Based on a number of excellent suggestions I got in previous thread, I have decided to convert all my smart home devices over to ZigBee. I have about 50 switches and sensors on-order at the moment.
One thing I can’t seem to find is a controller for my pellet stove. My stove is installed in my workshop, and during the winter, I usually have to run out to the shop in the morning, turn the stove on, then wait for a hour or two for it to warm up.
I’m thinking that I’ll most likely need to build a controller for the stove. I had some issues with the mainboard in the stove last year, so I’m fairly familiar with how it works. There area few sensors and relays.
- An on/off sensor for the lid.
- A safety sensor for the hopper (makes sure flames aren’t feeding back into the hopper).
- A pressure sensor to detect if the door is open.
- An external temperature probe.
- An internal temperature probe.
- A relay for the igniter.
- A relay for the motor that rotates the hopper.
- A relay for the induction fan.
- A relay for the fan that blows warm air out from the stove.
- A potentiometer that switches the stove on and controls the temperature set point.
I have built a number of custom PCBs in the past, and I’m confident that I could build a replacement for the mainboard that includes a ZigBee radio. This requires a significant amount of design work for the PCB, programming for the microcontroller, etc. I’m also just now learning about how the ZigBee protocol works, so there would be a fair amount of research involved.
My other idea was to build a PCB that essentially acts as a programmable potentiometer, replace the pellet stove’s pot with this PCB, and leave the mainboard as-is.
Has anyone here tried integrating a pellet stove into your home automation? How did you do it?
I have a Green Mountain pellet smoker and it has a wifi enabled controller on it.
I know it’s not the same thing as your pellet stove but it has all the same elements. They just do a different process.
Maybe you could copy parts of its functionality into your own design.
At least, it could inspire your design.
I really do wish I had paid the extra money and got a stove with a built-in WiFi controller. I looked into ordering a replacement board for a model that is WiFi enabled and retrofitting it into mine, but even within the same brand, the interface and the physical hardware in the stove is different. When I bought my stove, I was more concerned with not freezing to death, and I didn’t really think much about how I’d be using it in the future. Live and learn, I guess.