Thermo-electrical ventilators are typically small, fan-like devices that are placed on the surface of a fireplace or oven. They work by harnessing the heat generated by the fireplace or oven and converting it into electrical energy, which in turn powers the fan to circulate air around the room. The aim of this process is to improve the distribution of heat, making the room feel warmer and more comfortable without the need of an external power source.

To test the effectiveness of thermo-electrical ventilators, we conducted a series of experiments using one fireplaces – once with a thermo-electrical ventilator and once without one. We used a thermometer to measure the temperature at various points around the room and timed how long it took for the room to reach a comfortable temperature of 20°C.

For our test we used two fireplace ventilators from manufacturer Boiphek *, which we could integrate into our oven, as they are only 19cm high.

Ofenventilator mit 5 Flügeln, Kaminventilator Ohne Strom Geräuscharmer Betrieb, Hitze Powered Kamin Ventilator, Ofen Ventilator...*

• ✨【Upgrades 5 Blättern Kaminventilatorsr】 Der 5 Blättern Heißluft ofenlüfter kann mehr warme Luft erzeugen und die...
• ✨【Energiesparen Ventilator】 Keine Batterie oder Strom erforderlich. Es wird durch die vom Kamin oder Kaminofen erzeugte Wärme...

Amazon

In our first test, we used our traditional wood-burning fireplace without a thermo-electrical ventilator. It took approximately 60 minutes for the room to reach the desired temperature, and the temperature was not evenly distributed throughout the room. Some areas of the room were noticeably cooler than others, indicating poor heat distribution.

In our second test, we used the same fireplace but this time with a thermo-electrical ventilator attached. The results were impressive – the room reached the desired temperature in just 45 minutes, a full 15 minutes faster than without the ventilator. You can even feel a slight wind from the ventilators. Furthermore, the temperature was evenly distributed throughout the room, making it feel much warmer and more comfortable.

In conclusion, our tests have shown that thermo-electrical ventilators can significantly improve the efficiency of fireplaces and ovens especially in smaller rooms. By increasing air circulation, they improve heat distribution and help to heat up a room faster. If you have a fireplace or oven in your home, investing in a thermo-electrical ventilator could be a worthwhile purchase to improve the comfort and warmth of your living space.

If you want to heat up larger rooms with more volume, you will feel the benefits in the nearer area around your fireplace, but do not expect the fans to reach the last corners of very large rooms. The harvested thermo-electrical energy is not high enough to power the fans in such a way that a very strong airflow will blow through a large living room, even if it helps to warm up the air a little faster.

* All links marked with an asterisk are Amazon affiliate links. We receive a percentage of purchases made through them. Nevertheless, our recommendations are honest and sincere.

Der Beitrag Test: Do thermo-electric fireplace fans really work? erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

The electrical component that is connected to the circuit board of a rotary control is called a potentiometer (or poti for short). Over time, moisture, abrasion and other influences can cause oxidation to form on the components, which then leads to values no longer being able to be set accurately, or to scratching when operating the potentiometers on hi-fi equipment, for example on volume controls. Perhaps you have observed something like this before.

Lösen kann man das Problem oft durch ein Kontaktspray. Ich benutze immer “Kontakt 60” aus der Sprühdose *. Dieser Reiniger ist unbedenklich für elektrische Platinen und oxidlösend. Dieses Zeug braucht ihr.

The problem can often be solved with a contact spray. I always use “Kontakt 60” from the spray can *. This cleaner is safe for electrical circuit boards and dissolves oxide. You need this stuff.

Kontaktreiniger Universal 100 ml, KONTAKT 60 ist ein oxidlösender Kontaktreiniger mit (973977013314)*

• K60-100ML
• Kontakt 60 starker oxydlös. Kontaktreiniger 100ml

9,79 EUR

Amazon

But how do we get the noble juice to our knobs? Relatively simple: We remove our controller from the heater, unscrew it, take out the circuit board and then spray some contact spray into the potentiometers. But step by step. However, there are two crunch points (if you are not careful in the truest sense of the word) when disassembling and reassembling the controller. I will mark these for you in the following (YELLOW).

