What a great idea - garage roller door - wireless reed switch and door hinge

[saltwater]

I installed a wireless alarm system and have wireless reed switches on every entry/exit door except my garage roller door. When I purchased the system, many months ago, I was told the system did not have a garage roller door reed switch, period. As I now know, that was the knowledge base, lack of, of the local importer. Fast forward to now, I rang the alarm system rep (not the importer) and he flat out contradicted the local importer. He pointed out that one model of their wireless contact reeds has ability to be connected to a traditional garage roller door reed switch. So, I ordered the wireless reed switch, along with an external generic garage door reed switch. It arrived yesterday.

I wish I would have searched Youtube to start with. No need to have purchased an external generic reed switch to be wired into the wireless sensor. Call it a hack, but all that is required is a door hinge and presto, no need for external connections.

This is the video I came across.

 

[TonyR]

I use this ==>> Shelly Door Window 2

It tells Blue Iris via HTTP to send me a Pushover notification when the door goes up.
It's the newest version of the one used here by another Similarly, IPCT member, @jaydeel used the Shelly Motion here ==>> Mailbox monitor using Shelly Wifi Motion sensor & Blue Iris

I also use the Shelly1 to trigger a cam and move a PTZ to a preset, also using BI's HTTP commands ==>> How to trigger Blue Iris camera via external device


EDIT 9/12/22 @ 2319 CT: Actually, @jaydeel used the Shelly Motion detector, not the Shelly Door Window sensor...my bad. But the command set and operation is similar, just a different mode of operation.

 

[saltwater]

Here's my garage roller door wireless reed switch hack. The door hinge works. I came across one little problem, the magnet was staying put (magnetised) with the steel garage door until it was half-way overhead. I packed behind the magnet and now the hinge swings freely, not in any way restricted by the magnet.

View attachment 20220915_141909.mp4

 

[Mark_M]

I wired a sensor into the alarm input on my Dahua NVR and use the NVR to send email alerts.
Now that I have HomeAssistannt, I have used the API to query the alarm input status.

 

[ThomasCamFan]

Here's a photo of my reed switch hack that senses when the screw drive's trolley is in the closed door position. An Insteon module reports the status to Openhab home automation and I get warnings if the door is still open late at night.

The reed switch is a generic alarm part. An extra magnet on the base ensures reliable triggering of the switch. Has been in service for 15 years, still working great.

- Thomas

 

[DanDenver]

Only 4 years here! I use a z-wave switch that communicates with HomeSeer.
I placed it at the angle shown so that I can open the door about 6 inches and it does not trigger. In the summer and at other times I like a breeze while in the garage but don't need it open all the way.

Inside the switch is a mercury bulb.
There is no need to adjust distance to a magnet or distance to anything.

With the hinge approach I would get nervous with the moving parts. I would have an OCD to test it from time to time and oil it from a fear based perspective. Would probably want to add more weight to ensure a full swing.
I like the no moving parts approach of @ThomasCamFan and my mercury bulb approach as there is nothing to get stuck or get out of adjustment.
Having a failure on this particular switch and its position could be disastrous.

4 years and the original battery is still at a full charge. Have yet to replace it. I have 5 of these sensors throughout my property and the batteries seem to last at least 5 years. Dunno as I have not exceeded 5 years with any of them.
One of them is on my back gate and is exposed to year round weather. It went 3 years before the mow company destroyed it and I replaced the whole thing. But it has never drained a battery either.

Garage switch with mercury bulb inside of it:

For the actual open/close I use MIMOlite (which used to be 45 bucks).
Wiring it up was simple and works well with my z-wave network:

 

[saltwater]

Inside the switch is a mercury bulb.
There is no need to adjust distance to a magnet or distance to anything.

Good idea. My wireless alarm sensors can be wired to external switches. Does your tilt sensor have corresponding wires that could be connected to another device ie. my wireless switch.

I purchased a garage roller door reed switch and was going to use that and then I came across the hinge idea.

 

[saltwater]

With the hinge approach I would get nervous with the moving parts. I would have an OCD to test it from time to time and oil it from a fear based perspective. Would probably want to add more weight to ensure a full swing.
I like the no moving parts approach of @ThomasCamFan and my mercury bulb approach as there is nothing to get stuck or get out of adjustment.

I'm a little OCD at times but after 2 or 3 days it's still working, all I can do is report back after 3, 6 or 12 months. Adding a bit more weight is certainly doable, I'll keep that in mind if problems occur.

 

[DanDenver]

Does your tilt sensor have corresponding wires that could be connected to another device ie. my wireless switch.

It is wireless. It connects to my z-wave network
I opened the case and added a mercury bulb to convert it to a tilt sensor.
There are contacts inside with screws that easily accept wires - which in this case was the wires from the bulb itself (bypassing the need for a magnet)

Having said that, you could wire your ’wireless switch’ directly to those same attachment points. It is a very flexible z-wave sensor.
I must say that I am a little confused by your question as this sensor is a ’wireless switch‘ unto itself.

Here is a picture of the contact screws that you can connect any NO switch (which would include a reed switch):

reed switch and was going to use that

I think that with reliability being the number one concern a reed switch fulfills that role perfectly. I say that as no batteries are needed and it has no firmware updates, etc. Note that @ThomasCamFan has an actual alarm system so that is why he uses a reed switch (it does not support the z-wave protocol). I don’t have an alarm system so a z-wave sensor is more suited for my situation.

 

[saltwater]

I must say that I am a little confused by your question as this sensor is a ’wireless switch‘ unto itself.

Yes, I know that your switch is wireless as is my switch. My switch is part of my entire alarm system. My alarm system brand doesn't have a tilt sensor. What the switch does have though is the ability to connect to other devices, such as a traditional garage roller door reed switch. So, I was wondering if your device had similar functionality. In the meantime, I've been hitting the Google machine trying to locate, something.

 

[DanDenver]

So, I was wondering if your device had similar functionality.

Yes

 

[tech_junkie]

Bottom of the door is best. If the sensor is anywhere else, the bottom door panel could be kicked in and entry without the alarm. Hence that is why I install the MET-44 on a wireless transmitter. Remote mounting a sensor not only keeps the transmitter from being exposed to the elements, it can be located for the best signal communication.
BTW, most automatic door openers have extra sets of contacts in thier limit switches if you want the same functional security level, but it doesn't substitute a sensor mounted on the bottom panel.

 

[sgt-flippy]

I was more interested in the door being fully open or closed. So I put contact sensors at the top of the rail and the bottom. I use Sharptools to convert the 2 signals into an open or closed status. The door takes about 30 seconds, so when either of the contacts change, it shows 30 seconds "moving". After that, if no new status comes up, it goes into error mode. 2 minutes into error mode will ping and request the status again.
I could make it notify me as well now I think about it.