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LaundrEsp

Using Thinger.io and an ESP-12e with a LDR, we are notified when the washing machine has stopped.

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We have two problems. Our memory, and our washing machine is a picky machine. We often forget when washing a load is done as we don't hear the audible beep. The washing machine will stop midway through a cycle if the load is uneven. We have had issues for a few years trying to balance it, level it, and trying different size loads, but we still have an issue.

What usually ends up happening is that a load finished fully, or it stops uneven, and we don't hear the beeps leaving a really soggy pile of wet laundry. We often have to re-wash the load completely resulting in a waste of water/power/detergent. I built this little esp8266 assembly to email us when the machine has stopped.

Step 1) Sign up to Thinger.io to create an account. https://hackaday.io/project/6329-open-source-iot-platform-thingerio


Step 2) Once you've activated your thinger.io account, login and proceed to the Devices section in your console and click add a device.

Enter a name for your device in the Device Id section. Enter a description for the device in the description section. Enter the desired credentials in the credentials section. I used the random generator for my project.

Step 3) Click Endpoints to proceed to the endpoint section. Add endpoint. Add an endpoint to your thinger.io account

Enter a name for your endpoint in the Endpoint Identifier section. Enter a description for the endpoint in the description section. Choose Email for endpoint type to send an email when this endpoint is called out in your program. Enter the desired email address, subject and body for the email you wish to send.

Step 4) Build your ESP8266 Prototype Sensor.

You can use whichever dev board you desire that can be flashed using the Arduino IDE. I had some breadboard adapter boards from Baoshi as shown here: https://hackaday.io/project/4202-esp8266-esp-0712-breakout-board

I built the board (this was my first time ever soldering SMD components) and used a mini breadboard as the prototype for this project.

I used this tutorial as a starting point for setting up the sensor: https://community.thinger.io/t/esp8266-analog-read/37

The LDR is connected to the VCC and A0 pins on my ESP-12E. There is a 10k resistor between the LDR and A0 Pin connected to ground. I

I used a micro usb breakout board to power the sensor module. The Baoshi board accepts 5v which make it great for connecting to a standard usb plug adapter.

Step 5) Using the Laundresp.ino file provide below, and your wifi and thinger credentials, flash the esp module.

Step 6) Mount the LDR to a location that has an LED which turns on when a load is started, and turns off when the machine stops. For my machine, there's a single red light that indicates the laundry machine cover/door is locked. It turns on when a cycle starts and turns off when it stops.

Tape around the LDR to prevent additional light from setting it off. Power the board and test the washing machine to see if you are successful.

Depending on the LDR and the light levels emitted from the LED you may need to adjust the analog input thresholds in the Arduino code. You can view the analog output in the device api in your thinger console.

Step 7) If you are happy with how everything is working, you can order the PCB's (.brd files are provided in this project), build the board, and print an enclosure as I have done. This has been running very well for months now.

LaundrEspV2.2.brd

I'm not an electrical engineer. Use at your own risk.

brd - 48.35 kB - 06/27/2016 at 03:08

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LaundrEspV2.2.sch

I'm not an electrical engineer. Use at your own risk.

sch - 320.85 kB - 06/27/2016 at 03:08

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laundresp_top.stl

Enclosure Top: May require some trimming on the legs

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 3.01 kB - 06/27/2016 at 03:04

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laundresp_main.stl

Enclosure Body

Standard Tesselated Geometry - 4.77 kB - 06/27/2016 at 03:04

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ino - 1.25 kB - 03/29/2016 at 16:45

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  • Final Iteration?

    Mark Kuhlmann06/27/2016 at 02:44 0 comments

    I finally got around to designing and printing a little enclosure for my LaundrEsp. Everything seems to be working great so far, I'm pretty excited.


  • Prototype & Hacakday Article

    Mark Kuhlmann06/25/2016 at 19:54 0 comments

    Looks like Hackaday picked up the LaundEsp from my Instructable: http://hackaday.com/2016/06/24/how-to-keep-an-unruly-dryer-in-line/

    Some interesting comments following the article haha.

    I'd also like to say that the I finally installed the latest version of the LaundrEsp and it works really well. So far its reporting exactly as before. I really do need an enclosure though :)

  • Prototype Built Up

    Mark Kuhlmann05/27/2016 at 03:52 0 comments

    i just got a 3d printer so I've been a little distracted lately but I did find some time to build one of the boards last night.

    I'll test it shortly and then design a small 3d printed enclosure for it.

  • Design Change: Smaller board with a connector

    Mark Kuhlmann04/21/2016 at 20:26 0 comments

    I started getting more confident with my design abilities and decided to make the PCB even smaller. It will be less than 1 sq. inch and it will use a 2 pin JST connector to connect the LDR cable I've made. I've already made an order to @oshpark. Experimenting is fun. I hope it works!

  • Prototype boards arrived

    Mark Kuhlmann04/16/2016 at 21:00 0 comments

    I'm excited to get these up and running. I'm hoping to make some progress this weekend.

  • LaundrEsp - From prototype to something more permanent.

    Mark Kuhlmann04/04/2016 at 20:05 0 comments

    I keep getting text messages from my wife that the laundry notifications are working great. She is really finding it helpful. With it going well I decided to take a stab at making it more permanent.

    I've never designed a PCB so I took a few hours the other night to try and learn how to use Eagle. This is what I came up with.

    I ordered 3 of them from Oshpark and they should be here maybe next week. Here's hoping I did ok. If not, I won't mind taking another stab at it.

    At the end of the day this probably isn't any cheaper than say using a Wemos D1 Mini from AliExpress, but it's a fun exercise in learning, and that's what I'm here to do.

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