I thought that I could come up with a simple solution for having some indication of when my 220 Volt dryer is done, but I am finding it difficult:
I tried an Alexa Routine but my dryer doesn't beep it instead plays a tune so this does not work
I looked for a EM Plug that would indicate power but cannot find one that is 220V. I wanted one that plugs into the wall and then the dryer plugs into that... much like I have for 120V appliances.
I do not mind using an induction clamp for monitoring current flow thru a wire. But this requires a means of having one of the 120V legs which I would further have to split to neutral and hot. I saw a 120V adapter that splits out hot an neutral so you can use the clamp but cannot find one for 220V.
I thought maybe a vibration sensor would work but I am not sure the sensor would have the sensitivity needed for detecting these small vibrations. This dryer does not move much when it runs but maybe I could find a sensor that would do it.
I could monitor sound if I close the laundry door to exclude other sounds. This dryer is pretty quiet but I probably could find something. Any recommendations... or is this the way to go?
I can confirm that this works well. I suggest buying a second 220 dryer cord and chopping it in half. Pair it with an Alexa routine. "The dryer is done."
Think of an EM sensor to place on one leg of the dryer circuit inside the load center (fuse box)?
Or even on a conductor inside the receptacle box in the laundry. Maybe they used a plastic box there and so it won't be a problem. Won't have to break out any wires from a cord.
I recall whole house load analyzer devices which places the sensors around the mains in the load center and transmits from an antenna mounted to the outside. Maybe there are similar devices for just one circuit.
I use a HomeSeer HS-FS100-L Z-Wave Dual Sensor & Buzzer light Sensor
I used a piece of painters tape and taped the sensor on the dryer light display. The timer count down. When the dryer light goes off Alexa announces the dryer cycle is complete.
I didn't downsize, but got a LG Combo that runs on 120v.
Haven't done any automations with it, (it has WiFi), but I have plugged it into a Zooz ZEN15 to check out power usage.
Rule machine for me. Dryer exceeds x watts to trigger. Near zero depending on the dryer for more than x seconds to turn on a momentary virtual switch exposed to Alexa for a voice routine announcement.
The ST multisensor works for my doorbell sensing "Ding Dong" so pretty sensitive.
You could also use a temp sensor somewhere. There will be a delay with such a mass but it will drop to ambient and trigger a rule or piston.
I guess if you're a "Fluff" fan it's not going to work.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I appreciate the info and came up with a unique idea (I think) and wanted to share it. What I have done is use the accelerometer in My iPhone. I found an app named phyphox (Free) whose intent is to supply data from the various sensors in the phone for experimenting. This program can be used locally on the phone or can create csv data files and also communicate the data via Bluetooth and http. I then found the source code to a Python program for the PC in which it grabs the data from this app and just displays it. So I added some code that when the total (Vector sum of X, Y, Z) accelerations went below a certain threshold for 5 seconds it would Email Ifttt and have it ring my wife's phone and tell her the dryer has stopped. Works pretty good but found out soon that when the phones screen protection comes on the program stops. So I changed a setting when in use to stay focused. Of course her phone keeps getting called until she ends the program so I had to do a little tweak for that... etc.
I have seen lots of people use this clamp based sensing but, of course, you need a hot wire to clamp onto. I only have that at the breaker box. I found for 120V circuits a converter device that breaks out the wires for a clamp and then you can plug your appliance into that converter. Have not seen anything like that for 220V. Where do you put your clamp?