Mine decided to randomly start rebooting about a year ago. :( Tried everything I could think of to get it to work normally, but nothing helped. I couldn’t rely on it, so I had to replace it. Like you, I hadn’t planned to replace it any time soon.

In the US, if you don’t have the loyalty card, you’re paying more for groceries. For the stores we use, any sale prices are contingent upon using the loyalty card. This can add up to $5-$10 per order.

I tried that with someone on facebook. They retreated back to “we have to get federal spending under control.” Maybe so, but this group isn’t doing that.

I can’t wait to talk to my parents. Lifelong republicans (though not specifically trump fans, just voting R), so it’s extremely likely they voted for this.

I’m a federal employee. They voted to put my job (and my wife’s job) in jeopardy. They voted for this. They voted to hurt us.

“I have a lot of respect for you Elon, please don’t be a name-caller.” What an idiot.

The dBase III joke was pretty good. But dBase IV would have been much, much funnier.

/u/spez: “Thread? What thread? Everyone on reddit loves Trump.”

It’s not a buyout. This is a delayed resignation - resign now, keep working and getting paid until September, or sooner if you like. Oh and you can telework during that time.

From what I’ve heard the message they sent is nearly identical to what was sent to Twitter employees.

Basically it threatens employees and notes that they might end up with nothing if they don’t resign now. It’s pretty off the deep end.

Here’s the email in full:

During the first week of his administration, President Trump issued a number of directives concerning the federal workforce. Among those directives, the President required that employees return to in-person work, restored accountability for employees who have policy-making authority, restored accountability for senior career executives, and reformed the federal hiring process to focus on merit. As a result of the above orders, the reform of the federal workforce will be significant.

The reformed federal workforce will be built around four pillars:

1)Return to Office: The substantial majority of federal employees who have been working remotely since Covid will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week. Going forward, we also expect our physical offices to undergo meaningful consolidation and divestitures, potentially resulting in physical office relocations for a number of federal workers.

2)Performance culture: The federal workforce should be comprised of the best America has to offer. We will insist on excellence at every level — our performance standards will be updated to reward and promote those that exceed expectations and address in a fair and open way those who do not meet the high standards which the taxpayers of this country have a right to demand.

3)More streamlined and flexible workforce: While a few agencies and even branches of the military are likely to see increases in the size of their workforce, the majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force. These actions are likely to include the use of furloughs and the reclassification to at-will status for a substantial number of federal employees.

4)Enhanced standards of conduct: The federal workforce should be comprised of employees who are reliable, loyal, trustworthy, and who strive for excellence in their daily work. Employees will be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward. Employees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination.

Each of the pillars outlined above will be pursued in accordance with applicable law, consistent with your agency’s policies, and to the extent permitted under relevant collective-bargaining agreements.

If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce. At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions.

If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program. This program begins effective January 28 and is available to all federal employees until February 6. If you resign under this program, you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason). The details of this separation plan can be found below.

Whichever path you choose, we thank you for your service to The United States of America.

Upon review of the below deferred resignation letter, if you wish to resign:

1)Select “Reply” to this email. You must reply from your government account. A reply from an account other than your government account will not be accepted.2)Type the word “Resign” into the body of this reply email. Hit “Send”.

THE LAST DAY TO ACCEPT THE DEFERRED RESIGNATION PROGRAM IS FEBRUARY 6, 2025.

Deferred resignation is available to all full-time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and those in any other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency.

DEFERRED RESIGNATION LETTER January 28, 2025

Please accept this letter as my formal resignation from employment with my employing agency, effective September 30, 2025. I understand that I have the right to accelerate, but not extend, my resignation date if I wish to take advantage of the deferred resignation program. I also understand that if I am (or become) eligible for early or normal retirement before my resignation date, that I retain the right to elect early or normal retirement (once eligible) at any point prior to my resignation date.Given my impending resignation, I understand I will be exempt from any “Return to Office” requirements pursuant to recent directives and that I will maintain my current compensation and retain all existing benefits (including but not limited to retirement accruals) until my final resignation date.I am certain of my decision to resign and my choice to resign is fully voluntary. I understand my employing agency will likely make adjustments in response to my resignation including moving, eliminating, consolidating, reassigning my position and tasks, reducing my official duties, and/or placing me on paid administrative leave until my resignation date.I am committed to ensuring a smooth transition during my remaining time at my employing agency. Accordingly, I will assist my employing agency with completing reasonable and customary tasks and processes to facilitate my departure.I understand that my acceptance of this offer will be sent to the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) which will then share it with my agency employer. I hereby consent to OPM receiving, reviewing, and forwarding my acceptance.

