Create a smart gas stove?

Lounge
#1

This morning I decided I was going to hard boil some eggs for later, so I put the eggs and water on the stove, got it boiling, and set the microwave timer. I went back into my home office (just off the kitchen) and promptly forgot about the eggs. We all like to claim that "the alarm didn't go off," but I'm sure in this case I just missed it, with nasty results:

The water boiled off completely, and my hardboiled eggs began to fry. Eventually, my attention was drawn back to the kitchen by the sound of the eggsplosion(s) in the next room. In rapid succession all three eggs re-decorated my kitchen in burned, bad-smelling egg remnants.

Now, I've never been this absent-minded before, but that's no reason not to automate my way out of any potential for future mishaps like this. Does anyone have advice for automating a gas stove? I'm thinking of a simple countdown timer tied to a valve that will cut off the gas line to a burner. Add security features so the line can't be opened remotely (requires a manual button push in the vicinity of the stove, for example), and I think I'll feel much better about walking away from future cooking.

Other ideas welcome...

3 Likes
#2

As you get older, senior moments happen more often.

You might want to look at the Jenn-Air gas range tops to give you some ideas:

Ours is just a bit older than the ones with connectivity.

1 Like
#3

Those look sweet! Pricy, tho...

#4

Something about smart and gas sounds scary.

3 Likes
#5

Ours is a very nice range (JGRP436WP01), came with the house when we moved in 18 months ago. It was built by a builder for himself, very nice high-end automation throughout, but nothing worked. He gave up, disgusted, and sold it, essentially never lived in. Fortunately, with my background, I was able to get it all working.

I agree with you that they are pricey, but they can be obtained on eBay for much less. I got a gas professional to do all the gas work; explosions make me nervous.

#6

Agreed. I'm perfectly happy to tinker with my electrical, but I have no business playing with gas lines.

#7

I have been thinking about this. My wife wanted to switch to gas so I just installed a gas cook top a couple of weeks ago. I don't have any way to shut off the gas, but I think I may setup a temp sensor over the stove so I can setup announcements through Alexa that the cook top is on.

I have bought a gas sensor, I wanted a zigbee or Z-wave sensor but they are a bit harder to come by. There is a Chinese version that I can still get on Ebay, as it looks like Amazon no longer has them in stock, I am just not sure how good they are. So I am still researching those.

2 Likes
#8

I like this idea. If you do come across a z-wave or Zigbee gas sensor let me know... that could work, too.

#9

Here's a simple timer that might help. I use it on a tablet dashboard so it's easy to get at...

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#10

Sorry to hear. My wife did the exact thing many years ago, we had no idea eggs explode but lesson learned. The explosion was so crazy we had stains on our 9 foot ceilings above.

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#11

This sounds like a recipe for disaster. Hub freezer up, gas keeps leaking and boom. Just get yourself a smart assistant in the room and set a timer. Or stay in the kitchen like normal people do around gas and fire :joy:

2 Likes
#12

Great suggestion, thanks!

#13

I am not really much for hardboiled eggs, but lots of knowledgeable cooks suggest bringing to a boil, and shut the burner off and just let them sit 10-12 minutes in the hot water. That would seem to be a much safer method, IF you are patient enough to wait for the initial boil.

Totally unrelated, that is also the best way I have found to cook sweet corn, on the stove at least. Grilling is better IMO, but you can't always do this.

Back on topic, I think there are lots of safety issues with automating a gas appliance. I am unsure if you will be able to find a gas rated ball valve that is spring loaded to close when power is removed, or a solenoid valve that is gas rated. Probably out there, but IMO that is not stuff the common homeowner probably should spec out.

But the bigger issue is how would you trigger this? Heat? Time? Smoke? And would those be reliable enough or sensitive enough to start the automation?

And would you really want a hub that can fail (no matter how good it is) and rules that aren't 100% perfect controlling this? Look at all the threads with rules that stop working after months of working fine. Or Motion Lighting that suddenly doesn't turn the light off for some weird reason.

I think that a dedicated controller built into the stove with redundant safety devices would be acceptable, but a home automation hub is not that type of device.

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#14

There are "smart" ranges that have the oven component automated (see @672southmain 's post, above), so it's doable. I'm no gas expert, though, so I'm never going to pursue the idea without a definitive "how to" published by a reputable DIY source.

I'd opt for something more local than hub control... a physical timer that's set locally and closes the valve when it reaches 0, and either the timer or valve sends a contact-sensor type notification to the hub when the valve is closed. I can trigger alerts off of this, but no centrally-administered automation of the valve is involved. I agree, can't trust a hub with something like this.

Probably the easiest solution, yet!

#15

this goes beyond just eggs. and gas.

my mom had an electric stove. left a pot boiling a bone for the dogs..
forgot.. melted the pot.. lite it on fire. and killed the stove and major smoke damage to the kitchen.

#16

Sous Vide...with Bluetooth

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#17

Never heard of this and had to look it up... that looks really interesting. Another toy to add to the Christmas shopping list.

#18

I absolutely love mine...a few years after I got it and I still use it all the time. It makes an amazing steak easily...without ever cooking it wrong. It will always come out perfect. Hard boiled eggs again the timeframe and timing isn't important. You'll love it!