rich shard
A few years ago, I went all in on the single outlet Shelly plugs. I have 30 of them.
In the last 6 months, I’ve lost three of my first batch with support telling me that normal usage has a limited expected lifetime (which I guess is 2-3 years).
Does anyone have any recommendations for something WiFi based that is more reliable?
I’m looking at the Kasa plugs, but I want to cover all my bases.
Thanks!
Edit: I’m in the US.
keen sleet
A few years ago, I went all in on the single outlet Shelly plugs. I have 30 of t...
dont buy kasa plugs, they are becoming harder to use local only. and i dont trust tplink not to fuck them over complely
keen sleet
A few years ago, I went all in on the single outlet Shelly plugs. I have 30 of t...
also for something like this you really need to state what country you are in
rich shard
also for something like this you really need to state what country you are in
Ah, forgot! I updated my post. I’m in the US.
keen sleet
Ah, forgot! I updated my post. I’m in the US.
not from US but some general thoughts: realistically stuff will have a lifespan (specially stuff with a relay) and I would still recommend shelly.
you could go for something that runs ESPHome out the box for nice compatability and customisability if you want. something like athoms plugs for example
rich shard
Hmm, interesting. Am I being overly critical with my expectations of more than 2-3 years for a plug or is that generally what to expect?
I’ve had esp devices running 24/7 for years and they’re still running, so the athoms look interesting.
keen sleet
Hmm, interesting. Am I being overly critical with my expectations of more than 2...
it depends on the failure condition, from an electronics standpoint there are parts that you would expect to last longer and some its probably about the range.
one of the components that is more likely to go is the relay, so you could look for monitoring only for stuff that doesn't need to be switched, (i believe athom make one without a relay too) there is a certain amount of the "component lottery" some will continue almost forever and some will fail after a couple of years.
personally i think 2-3 years is pretty reasonable time to start seeing some failures
rich shard
I’m not overly concerned with power monitoring for most plugs. I really am looking for something I can toggle if the device plugged into it needs a power cycle (cameras, etc..).
I wasn’t aware the monitoring relay was a failure point and that there might be plugs without it.
keen sleet
the switching relay is a bit of a failure point because for a coule of reasons.
1: its a moving part.
2: it being constantly energized there its using some power is going to have an effect on it long term.
I am dumbing it down a bit but yeah relays are one of the bigger failure points
there are other components that can fail too, sometimes caps go earlier than you would like too. but for the most part: sometimes you are gunna loose smartplugs. i dont think your issue is going to be uniquely a shelly issue.
rich shard
Maybe, but the failure of these sounds like the relay you’re taking about. They power cycle constantly. If a capacitor or something failed, I’d expect it to just be dead.
It sounds like I need to look for dumber plugs that are just toggles without the power monitor.
keen sleet
the relay has nothing to do with power monitoring. the relay is for switching.
relay failure is going to be an issue weather it power monitors or not
rich shard
Ah.
keen sleet
the relay has a coil which when energized produces a magnetic field which pulls the switch "on". that coil will break down over time. and the switch itself is a moving part...
sometimes the relay can just get stuck and you can use some "percussive maintenance" to unstick it. but realistically even if that works for a bit then its on its way out
its just one of those battles that the laws of physics ends up winning in the end.
sometimes when stuff fails it shorts other things which causes various failure conditions