We remove the controller from the heater and (ATTENTION) turn both temperature regulators to the far right. Then we pull the regulators forward out of the controller. On the back of the controller housing there are small lugs that we can press in with a screwdriver to open the housing.

We can now see the circuit board. The circuit board has two levels. We loosen all the small screws with which the boards are screwed into the housing and then carefully pull out the first board so that the board with the display remains in the housing. On the front we now see the potentiometers.

We give a short spray (like nasal spray) from below into the holes of the potentiometers. Then we put everything back together:

(CAUTION) When we put the control board back on the display board, we have to be careful not to break the fine contacts of the large, wide connector. This requires a delicate touch. Then screw both boards back on.

Now we close the case again by pressing the back with the lugs back into the front of the controller.

Now we put the knobs back into the controller from the front. (ATTENTION) We had turned them all the way to the right, so put them back in with the pointer position all the way to the right.

Now comes the most important part. You now move each cleaned knob back and forth several times (about 20 times – but more is better) so that any oxidation and abrasion in the potentiometer planes away.

This will most likely solve your problem. If that doesn’t save your potis because they are already too dirty, you can simply desolder them and replace them with new ones. But as a rule, contact spray should be enough.

Der Beitrag Temperature controller on Viessmann Trimatic jumps between values erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Micro-Drip vs. classic hose distribution – So much choice

A problem in planning is the multitude of available systems and the fact that the manufacturers themselves often do not explain properly which system has to be used for what and which parts are mandatory or only optional.

At first I wasn’t sure whether I should install a Gardena Micro-Drip system, for example, or rather a classic Perl hose.

Both systems require a central irrigation computer that delivers water to the downstream irrigation system according to a programmed schedule. With the Micro-Drip system, however, this is followed by a pressure reducer, which reduces the water pressure to such an extent that the downstream pipe system can deliver the water drop by drop to the downstream, thin pipe system. With this Micro-Drip pipe system, I can position the nozzles flexibly and thus deliver water to individual plants. Potted plants can also be watered in this way.

With the classic model, I also use the watering computer, but save the pressure reducer. The supply hose is connected directly to the Perl hose with a coupling. In contrast to the Microdrip system, the Perl hose delivers water evenly along its entire length. This is ideal for my densely planted raised beds and elongated flower beds, which is why I decided against the Microdrip system and in favour of the classic Perl hose.

The brain of irrigation: The Gardena Master Irrigation Computer

Let’s move on to the watering computer. I decided to use the Gardena Master watering computer (*). It allows me to create 6 different watering schedules. Setting up and operating the computer is quick and intuitive. After entering the day of the week and time, I can create the first watering schedule. I select a start time and the duration of the watering. I also specify the days of the week on which this schedule is to be carried out.

After configuration, I insert the removable control panel into the computer installed on the tap.

Special offer

Gardena Bewässerungssteuerung Master: Automatische und zeitsparende Bewässerung, 6 Zeitpläne, LCD-Display, Water Now-Funktion,...*

• Eine längere Haltbarkeit
• Inspiriert von harter Arbeit

−66,00 EUR 48,99 EUR

Amazon

Bringing water to the flowers with the bead hose

First of all, I lay the supply line to the flower bed and use a normal garden hose for this. I now connect the Gardena bead perl hose (*) to the supply line with a coupling.

To ensure that the hose is laid reliably and does not slip later, I use regular pegs from camping accessories. I use these to fix the hose in the flower bed.

