Mt Vernon AE and Home Automation

[grahamk]

I would really love to be able to control my Mt Vernon AE via home automation.

Since it does not have any of the required technology built in, my only options appear to be to remove power from the unit, or put a switch on the wires that go to the thermostat. Switching power on and off seems to be the easiest method.

When power is interrupted to the unit it appears to keep it's time and program, which is great. This is what I'd want it to do.

So, for instance, if i know i am going to be gone all day, i could remove power from the stove, and have it come back on an hour or so before i return home, and it would then resume it's normal program.

I'm curious if anyone has tried this and what the results were.

Thanks!

 

[jackman]

I'm curious too. While I don't have the same stove it will be interesting to learn. Are you planning on incorporating Alexa or Google home too?

I have an Insteon home automation system for my lighting but have not integrated the heating.

 

[grahamk]

I'm curious too. While I don't have the same stove it will be interesting to learn. Are you planning on incorporating Alexa or Google home too?

I have an Insteon home automation system for my lighting but have not integrated the heating.

I use homeseer and z-wave, and it does integrate into alexa very nicely. The thought is that a command like "alexa, we will be gone for 3 hours" would cause heating to be turned off for 2.5 hours.......

 

[kappel15]

Your stove already has a programmable tstat. All you have to do is set it up. Read your wall control manual. kap

 

[grahamk]

Your stove already has a programmable tstat. All you have to do is set it up. Read your wall control manual. kap

Telling me how I program it to stop running the stove when it detects that both me and my wife aren't home is not in the manual - JFYI. ;-)

 

[kappel15]

There are limits to what it can and can't do. JFYI Experiment away.

 

[grahamk]

Thanks - Well I'm dead curious if you have an opinion on the original premise - assuming i am utilizing a good surge protector do you see any issue with turning the power on and off at the outlet?

I'm wondering if anyone knows where the backup battery is that keeps the time/program when the stove is unplugged. Is it a rechargeable battery or is it something i'd need to replace often if the stove has no power for periods of time of up to a few days....

 

[Mt Bob]

Stove functions are controlled by the wall stat unit.I believe the memory battery is on the control board of the stove.I f you try and run this unit by removing/hooking back up power I predict you will have problems,especially if it is running and power is removed,such as smoke in the house and missfire upon trying to restart.

 

[grahamk]

good point - when these stoves lose power during power outages does that tend to happen? I have a whole house generator so I have never experienced what happens when the power goes out.

 

[kappel15]

Most any stove, if power goes out, will leak smoke into house,unless it really has a good draw on exhaust pipe. There is no back-up battery for memory. It is like most things that it is just stored. Only back-up battery is a deep cycle battery for when power goes out and stove can keep running. The control board is like the computer, and the wall control is the keyboard. What year stove do you have? I know some of the earlier ones, if power went out, it would default back to factory settings.That is why I suggested using programs in Wall control. You can set it for once, weekly, etc. kap

 

[Mt Bob]

Most any stove, if power goes out, will leak smoke into house,unless it really has a good draw on exhaust pipe. There is no back-up battery for memory. It is like most things that it is just stored. Only back-up battery is a deep cycle battery for when power goes out and stove can keep running. The control board is like the computer, and the wall control is the keyboard. What year stove do you have? I know some of the earlier ones, if power went out, it would default back to factory settings.That is why I suggested using programs in Wall control. You can set it for once, weekly, etc. kap

Kap,it could not keep time(as he says) without a battery or large capacitor.Maybe he is wrong about it keeping time.

 

[grahamk]

The unit does keep time and program if it loses power. That made me figure it used a battery for that, but I'm not sure. Most modern electronics do.

I do use the programmable wall unit - and love it. But I'd wager that somewhere between 10-20% of my pellets are burned when nobody is home so some way to shut down when the house is empty would be a great $$$ saver. I burn about 4 tons a season.

Thanks for your input!!

 

[kappel15]

I can guarantee, there is no battery in this stove. you should be able to program it do be off when no one is home. You have 4 settings per day. And can flip it to manual setting for a spur of the moment. I know when mine is down for the summer, I have to reprogram everything in the fall when I go to use it again. All you can do is try and experiment with it once, and see what it does. kap

 

[Ssyko]

But I'd wager that somewhere between 10-20% of my pellets are burned when nobody is home so some way to shut down when the house is empty would be a great $$$ saver. I burn about 4 tons a season.

i would wager that the cooling of the house while the stove is off and not heating would eat up the 10-20% it saved, warming it back up. If it has a battery it may be on the control board like what is used in desktop pc’s. It could keep a basic clock and a PLC,rom for days.