Upon submission of your resignation, you will receive a confirmation email acknowledging receipt of your email. Any replies to this email shall be for the exclusive use of accepting the deferred resignation letter. Any other replies to this email will not be reviewed, forwarded, or retained other than as required by applicable federal records laws.Once your resignation is validly sent and received, the human resources department of your employing agency will contact you to complete additional documentation, if any.OPM is authorized to send this email under Executive Order 9830 and 5 U.S.C. §§ 301, 1103, 1104, 2951, 3301, 6504, 8347, and 8461. OPM intends to use your response to assist in federal workforce reorganization efforts in conjunction with employing agencies. See 88 Fed. Reg. 56058; 80 Fed. Reg. 72455 (listing routine uses). Response to this email is voluntary. Although you must respond to take advantage of the deferred resignation offer, there is no penalty for nonresponse.

I have two thoughts on the pellet level - both measuring from the top. I have a few OpenGarage devices and a SaltSentry. Both essentially do the same thing, measure the distance between the sensor and the next object it encounters, but they are different methods - the SaltSentry uses a time of flight sensor, and from what I can tell from the pictures, it’s just that small little thing at the point of the device. The OpenGarage uses a larger ultrasonic sensor.

Look how small and cheap those time of flight sensors are on a small breadboard (I literally just found those). Mount that on the underside of the top of the hopper, run some wires to an esp32 or similar, config it, and boom, I think.

Our detached garage has a propane furnace (one of those that hangs in the corner of the room). I just recently put a Shelly 1 into the thermostat circuit to control it, then I tried to attach a temperature sensor to it, so it can act as a thermostat…then I found that you need the Shelly Add-on to actually attach a sensor to it… So I got the Shelly Plus Add-On…but that’s for a later generation of Shelly 1 than I currently have…so my next purchase will be a newer generation Shelly 1 to replace the Shelly 1 I already…yeah, this has been a frustrating experience. And I’m not a huge fan of Shelly after they took an order and my money and never delivered the product in 2023. So, if I buy Shelly, it’s only via Amazon now.

We should start a “home automation pellet stove” community, now that there are at least two of us.

Mine has all electronic controls. I use a power monitoring plug to detect if it’s running and turn on a nearby ceiling fan if so. It also counts how long it has been running to let me know when to clean it (~150 hours of run time). I have a Shelly 1 connected to the thermostat wires, and a temperature sensor elsewhere the room tied together in HA to make a thermostat to control the stove. I have a fairly complex script that sets the pellet stove’s temperature based on various factors like time of day, outdoor temperature, etc. If the thermostat doesn’t call for heat for half an hour, the pellet stove automatically shuts down and will restart if heat is called for (this functionality is built into the stove).

I’d like to monitor the level of pellets, and I’d like to have control of the level - it can run on levels 1-5, controlled by a push button. I normally keep it on 2, but on a really cold morning, jacking it up to 4 or 5 would be helpful - and make it even more critical I monitor the level of pellets.

Hmmm that is really odd. Since I addressed the interference issue, the only major issue I’ve had with any Aqara device (including door sensors, temperature sensors, one vibration sensor, one water presence sensor, and a few wall switches) is the vibration sensor, which I damaged the battery cover, so it doesn’t close properly and keep the battery in place correctly. So that one is my fault. I have had a door sensor and water presence sensor drop off the network occasionally, but that’s rare.

Heck I even have a second network set up in my RV (sensors only) and it seems to be reliable as well. But the metal shell keeps much of the signal contained, I’m sure.

I wonder if there’s something else in your area that’s interfering with it.

I just ordered one of those MHCOZY relays, hoping to use it in my RV to control the furnace (via the thermostat connection). Glad to hear they are reliable!

