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    Solenoid valve control

    Hi Guys,

    I'm looking at a Valve Box below which is 24Vac. I want to operate each valve in isolation as i would use 3 valves for the lawn as each run has 2 sprinklers and the pressure will not allow for more than one to run at a time.

    I thought this would just be a case of running a mains transformer to 2 zwave 2 relay modules and then with each controlling 2 of the valves. I know i could buy a mains controller but i would like to control via HS.

    I'm struggling to find anything that allows the modules to sit downstream of the 24Vac transformer. In theory i could control 4 transformers with the 2 modules but that seems terribly inefficient and costly by comparison.

    Any ideas?

    Regards,

    #2
    The Fibaro dual relay units had/have volt free contacts which would allow you to have them sitting after the 24V supply, I remember I struggled to find such a module when I was looking as most will give you a mains voltage output rather than contacts you can connect what you please. There may be more on the market now I am not sure.

    Comment


      #3
      There are many relay modules that can be controlled from HS. I believe what you asking is that the relays be dry contact type so you can turn on and off 24 VAC. mcsSprinklers plugin is designed to handle a wide variety of valve controllers, but other options are available.

      What I would suggest is the Sonoff 4CH Pro that can control 4 valves and if you use the Tasmota firmware I modified then you have irrigation monitoring to assure a valve do not remain on too long. This is a Wifi unit that sells for around $35. You can control it most easily with mcsSprinklers, but if you want a no-cost plugin then you can use mcsMQTT and HS events.

      What is typical of irrigation controllers is the monitoring to assure that a valve does not remain open too long. Standard relay modules do not have this protection. I do not know what your irrigation control needs are, but smart controllers (such as mcsSprinklers) use weather data to know when to irrigate vs. the dumb controllers that use a time schedule for irrigation. mcsSprinklers will also do time-base irrigation or a combination of both.

      If you want a basic relay then there are IP-relays such as https://www.ebay.com/i/172522853670?...MaAt3kEALw_wcB that provide 8 channels of dry contact relay control for $40. mcsSprinklers or mcsMQTT can control these. While they have good cost/relay for IP control they have some network limitations and do not have internal monitoring.

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks Both for the replies. My neighbour has a weather station so i use a Jon00 scraper to pull the data, not forecasted but i will have rainfall measurements. The Sonoff looks interesting and the interlocking prevents 2 valves being open at the same time which is a useful feature. I'm already using mcsMQTT for an aircon unit so will probably try that first.

        Comment


          #5
          The forecast you could get from the BBC, via Jon00's free PI, available on his website. I use that as a fail-safe in case my outside temperature sensors go down. That also pulls in weather forecast for 3 days (possibly more)
          Attached Files

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            #6
            I'm using that to pull the data from your weather station 😉. might ask you for the url and script for the forecast though.

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              #7
              I downloaded and installed from Jon00's website. Think its called BBC weather or something similar.

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                #8
                The Sonoff looks interesting and the interlocking prevents 2 valves being open at the same time which is a useful feature. I'm already using mcsMQTT for an aircon unit so will probably try that first.
                To use the Sonoff you need to change the firmware in the device. There are many YouTube videos and other sources that described how to do it. The mcsMQTT manual also has a section on the use of the Sonoff 4CH PRO for irrigation.

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                  #9
                  good to know thanks

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Have a look Here and Here as this might help.
                    Zwave = Z-Stick, 3xHSM100� 7xACT ZDM230, 1xEverspring SM103, 2xACT HomePro ZRP210.
                    X10 = CM12U, 2xAM12, 1xAW10, 1 x TM13U, 1xMS13, 2xHR10, 2xSS13
                    Other Hardware = ADI Ocelot + secu16, Global Cache GC100, RFXtrx433, 3 x Foscams.
                    Plugings = RFXcom, ActiveBackup, Applied Digital Ocelot, BLDeviceMatrix, BLGarbage, BLLAN, Current Cost, Global Cache GC100,HSTouch Android, HSTouch Server, HSTouch Server Unlimited, NetCAM, PowerTrigger, SageWebcamXP, SqueezeBox, X10 CM11A/CM12U.
                    Scripts =
                    Various

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by enigmatheatre View Post
                      Have a look Here and Here as this might help.
                      Thanks for that but i wasn't up for a full DIY option, good to know though.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Michael, I've opted for the Sonoff 4CH Pro R2. Was easy to set up initially with eWeLink and update the firmware. Not used any of the tools before to update the firmware to your modified Tasmota version so assume i'll need to get a FTDI Serial Breakout Module Programmer and hook it up to my PC and use tools like atom that the vid covers?

                        Comment


                          #13
                          You will need a FTDI USB/Serial adapter. There are many tools for flashing. I suggest Tasmotizer https://github.com/tasmota/tasmotizer.
                          You do not need to setup an environment for source code as the binary can be configured to your network.

                          The location of GPIO0 pin/pad for PRO and PRO R2 are different. When you have the case open you will also need to set the dip switches so that relays operate independently.
                          Section 17.6 of http://mcsSprinklers.com/mcsMQTT.pdf describes the controller and I believe the image I included was for the original and not the R2. This document contains the MQTT interface definition for using my firmware. mcsSprinklers has this API implemented so it is the easiest way to use it for irrigation control.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            i've ordered the adapter and cables, should be fun learning something new. For my system i only have pressure to run one valve at a time so i'm wondering if better to leave as interlocking or independantly. I'll read your doc in a bit more detail later. Thanks

                            Comment


                              #15
                              The adapter finally arrived, the first package that was supposed to be my adapter turned out to be a pack of 8 plastic spiders, go figure, so i ordered a replacement. I found that the GPIO0 on the board is broken out as the chip on the R2 board is much smaller than the previous version. I'm not getting enough power through the USB to power the board via the cable. What risk am i running if i attempt to power the board via a 12v 1A power whilst hooked up to the usb on my PC? I read somewhere that laptops tend to have more power through the ports than towers so i might see if that has the ability to power the board.

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