Special offer

Gardena Perl-Regner: Wassersparender Schlauch-Regner für Bewässerung von Pflanzenreihen & Beeten, spart bis 70 Prozent...*

• Wassersparende Bewässerung: Zur gezielten, sparsamen Bewässerung von Beeten und Pflanzenreihen, Sie erreichen damit eine...
• Anschlussfertig und kompatibel: Der Perl-Regner ist mit allen Anschlussarmaturen ausgestattet und sofort einsatzbereit

−9,09 EUR 34,90 EUR

Amazon

The bead hose can be shortened at any time without major problems. To do this, I simply cut the tube cleanly at the desired end point with the string cutter. I remove the end plug from the rest and insert it with brute force into the end I cut. Since I don’t trust the material, I put on a hose clamp so that the plug doesn’t come loose at some point.

Watering schedules: how much water, for how long?

I have approached the watering schedules as follows:

I used to water the flower bed shown in this video two watering cans of 10 litres a day. So now, with the irrigation system, I also have to supply about 20 litres per day to the flower bed. Since the flow rate varies depending on the local water pressure, the type of installation and the length of the hose, I also got a water meter from Gardena (*) and used it to see how many litres of water are effectively used in one minute at my system.

I then created my watering schedules depending on this and distributed the required minutes between 8:00 in the morning and 20:00 in the evening.

Gardena Wassermengenzähler: Praktischer Wasserzähler zur Anbringung am Wasserhahn oder Verbrauchsgerät, zur Kontrolle des...*

• Kontrollierte Bewässerung: Der Wasserzähler misst den Wasserdurchfluss und ermöglicht so eine bedarfsgerechte Bewässerung des...
• Sofort einsatzbereit: Der GARDENA Water Smart Flow Meter ist batteriebetrieben und kann an einen Wasserhahn, Schlauchanschlussadapter...

38,20 EUR

Amazon

The irrigation has been doing a lot of work for me for 5 weeks now and the flowers are still doing well. For me, it’s a well-rounded solution.

Ihre Daten werden erst beim Abspielen des Youtube-Videos an den Dienst übermittelt. Your data will only be transmitted to the service when you play the Youtube video.

* All links marked with an asterisk are Amazon affiliate links. We receive a percentage of the purchases made through them. Our recommendations are nevertheless honest and sincere.

Der Beitrag Smart irrigation – automated garden plant watering erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

What do you need a smart water valve for?

There are applications in which it makes sense to be able to control the flow of a water pipe remotely. I myself have such a use case on the terrace: in our garage there is a vacuum-controlled water pump that pumps the collected rainwater from the cistern. We then use this water for watering the garden. On our terrace we have a water tap that is connected to the pump by means of a hose. If we turn on the tap on the terrace, a vacuum is created and the pump pumps. The problem is that the pump would also pump if a hose were to come loose somewhere at night or even burst. Then the pump would pump the contents of the cistern to who knows where and possibly cause water damage. That’s why I turn off the stopcock in the garage every evening. Just to be on the safe side. How cool would it be if you could do that remotely without having to run into the garage every time, right?

But there are other applications where such a smart valve makes sense:

• Switching off the water supply during a holiday
• Automatic detection of leaks with the help of a water sensor on the floor
• Detection of unusually high water withdrawal in the event of a burst pipe
• Closing of a pipe in case of danger of frost
• Measuring the flow rate for statistics
• Remote control of the water tap for lazy people like me

Different models and their advantages

There are actually several smart water valves. However, you have to be careful that you don’t accidentally choose a valve that is actually only intended for controlling the watering of flowers and is already overtaxed with the high water pressure of a normal water pipe.

The small battery-operated valves are the cheapest. There is a model (I won’t name it) that can be integrated into Apple Homekit, for example. This device originally cost €150. Then it received a huge pile of extremely bad reviews, so that you can now buy the device for around 35€. Due to a lack of power and build quality, this device tends to stay in the “open” position and can no longer be closed. It’s bad when you’re on holiday for a few weeks and your house is being filled with water.

This negative example teaches us the following three lessons:

• Do not rely on batteries for water valves
• Do not rely on cheap plastic parts for water valves that fail under high water pressure.
• If you buy cheap, you buy twice and water damage is expensive.