Either that, or you have wifi interference.

I had all kinds of issues with my zigbee network until I switched my wifi to use channels 1 and 6, and Zigbee to use 24 or something like that. Since then, it has been rock solid.

We need to get Admiral Cloudberg to join!

I can confirm their light switches and door/window sensors work as well.

The fan just turns on low when the pellet stove is running, nothing so fancy as changing the speeds based on the stove setting. But that could be accomplished indirectly by just looking at the temperature in the area - if it’s a few degrees higher than, say, the living room, turn up the fan speed.

In an ideal world I’d be able to control the setting on the stove remotely - there’s a button to change the setting, which a switchbot could theoretically do. Of course to do that reliably, HA should know what the current setting is. I haven’t really looked into this much.

But, yeah, I do wish I had a way to track the pellet level to alert me when it’s getting low. I have a Salt Sentry to monitor the salt in the water softener, with a gauge in HA, and it warns me when it’s getting low. Which is great (when it works, sometimes it stops responding). I’m not sure if it would work as well for the pellets - the pellets would be right up against the sensor when it’s full. Another option might be a weight sensor under a leg - I have no idea if this is even feasible, but if is, it should be able to detect the 40 lbs change (noting that there’s some ash left in the stove, so the 40 lbs doesn’t completely disappear).

I use the power monitoring plug for a lamp in the living room that is dumb, but it has a 433 mhz remote. The power monitoring detects whether it is on or not. I have one of those Sonoff 433 mhz transmitters, so with the power monitoring plug I can control the light. This also means it can be part of my “vacation” mode where it perhaps turns on at some point in the evening, then turns back off. Also, it turns on when first connected to power, so I can do an automation that sends the “off” command at night if the house is in Vacation mode and the light is on.

I don’t really have it set up yet, but in theory the power monitoring plugs could warn me if the freezer stops working (or is running constantly), the sump pump stops working, etc. I have the power monitoring in place, but not the automations to detect issues.

Yes to all of that, except for the comparison to the gas furnace: I don’t know how much electricity they use (I know some, because our previous house had one, but it’s not a ton - electronics, igniter, and blower fan).

Yes, I do have to buy pellets and load them into the stove; I like to say the stove warms me up multiple times: Loading the pellets into our pickup, unloading them and stacking them in the garage, moving the bags from the garage to the stove (okay, this is not that hard and doesn’t warm me very much), and then when the pellets finally get burned. They’re 40 lb bags, not terrible but some work to move. (On reddit, at this point, I’m sure someone would jump in and call me a wimp or whatever, but having stacked a ton of them alone multiple times, it definitely adds up.)

The stove has two motors in it, I believe: an auger to lift the pellets from the hopper and drop them into the burn pot, and a blower fan for the draft for the fire. There may be a third fan to circulate warm air across the heat exchanger tubes as well, but I don’t remember for certain. There’s also an electronic board to control on/off, heat level, when to run the auger, etc.

My comment above was noticing that the power it consumes isn’t very different on different levels - which isn’t surprising, the fan runs a bit faster and the auger has to turn a bit more often, but it wasn’t an obvious difference over a few hours. I have it on a power monitoring plug to detect if it’s running (for automations like turning on a ceiling fan to help circulate the warm air, and keeping track of run time so I know when I need to clean it). I’ll have to test different levels to see if I can find a way to detect which level it’s set on.

My office electric space heater, on low, uses more energy than our pellet stove.

My server (and network gear) also use slightly more energy than the pellet stove.

The pellet stove’s energy usage does not seem to be drastically affected by the setting it’s on - this winter I’ve been keeping it on setting 2 (of 5), but the other day I ran it at 4 for a few hours. No distinguishable change in electricity usage during that time.

From what I understood from the Zooz documentation, it requires that your controller support LR before the devices can take advantage of it.

It can be used to make almost any switch smart. I used it for a motion sensor, but that’s just a different type of switch. But, I couldn’t find much info about it from people who used it, so I thought I’d write down how it worked for me, in case it’s helpful for others.

This is like the Panama Canal thing again. Which of his handlers thinks this is important, and why?