've never looked deeper into it. That was a silly oversight on my part. Thanks for the clue!

Would you mind adding your experiences to the Smart Speaker topic that I started? It would be great to hear from another user direct feedback on what that system is like! (And I would like to keep from driving this topic too much off into the weeds. )

[KevinT]

@CrankyCoder

1. I used a JDY-31 module without the carrier board. The module operates on 3.3V and has a header with 0.1" spacing, perfect for my needs.
2. Yes, I can share the code. There's the main sketch plus 2 libraries, one for the statistics and a modified version of the debounce library which allows me to debounce a boolean variable. The leak sensor needs this or you can get a flood of leak messages.
   Where do you want me to put the code? I can put it up on Github if you like. Might be a bit much to paste here.

Regarding the rhasspy project, I hadn't heard about this, I will definitely check it out. Thanks!

[CrankyCoder]

github would be awesome!!

I commented in the other thread too

[KevinT]

@CrankyCoder The code can be found on Github: Washer-Dryer-Monitor

[Leonel Epps]

Hi, @KevinT. Congratulation for your successful project. It is very nice. Thanks for sharing.

[KevinT]

Hi @Leonel-Epps.
My pleasure, I've gotten a lot of good ideas from the Forum, its always good to give back.

P.S.
My washing machine leak sensor alerted me to a leak about 3 weeks. I checked, and sure enough, there was a small puddle of water under the machine. The door seal was wearing and had a few tears in the bellows.

I replaced the door seal (thank you youtube videos) and all is good. The washing machine is on the upper floor in my home and could have done serious damage to the lower level if it hadn't been detected quickly.

Regards,
KevinT

[kirianjahiem]

github would be awesome!!