Which smart valve is recommended?

We find a professional valve with the “Grohe Sense Guard” *. The metal connection threads show that this is a completely different league from the plastic versions. The device is supplied with power via an external power supply unit and can be controlled remotely via an app using Wi-Fi, but it can do much more:

• Detects burst pipes, leaks and unusually high water consumption 
• Shut-off function to prevent water damage 
• Detection of flow rate and water pressure
• Measurement of system temperature to detect danger of frost
• Possibility to connect floor water sensors * for shut-off in case of liquid contact of the sensor

GROHE Sense, Smart Home Wassermelder (intelligenter Sensor für frühzeitige Leckerkennung, App-Benachrichtigung, Schutz vor...*

• Für Wireless LAN, Netzanschluss 230 V
• Für Einfamilienhäuser

Amazon

There are three minor points of criticism of the device:

The part is actually quite expensive. On the other hand, what good is a cheap device that doesn’t work and then causes a lot of water damage?

The frost protection function is useless, at least in my application. Just because the unit detects frost temperatures and could then close the valve, I still have water in the pipe outside. Without a drain function, I don’t understand the point of this function.

Much more annoying for me is this point: the device only works with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. I’m still dreaming of a world in which I’ll be able to turn off the 2.4GHz in my home network and use the 5GHz network everywhere. Unfortunately, there are always manufacturers who do not implement 5GHz functions even in 2022. There would still be a need for optimisation here in a version 2. By the way, it would be even smarter if the device could be integrated into Apple Homekit, for example. But that is probably a bit too much to ask.

I didn’t want to hide these small points of criticism, maybe Grohe will listen to me. Nevertheless, the “Grohe Sense Guard” * is the best and most reliable solution for my application so far. I now save myself the daily walk to the garage and the opening and closing of the door when turning the main tap open or closed. Charming for me is also the counting of the flow rate. I’m already curious to find out how many litres of rainwater we actually use over the year. Doesn’t do me any good, but it’s just interesting and triggers my nerd heart.

* All links marked with an asterisk are Amazon affiliate links. We receive a percentage of the purchases made through them. Our recommendations are nevertheless honest and sincere.

Der Beitrag Remotely control a smart water valve erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

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In my experience, the first device that finds cables and pipes really reliable and accurate in the wall. I have used various cheap cable finders in the past and the result was usually very mediocre. It is different with the Bosch D-Tect 120 (Amazon Affiliate Link). This finds really comfortable lines and pipes in walls.

Bosch Professional Ortungsgerät D-tect 120 (4 x AA Batterien, max. Ortungstiefe für...*

• PATENTIERTE BOSCH RADARTECHNOLOGIE: Zum Auffinden aller Arten von Objekten wie z.B. spannungsführenden Leitungen, wassergefüllten...
• SPOTMESSUNG: Liefert sofort Ergebnisse, selbst wenn nur wenig oder gar kein Platz zum Bewegen des Ortungsgeräts vorhanden ist

285,02 EUR

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Der Beitrag A cable finder that really works: Bosch D-Tect 120 erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Anyone who wants to use the HomePod to open security-relevant actuators and devices such as doors or gates will find that Siri requires verification on the iPhone before performing the action. Closing these devices, on the other hand, always works flawlessly.

In my case, I wanted to have the garage door opened via voice command to the HomePod. Siri then replied to me from the HomePod “To do this, you need to log in on your iPhone.” On the iPhone screen, I got a pop-up saying “Someone wants to control secured devices”.

I first searched the Home app for a setting option that would allow me to turn off this security prompt for my garage door. Unfortunately, to no avail.

The reason for this is a security precaution of Apple. Apple wants to avoid that burglars, who are in the house, can open other parts of the building with their voice and a HomePod. And that is also logical. At the same time, this explains why an uncritical close command is possible at any time.

With the Apple Watch, for example, there is no such feature. I can open the garage door directly with a voice command. However, the watch also ensures that I am currently wearing it via the heart rate monitor. If the watch were taken from me, it would lock itself – until I entered the PIN.

