Hey hackers!
So, I’ve been tinkering around with my 3D printer, which I’ve snugly fit inside a broom closet. It’s run by OctoPrint on a Raspberry Pi, and apart from the cool stuff like controlling the lights on the printer, it also lets me manage its power supply. While I’m pretty chuffed with the setup, there’s always been this niggling worry about fire since, well, it’s a 3D printer in a closet in my house.
Here’s the fun part: I’ve got this Zigbee network at home using zigbee2mqtt and Home Assistant. Controls my lights, media centre, and even some quirky light scripts in my broom closet based on my printer’s mood…err, status.
The Journey to Less Risk:
I thought, “Why not get a smoke detector above the printer to act all bouncer-like and cut off the power if things get too smoky?” Picked up an LSC Smart SMOKE ALARM from Action (cheap find for under 15 euros). The catch? The darn thing wanted to chat with some random cloud server, probably in China. Tried to make it play nice with custom firmware for Home Assistant but no dice.
Fast forward some Googling, and I found this gem: KlikAanKlikUit ZSDR-850 (3 jaar) on Coolblue (a bit more expensive at 30 euros). It’s Zigbee-friendly, and getting it on my zigbee2mqtt was like a walk in the park. A bit of magic with the OctoPrint PSU control plugin’s API, and voilà! If Mr. Detector smells smoke, he tells the printer to take a nap.
Did the ol’ smoking paper in a cup trick, and yep, it works! So, while there’s always a risk with these things, feels good to know that the odds are a smidge more in my favor now.
Share your thoughts, or if you’ve got other wacky safety hacks up your sleeves, spill the beans!
Later and happy hacking!