# Coffee machine and home automation



## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

I recall a few discussions a while back around being able to automate switching a machine on and off by means of a Wemo switch or similar, which is pretty straight forward if the machine has a rocker switch. Was wondering if anyone has managed to mod a machine with an electronic switch such as my SDB? I was thinking about having a tinker. Maybe the easiest way would be to bypass the switch altogether so it was just turned on and off by the socket. I wouldn't want to do anything permanent. I've just invested in some LightwaveRF sockets and want to make the most of them, would be great to turn the machine on when on way home or from living room! I can currently, control lights, heating, hot water and TV/Sky etc remotely.


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## itguy (Jun 26, 2015)

Ditto this question for my Sage Barista Express with electronic on switch


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## kevin (Sep 21, 2014)

I use a combination of a Wemo with the name "coffee machine" and an Amazon Echo Dot, resulting in the ability to feel like a god when announcing "Alexa: turn on the coffee machine!". Like you say, though, my machine has a mechanical switch which is always set to "on" so a plug is all I need.


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## Thecatlinux (Mar 10, 2014)

If you are going to open the machine up to bypass the wire surely you may as well incoperate a switch , will be interesting to know how you get on , are you using the LightwaveRF hub for remote access as I am curious how well the hub works


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## UbiquitousPhoton (Mar 7, 2016)

Beware that whatever relay you are using to switch the power on and off has to take the full load of the coffee machine working. Anything less and you will at best melt the relay, and at worst start a fire. I know this was an issue with at least some of the home automation switches when I last looked, they ar not designed for this kind of a load, more like a light or something like that.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Wouldn't it be easier to leave the machine powered on at the switch, and then wire up some kind of wireless actuation of the on/off switch?

And doesn't the Sage DB have a atuo-on timer anyway?


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Thecatlinux said:


> If you are going to open the machine up to bypass the wire surely you may as well incoperate a switch , will be interesting to know how you get on , are you using the LightwaveRF hub for remote access as I am curious how well the hub works


Yes, I have the link for remote access. Early indications were good. However, due to the unique way in which BT is funded, I am currently without BB.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

UbiquitousPhoton said:


> Beware that whatever relay you are using to switch the power on and off has to take the full load of the coffee machine working. Anything less and you will at best melt the relay, and at worst start a fire. I know this was an issue with at least some of the home automation switches when I last looked, they ar not designed for this kind of a load, more like a light or something like that.


The LightwaveRF sockets replace the actual wallplate and can be used with any 13amp three pin appliance. They are fully approved.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Dylan said:


> Wouldn't it be easier to leave the machine powered on at the switch, and then wire up some kind of wireless actuation of the on/off switch?
> 
> And doesn't the Sage DB have a atuo-on timer anyway?


It does, but I'm irregular.

Don't think a mechanical finger would look as impressive! I'm sure it's not gonna be hard work to bypass the switch. Maybe I need to familiarise myself with a multimeter, only ever been able to cause bangs and sparks with one previously.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Thinking out loud... the built-in auto-off feature of the SDB is good. Not sure if this can be replicated with LWRF. I wonder if there's a way to bypass the power button but retain the auto-off.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Yeah... should be pretty straight forward! Cut the blue wire first right?
View attachment 24400
View attachment 24401


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

So I've delved a bit deeper. I'll add some pics shortly. Far too many wires to mess with to achieve the original plan, in fact, I don't think it would even be possible to bypass the electronic switch, yet have everything else working properly. Also, not sure how it would affect the auto-off function. Anyhow, I managed to get to the actual power button on the circuit board and I think any plan to achieve what I want or similar, would involve replicating that button, so essentially I'd have 2 power buttons - the original, left exactly as is and fully operational, and a second one extended into the large void inside the machine where I would be free to attach some kind of actuation. I guess this would be achieved by connecting wires to the appropriate pins on the circuit board, although I'm not sure how I would find out which ones. I've noted that the machine comes on as the button is pressed in and doesn't have to be released, likewise to turn it off, so it just needs that connection to be made momentarily for the action to take place. Any thoughts or ideas where I go next?


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

This is kinda what I thought the inside of a DB would be like.

Your inclination to attach another switch serving the same function as the existing one would the best way forward I would have thought. If you can get at the back of the existing switch you could attach a new one here... if it's soldered directly to a circuit board then you would need to get the soldering iron out.

Honestly tho.... I would ask myself if its worth it, a small mistake could cause bigger problems and the Sage DB is more complex than the average machine.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

View attachment 24405
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View attachment 24408


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

I wouldn't mind a bit of soldering, now that I've quite comfortably got to that point in disassembly without any concerns, I think attaching a couple wires to the board should be fairly straight forward, it would just be a case of identifying the correct point to solder to. I see what you're saying about the value in it, but I think it's either going to be possible, or not. It would transform my use and enjoyment of the machine.


