Ball and Socket for Iris Motion

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Like many, I have motion sensors in the bathrooms to control the lights. But I've been dissatisfied by the lengthy delay needed by shower/bath users vs visitors to the loo. Although I love showing guests my automation in the form of lights turning on, in reality, my goal is getting them turned off.

"Hey, why don't you turn the light on?"
"Hey, why didn't you turn the light OFF?"

Which one have you heard the most in your life, so far? This "HA stuff" is all focused on the 2nd one, for ME. :slight_smile:

It blindingly obvious that I need another sensor to detect motion in only the bath/shower area. But... I really don't need another $60 motion sensor, and have been waiting for cheap. Nuttin' so far, so I threw in the towel and bought some of the Lowes Iris Zigbee motion sensors. (I've been trying to avoid Zigbee.)

I was distressed to find that these didn't have a 'flat' at the correct angle to capture motion in only the bath/shower area. I really needed the ball and socket that came with the ZWave Motion sensors and I found Thingiverse and Treatstock and this:

I don't have a 3D printer, but via Treatstock got 3 sets of them printed for me for $12.16 all in. I requested them printed at 50% scale and they seem like they'll be fantastic.

I gorilla glued the socket piece to the Motion sensor and put a Command strip on the ball piece and Bob's your Uncle.

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13 Likes
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Nice!

Don't feer zigbee...
I have at least 20 of these, and as long as you have enough repeaters for them, they are a bargain and keep working, and not horiffic to look at.

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I also take them apart, put a tube over the sensor, then mount them under handrails, instant pet proofing for stairways.

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Not so much Fear of Zigbee but the technical elements of interference from WiFi and more than anything, a desire to focus on one technology so that I can get that "right."

Because I have one Zigbee now, and will surely need a repeater, I'm not convinced I saved vs the $60 ZWave :smiley:

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Dang you. The wife just asked why I hadnt 3D printed something in a while. I’m printing these now.

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They turned out great.. Pretty cool stuff..

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I like that both pieces have center thru holes as well. I have one Zwave Motion sensor outside under the eves and it's great, but Command is not the perfect choice for long term. :smiley: I screwed it up there the first time it fell off. The center hole would have worked out better for me and the device's location.

How long did it take to print and cost? The $12 I paid is broken down to: $6.70 for printing, shipping $3.27. There's a transaction fee and a Tip of $2.19

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I'm going to print some later at 100% scale. I have a couple of z-wave sensors as well. I have one small Zigbee sensor in the hall way. I will probably use the gorilla mounting tape.. Lol

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I decided against 100% because the "how far it sticks out from the wall" dimension increases too.

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I'd love a bunch of these, but don't have a 3D printer but has a friend that does. Where can I get the code to input in a 3D Printer to print these? Thank you.

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The code is at this link.

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I use a motion sensor to turn ON the lights and not to turn it off. I have a door sensor on the bathroom as well.

If motion is active and lights are off - turn on lights
If motion is inactive for 1 minute and door is OPEN - turn OFF lights

Lights only go off when there's NO motion AND the door is OPEN. Now is somebody is just standing around perfectly still in the bathroom with the door open they have other issues.

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That's an appt description of my kids brushing their teeth...

3 Likes
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I tweaked another person's design and made this. It turned out OK. I'm going to use it to mount some sensors in the corner of my garage doors where they are semi-protected from the elements.

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Any chance you could post a pick. Pretty sure I get the tube bit. Can’t really picture how you’re mounting them though.

`

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Here is an old post of Mikes on the ST community with pictures:

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I played around with this idea and found that insulated terminal spades work great. It's pretty easy to pull the connector out of the plastic and they come pretty cheap. The large end of the plastic connector just fits on the sensor. You might need a very slight bit of adhesive to hold it on if it's prone to vibrations.

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6 Likes
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I wonder if this would work the other way to detect a dumb dog waiting at the back door. I could mount it behind the decking steps and drill through a hole to detect. Lazy thing lays on the top step and doesn’t bark.

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I just purchased a magnetic ball and "socket" from a company called bulbhead.com
They call it "FastBall" it works very well. Its easy to adjust, very strong and pretty low profile. The black strips on the silver magnetic ball are resilient material aiding to keep the top part in position.

I would prefer it to be 1/2 the height but its fine for my Iris V3 motion sensor.
Cost $10

I will be removing the 3M VHB "don't want to move it again ever" sticky and replacing it with Command strips. And I'll paint the black base white.

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Let me know how the painting goes.

I like the 3D printed ball and socket, but over a long time the 'roughness' that increases the friction does 'self sand' away.

1 Like