How would I automate a dishwasher to tell me when it's done. I was awesome thinking about putting a water sensor underneath my dishwasher since it leaks at the moment. I just need to order a GE pulley rope or rub one from a defective dishwasher non-working or damaged but not able to find a free dishwasher at the moment.
Monitor power.
I use a power plug measuring the electrical consumption.
When it goes above a set value I know it’s started. I then wait for the consumption to go below (and stays that way for a while).
When that happens, I know it’s ready and sends a push to the kids that it’s time to unload the dishwasher.
What plug would you guys recommend I had a TP-Link plug that burnt up when I last tried it at my previous location
I use the Fibaro Z Wave outlets where I need power monitoring and use one for my Washing Machine so we know when the cycle has finished. The rule took a bit of tweaking with me monitoring how much power it used when the display panel is live but the cycle hasn't started etc. Your region will dictate what's available that will work (for instance I'm in UK so can get Fibaro but not Zooz)
What are the electrical specifications of your dishwasher?
Assuming it meets that appliance's specs to begin with, the only plug I would use with a larger appliance (dishwasher, fridge, washer, etc) is a Zen15.
Some other plug with a smaller form factor might work too, but the Z15 is tried-&-true, very customizable, and well-supported on Hubitat thanks to Jeff's excellent driver.
If the dishwasher is hardwired you could also consider a Shelly pm.
I’m using a standard (SENCKIT) Tuya 16A regular power plug.
FWIW, I had purchased a few of these back when I solely used Home Assistant. So far, they've held up to monitoring a Samsung washer, GE profile kitchen appliances (fridge/microwave/dishwasher), and a Costco garbage disposal.
My plan (from way back when) was to replace them with Zen15 plugs, but never got around to doing it - there were always other things to spend automation money on
Hah! Harder than it seems. I had (have) a dishwasher that was randomly leaking; not a major amount, and (since I have a tile floor) hard to detect always because the small amount (sometimes half a cup or less) would often evaporate overnight.
Then I put a water sensor underneath; tight and low quarters under the machine as you know.. but the water would find different ways to drip down... and always find some grout channel that took the water right around the sensor...
Finally I got a paint roller pan liner tray (soft plastic) and cut that down to make a really shallow pan that covered a big area, and dropped the sensor in that. Bang, leak detected.
The leak... I eventually found is from a WTF design of the dishwasher float sensor (that detects a clogged drain or failed pump to cut the water off. That float sensor rides up and down on a metal rod piston that ("$%^^$#) protrudes down through a hole in the bottom of the dishwasher, sealed (only) with a rubber gasket.As that float is going up and down, particles /food/gunk can collect on the rod and they get pushed and compacted until they (depending on the float position) start to interfere with the gasket seal... water leaks for an indeterminate amount and then stops as the pump empties and the float drops. The position and motion of the rod also helped distribute the dripping water to various different parts of the underside of the machine. So made initial detection of the source hard.
Took that float assembly out, cleaned it all up, put it back... no more leak. .. until next accumulation...