If the usage doesn't change, won't a refresh--which pulls the latest value--just get the same value as the previous report? I'm not sure I see how this would help. But it's also not clear how you have your automation set up. Here is a rule I wrote a while back that works for me:
You will have to adjust the power (watt) values according to what your machine uses and your plug reports, and you'll possibly have to adjust the timeout depending on the length of fill cycles and whatnot (mine is pretty fast--and never really stops for too long, even when filling, as I think a lot of frontloaders don't), but that's the general idea.
Some people also use apps like the one you mentioned. I haven't, so I can't compare.
If neither of these approaches work for you, more information may be helpful to figure out why. Right now, it only seems like the waiting for elapsed time is the problem, with a rule can help with, as demonstrated in the post I linked to above. I'd be shocked if a custom app designed for this didn't have a way to account for that, too, though.