The HomePod does not support voice recognition and therefore requires verification on the iPhone via FaceID or TouchID.

If you command Siri to open a gate via CarPlay, for example, you will also succeed. In the end, that’s all that matters to me, because I want to open the garage door on the drive home.

Der Beitrag Opening doors and gates via HomePod: “You have to log in on your iPhone ” – “Someone wants to control security devices”. erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

It took me a little time to finally find the right settings for the Homematic module HMIP-MOD-HO (Amazon Affiliate Link) in Yahka. Finally, the garage door control now works via Apple’s Home app and Siri.

Once the device is set up in the Yahka adapter, we focus on the CurrentDoorState -> DOOR_STATE and TargetDoorState -> DOOR_COMMAND data points.

Settings for CurrentDoorState

InOut: ioBroker.State
State: hm-rpc.X.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1.DOOR_STATE
Conversion: map
0 -> is simple value 1
1 -> is simple value 0
2 -> is simple value 2
3 -> is simple value 3

Settings for TargetDoorState

InOut: ioBroker.State
State: hm-rpc.X.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.1.DOOR_COMMAND
Conversion: map
1 -> 0 (don’t check “is simple value”)
3 -> 1 (don’t check “is simple value”)

Der Beitrag Configure Homematic module HmIP-MOD-HO in Yahka for Apple Homekit erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

The HmIP-MOD-HO module (Amazon Affiliate Link) can be connected out-of-the-box to various Hörmann garage door operators and can then be stored directly in the housing of the Hörmann operator. The connection is made via the existing BUS interface in the drive. Insert the cable, teach the device to the CCU, and you’re done.

The module HmIP-MOD-HO (Amazon Affiliate Link) then supports the functions open, close, stop and also the approach of a ventilation position. Of course, the module reports the current status of the gate, so you no longer have to use a signaling contact to query the status.

Link: With this tutorial the module can be controlled via ioBroker and Yahka adapter also via Apple’s Homekit.

Supported Hörmann drives:

– SupraMatic series 3 E/P/HT beginning from Index Ci
– RotaMatic/P/PL series 1 since09/2010) and series 2
– LineaMatic/H/P series 1 (since 10/2009) and series 2
– SupraMatic/ProMatic series 4 (HCP-Adapter required, Hörmann-Item-Nr. 4510204)
– VersaMatic/P
– WA300 S4
– WA300 RS4/WA 300 AR S4

Presentation of HmIP-MOD-HO module in video:

In this video you can get an impression of the new garage door module.

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Der Beitrag Controlling Hörmann garage door drives with integrable Homematic module erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

To remove the coupling completely, we dial in as root user at the CCU using a SFTP client. Here we delete the directory /usr/local/etc/config/eshlight.

It is important that we restart the CCU now. After that, there should be no more traces of a former pairing with a Hue Bridge in the system and the log entries should be a thing of the past.

You are now one step closer to a tidy CCU.

Der Beitrag Homematic CCU HUE Log: „Please configure a valid user or remove user from configuration to generate a new one“ erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

In the analysis, I found that the adapter always failed between 22:00 and 23:00. However, there were no entries in the log, even with Verbose setting. After restarting the Yahka adapter, everything worked as usual again – until the next crash.

I had moved my ioBroker installation including the Yahka adapter from the Raspberry Pi to a Docker container on the Synology NAS a few weeks earlier. I had created a backup with Backitup and then restored it in the Docker container.

In the directory /iobroker_data/iobroker-data/yahka.0.hapdata I noticed that there were four files in this directory instead of the usual two files “AccessoryInfo” and “IdentifierCache”. According to the last modification date, the two superfluous files probably still came from the old installation.

I deleted all four files and restarted the Yahka adapter. The two legitimate files were created again. The problem did not occur again since then.

Der Beitrag Yahka Adapter sporadically without connection – No devices found erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.