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Arduino clothes dryer control?

Former Member

I have a clothes dryer with a stripped gear in the timer knob and had an idea to replace this time with an Arduino (or possibly even a RPi) and some relays.

 

I've taken apart the timer and all it consists of is 3 sets of contacts that are opened and closed in sequence as the timer slowly turns the knob.

 

I was thinking about replacing this unit with an Arduino, 3 relays and adding a rotary encoder and LCD to cycle through the different dryer modes.  I envision that my programming would simply switch the 3 relays open and closed in sequence that I would match with timing delays that mimic the original physical timer.

 

My questions are:

 

Does anyone see a reason why this would be bad or perhaps dangerous?  (all other circuit components- thermal switches, sensors, valve controllers and motor controllers are still in the system... the timer knob only seems to turn the motor, fuel valve and temperature controller ON and OFF)

 

Is there a better micro controller anyone would suggest for this idea?  I have a Raspberry Pi, but that seems like overkill for this application... to to mention, more complicated.

 

Lastly, can anyone recommend a reliable power supply I could use to power the arduino inside the dryer?  I can tap off the mains supply, but don't want to wire in a socket and have a wall wart inside the machine.

 

thank you!

 

Jay

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  • 0

    I don't know.  But if you want the arduino info on timers and interrupts please read:

     

    Arduino 101: Timers and Interrupts

     

    http://letsmakerobots.com/node/28278

  • 0 in reply to billabott

    I have done something similar both to out ancient (beyond economic repair by a professional) heating boiler / furnace and a tumble drier. In both these cases there was just a single relay contact to close, so it was easier than this setup.

     

    I could see a big danger if say the fuel valve turned on and then no ignition occured until enough had built up for an explosion! So, really mke sure you know exactly what the existing system does.

     

    I was able to find online service manuals for my hacked appliances, which helped a bit.

     

    I used a redundant 5V phone charger, taken out of its wall wart box and put in a new box as a power supply, but I was using an 'off board' arduino. Wiring its AC input to the terminal strip where AC entered the appliances.

     

    Also, if you are embedding this permanently, then think about using an Arduino Pro of some species, maybe a mini would do?

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  • 0 in reply to billabott

    I have done something similar both to out ancient (beyond economic repair by a professional) heating boiler / furnace and a tumble drier. In both these cases there was just a single relay contact to close, so it was easier than this setup.

     

    I could see a big danger if say the fuel valve turned on and then no ignition occured until enough had built up for an explosion! So, really mke sure you know exactly what the existing system does.

     

    I was able to find online service manuals for my hacked appliances, which helped a bit.

     

    I used a redundant 5V phone charger, taken out of its wall wart box and put in a new box as a power supply, but I was using an 'off board' arduino. Wiring its AC input to the terminal strip where AC entered the appliances.

     

    Also, if you are embedding this permanently, then think about using an Arduino Pro of some species, maybe a mini would do?

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