Smart dryer plug (angled three prong NEMA?)

[slate summit]

I would like to monitor my dryer energy consumption so I known when the dryer is done. I have a vibration sensor, but that isn't very accurate and sometimes just doesn't work the way I would like. However, I live in an apartment so I need the to plug into the wall socket and the dryer plug into it. I haven't found anything. Anybody have a recommendation for this use case?

[clear maple]

usually i would recommend putting a monitor behind the socket but if your unable then you could maybe get an extension lead. cut it in half and wire a tracker inline in a box of some sort. depends how confident you are with electrical stuff though i guess.

or maybe... can you open the dryer and see the seperate live/neutral wires inside? you could ct clamp the wire inside?

[slate summit]

Hmmm....

[deft bear]

just get a power monitoring plug that has sufficient rating. 3kW should do it

[slate summit]

I need a nema plug. The dryer outlet and dryer plug are not a standard consumer type. I haven't been able to find a smart plug that fits.

[clear maple]

i think technically all US plugs are nema plugs no? maybe worth specifying the exact version of the plug - https://ev-lectron.com/blogs/blog/nema-connectors-the-guide-to-nema-plug-types

and what voltage is it running on?

[slate summit]

Here is a pic from the breaker box

[clear maple]

that tells us nothing 😛

[slate summit]

I found this. Otherwise, I have no other documentation.

[clear maple]

what does the plug look like? the page i thinked above alows you to look at photos and work out which model plug it is

[trim canyon]

you can try the tp-link p110 socket, it monitors energy consumption but also has a charge guard thing for phones and laptops, so if the energy thats being pulled gets below a certain amount it turns of the plug.

[slate summit]

I will a picture of the outlet. I have pull out the dryer to get it.

[slate summit]

Interesting. I will definitely take a look

Thank

[clear maple]

i would avoid tplink stuff now. they are making it more painful to integrate. they didnt outright break people using them already but new plug installs basically require cloud now. (or at least to get it set up)

[trim canyon]

I haven't had any issues setting up there stuff lately, seems to work seamlessly over there app, have used a bunch of their sockets and wifi extenders, tested out one of their cameras the otherday, wasnt too impressed with that, but they all were easy to install via the Tapo app and then with HA, you just put in the local IP and it adds instantly

[clear maple]

seems to work seamlessly over there app,
didn't they make that app have a log in requirement now too? or did they go back on that?

maybe have an older firmware variation or something. but a lot of people go to add it by ip and its like "OMG HELLO PLEASE INSERT CLOUD CREDENTIALS"
if the device says it needs creds then the integration asks you for them. and a lot of newer devices force this issue.

to be fair, it does seem a bit random. some people say its fine and others have major issues. maybe its firmware, perhaps its a slow rollout, perhaps A/B testing. who knows.
either way i would avoid them

[trim canyon]

oh yeah your right, I forgot I had to make an account and anyone I share the device with needs an account too... but tbh it doesnt cause that much of an issue... I was able to have it all set up and sorted in like 5-10mins thats the app and like 4 sockets

Only issue I have is the wifi ranger booster isnt all that, its fine if you have a shed an open field but in a house with many walls or electronics it doesnt reach as far as you'd like

[clear maple]

I had to make an account

doesn't cause that much of an issue

I hard disagree - and so do a lot of people. specially given that this was previously not a requirement for a local device.

[novel yew]

It may not be an issue now, but it will be when they get bored of Tapo and shut down the server 😬

[clear maple]

also this

[trim canyon]

thats true I guess

[novel yew]

That said I'm not too proud to buy one or two tplink devices when they're on cheap sale, but I wouldn't put 100 of their switches in my walls 😅

[trim canyon]

Yeah, I honestly wasnt a fan of TPLink, some of their devices I purchased in the past just wasnt great... but then my partner got some of the wall sockets which show the power useage and easily work with HA on timers an such, apart from them being bulky as fuck, they have been great an easy to use.

Their CCTV stuff though feels cheap as shit lmao... I found Decko do higher quality CCTV cameras at a much cheaper cost.