Feature request – time limit on stations (in case of API comms problems)

[raaahbin]

Hi there,

I’ve had some issues with OpenSprinkler being controlled by an openHAB home automation server. It all works beautifully most of the time, except that for some reason, once in a while the interaction between the API and the binding in openHAB results in the openHAB system getting a false message that a station has turned off immediately after being commanded on, at which point the openHAB binding can’t send a message to turn the station off (because it believes it already is off, so there’s no state change and no message is sent), and the station runs until I notice that a sprinkler is running when it shouldn’t be and manually turn it off using the OS app. Often this is many hours (and many hundreds of litres of wasted water) after it turned on.

Is there any way to add a setting – global or per-station – which would allow a limit to be set on the longest a station will be permitted to remain on before being shut off by the OpenSprinkler firmware?

I would have a go at it myself, but so far have been completely defeated in my attempts to build the stock firmware from source, so it seems a fool’s errand for me to wade into the source code if I’m not going to be able to install it anyway.

Thanks,
Robin

[Ray]

You said “openHAB system getting a false message that a station has turned off immediately after being commanded on” — can you elaborate on that? In what way does it get a false message that a station has turned off? The HTTP API only returns a status code after a command has been sent to it. If you send a command to open the zone, it should send back a {“result”:1} if it’s successful. The message does not carry any information about whether the zone has turned on or off. Or did you mean that you are using OpenSprinkler’s IFTTT notification to notify OpenHAB? I am just confused in what way is the controller sending back a message to OpenHAB?

[Author]

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