Opinions on the plug

[joltdude]

So now the Peanut Plug has been out for awhile. What do folks think of it... Is it pretty reliable and useful for seeing power usage?
Know in the beginning folks had problems with this feature....

For the most part. after the firmware updates does it Just Work?


-J

[fillibar]

In my experience they have "just worked". I have... I think 7 of them now. When they had a deal on Amazon a while back I got a bunch more to replace an aquarium lighting controller that had gone bad. That way I had one for each light and a couple more for around the house.

They are quiet when switching (important when I have them in my kid's rooms for decorations) and are easy to pair.

[mparadis]

I agree with Fillibar. They work well. Fit in the socket well (allow you to use both plugs still). I have never noted the power usage stats as that doesn't matter much to me for what I use them for. I generally move them around for use with different things such as Christmas decorations.

[joltdude]

Eugh..
Tried doing the hokey pokey, pairing/unpairing rebooting, etc.. etc... Could not for the life of me get it to successfully upgrade the Peanut through the Almond 3 .. punted with an error at 0%..... So I went over to my Almond +... Paired it.. .went to advanced... Upgraded on the first try.... saw the voltage for the first time.... unpaired it and went over to the freshly rebooted Almond 3.... paired on the first try... and saw all the stats .... Huzzah....

[Ohiomedic]

Eugh..
Tried doing the hokey pokey, pairing/unpairing rebooting, etc.. etc... Could not for the life of me get it to successfully upgrade the Peanut through the Almond 3 .. punted with an error at 0%..... So I went over to my Almond +... Paired it.. .went to advanced... Upgraded on the first try.... saw the voltage for the first time.... unpaired it and went over to the freshly rebooted Almond 3.... paired on the first try... and saw all the stats .... Huzzah....

The update process seems hit or miss sometimes. I've had trouble updating it with both the Almond+ or A3 at times.

[joltdude]

Actually am able to get current, on/off status and voltage..

[Kinggovernator]

I have 2, have had no issues with either one of them. Like the ability to move them around and rename them for use with Alexa as well. Voltage and stuff is interesting and can be useful, idk how accurate it is? Big difference is wattage from an old strand of Christmas lights compared to new led ones. I think it's a bit bulky compared to some others out there now but does its job well in my opinion. 

[mparadis]

I actually don't find it to be bulky compared to others and it allows you to use the other plug in the outlet which a lot of them don't.

[Gimlet]

Ive just paired the peanuts that came with my 3s.

Once they had paired I checked for firmware updates and it said there was one but unfortunately the update failed on every one. Not really a problem as they are already reporting Voltage and Wattage flow, but slightly annoying to be told there is an update and not be able to apply it!

Unfortunately being in the UK the US plug and socket on the peanut makes it extremely bulky by the time I've added 2 adapters to it. I've ordered some inline trailing US sockets and plugs so that I can have them dangling from the sockets rather than sticking out into the room in a very vulnerable way.

[Gimlet]

It seems I was wrong as I plugged various things in to the peanut and V and W remain at zero.

[mparadis]

Hmm I thought mine were reporting. At least one of them anyway. But I only use them temporarily when I need some extra lighting (Christmas, halloween, etc) so I don't have any set up right now. I am holding off setting up anything new or different till my 3S production unit arrives and I can install that and set it up as my main unit SO I will check that afterwards. I think I have two or three peanut plugs right now.

[Gimlet]

Do the plugs store timing rules/instructions locally or do they need to be connected to the 3S at the switching times to be able to switch on and off?
It's a bit hit or miss with the wireless connection to one of my plugs at the moment, should be sorted once I can get an additional 3S unit.

[mparadis]

The control is all in the hub but the hub doesn't need to be connected to the internet for its scheduling. Any mains powered zigbee device in between the two should work.

[marcw]

Ive just paired the peanuts that came with my 3s.

Once they had paired I checked for firmware updates and it said there was one but unfortunately the update failed on every one. Not really a problem as they are already reporting Voltage and Wattage flow, but slightly annoying to be told there is an update and not be able to apply it!

Unfortunately being in the UK the US plug and socket on the peanut makes it extremely bulky by the time I've added 2 adapters to it. I've ordered some inline trailing US sockets and plugs so that I can have them dangling from the sockets rather than sticking out into the room in a very vulnerable way.

I have the same issue: I'm going to make some US-UK and UK-US adaptor leads to get around the problem.
It's irritating to have to do it, though - there should be no problem creating a UK version (especially as some other locations use UK-style plugs, such as Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, India, South Africa, Russia...

The IEC World Plugs lists Type G[37] as being used in the following locations: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Iraq, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets:_British_and_related_types#International_usage_of_BS_types