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

Fair enough.

It looks like the power switch is activating 2 connections (if I am looking at the back of the board correctly and those 4 solder points all attach to the switch)

So you would need an equivalent switch but one that you can activate wirelessly.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

You're see it correctly I think, and that's what I wondered. I need to find a good electronics forum..


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

If you find one and don't immediately get told to not attempt what your doing then I'll eat my hat


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## kevin (Sep 21, 2014)

Just thinking out loud here:

Depending on what your electronics skills are like, and assuming that that button sends a low-current and low-ish voltage signal to the chip, you could fake pressing that button using a something like a reed-relay and a 555 timer to provide a short "press". You'd need to know which contacts on that button do what, though (hopefully you can figure that out in-place using a multimeter, but at worst you'd only need to desolder the button). You'd also need power from somewhere, although it's reasonable to assume that there's a handy 5v supply not too far from the button.

If you want to get fancy, and wireless, then something like a "NodeMCU v3" board could drive the reed-relay - you could program the fake press and the wireless connection in Lua.

Of course, you'll probably break things, so obviously proceed at your own caution and anything you do break is entirely your own fault...


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Thanks, I'm researching the things you've suggested. Of course if it does all go pear-shaped, I'll say Kevin told me to do it.

I like the idea of learning some electronics along the way, but still can't help but think incorporating a Wemo Maker somehow might be the easiest option. Again, I'd need to find a 5v supply inside. I guess it comes down to finding out exactly what the original switch is doing and could then possibly connect the Wemo Maker direct to the board. As previously mentioned, it does look like the switch is possibly making two contacts. Or get some kind of switch that is activated by the Wemo Maker...


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Ok, I've dug out my multimeter, what could possibly go wrong! I'll simply see if I can determine what voltage goes across what point on the switch. On a serious note, can I do damage by putting the multimeter on certain points? For example two positive points or two negative points?


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Ok, I've put the multimeter on the switch and found that there's permanently 5v across it. So when the button is pressed, the voltage is cut and this turns the machine on or off. Whether the machine is on or off, the voltage remains other than the momentary press of the button. Not sure what this means for the plan but I'm sure I can't break that voltage by other means without interfering with the original button.


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

Right, I took a gamble and shorted the two points were the 5v is... And it turns the machine on and off! So if I wire the relay part of a Wemo Maker to there, surely I'm in business?


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

I've traced the wires which go to the connector on the board and I'm considering using Scotchloks to keep things neat and avoid soldering.

http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/ElectricalMkts/ElectricalSupplies/products/scotchlok-wire-connectors/scotchlok-electrical-idc-wire-connectors/scotchlok-905-run-tap-connector/


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## itguy (Jun 26, 2015)

Excellent, keep going as I want to mod my barista express in the same way. Can the wemo have a timer set to it and how would you do the momentary press equivalent using it?


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

The Wemo Maker can be configured to either on/off or momentary connection. You can set timers using the Wemo app and add additional configuration using IFTTT.

I think I'm going to go ahead and or a Wemo. Just need to work out a means of getting a 5v USB supply inside the machine. I could alternatively power this from outside but would prefer to keep everything as factory looking as possible.


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## Brewer in training (Feb 7, 2015)

Sean said:


> I've traced the wires which go to the connector on the board and I'm considering using Scotchloks to keep things neat and avoid soldering.
> 
> http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/ElectricalMkts/ElectricalSupplies/products/scotchlok-wire-connectors/scotchlok-electrical-idc-wire-connectors/scotchlok-905-run-tap-connector/


In my experience Scotchlocks aren't very good in damp conditions.

They corrode very easily. (Have repaired too many wiring looms damaged by people fitting tow bars with scotchlocks!)

Would advise a soldered joint and heatshrink protection....... Looks better also.

Would be ok as a temporary solution to confirm your theory.........

Good luck and I hope you get it sorted.......


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## itguy (Jun 26, 2015)

Why do you need a 5v supply in the machine? Can't you use a normally closed relay, activated by the wemo to break the circuit on the switch as you observed?


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## Sean (Jun 20, 2014)

I traced the wires all the way back to the main board in the back of he machine so the Scotchloks will be as far from damp as possible and I might silicone seal them too.

The Wemo needs to be powered.


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## itguy (Jun 26, 2015)

Ahh ok - is it a wemo maker that you are going to use? Just had a look at one and it all makes sense now. What a great gadget!!


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