Sulfur Dioxide Sensor

[drozwood90]

Ok,

So, I've been looking and looking for a LONG time.

Any idea where I can get a Sulfur Dioxide sensor? The only one I have ever seen is made with Platinum, and wears out after a month of exposure...

Basically, trying to figure out if there is a better way for HomeSeer to know if someone is in the bathroom using the sink...or toilet...and if toilet, ...how long to have the fan run to evacuate the room.

I thought of a methane sensor...but according to the (I'm sure) accurate websites I have seen, the majority agreed that only 10% of the populous really generates methane...BUT the "rotten" smell, that's the Sulfur Dioxide...so...

ok, that's enough on this...anyone know where I can get a sensor?

--Dan

 

[robolo]

I think this is the holy grail of automation sensors !

 

[Ranger Digital]

Cant wait to see this!

 

[gatchel]

keep me posted...

 

[drozwood90]

keep me posted...

Hmm...nothing yet??

<bump>

--Dan

 

[Timoh]

I'm sure there are some other "organic" compounds you can detect. Pretty sure sulfar dioxide is the stuff they mix into natural gas and propane so you can smell it. Those gases are actually odourless.

Wouldn't an optical sensor under the toilet seat be just as useful?

Bordering on the realm of too much info....

Tim

 

[Ranger Digital]

Just make everyone do "it" outside. odor problem solved. :blink:

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

Not sure about those sensors but what I do is set a rule that if the light is on for more than 2 minutes then turn on the fan. That way, if they are taking a shower it will also vent out some of the extra moisture.

We also have this rule set in the restrooms here in the office. When people ask how that happened, we tell them that we installed a "stink" sensor. You would be surprised at how many people believe that!

 

[jrlewis]

Just as a point of clarity the rotten egg smell comes from hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as opposed to sulfur dioxide (SO2). Reduced sulfur compounds are the ones that tend to be odiferous. It is reduced sulfur compounds (mercaptans/thiols or dimethyl disulfide...extremely stinky) that are used as the marker for naturual gas. If you are really serious you can find H2S sensors pretty easily.

Edit: I took a look around and found at least a couple of researcher's that are interested in something similar with regards to elderly patients in nursing homes. Take a look at http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~whd/publications/imtc00.pdf.

 

[robolo]

What about this sensor for H2S. MSRP $850. A little pricey but it does have an explosion proof housing!

 

[HighTest]

What about this sensor for H2S. MSRP $850. A little pricey but it does have an explosion proof housing!

That's a lot of beans!!!!!


Seriously, why not simply buy several bottles of beano (http://www.beanogas.com/) and take them during meals. Talk about how good they are for your health and your guests will want to try them too.

I think it'd also be far more simple to have an exhaust fan triggered by a motion sensor. It's not just the smells, but the fan noise can mask other functions. A nice feature for your guests if they know that the fan is on for "everyone" and not just those that produce more odor. Having it only come on when certain individuals are producing can be embarassing and likely to reduce their return in the future when they ask about the automatted fan that doesn't come on for everyone.

Of course, if you want to single them out, also use a voice recorder to play back a message about "here's the stinker, yeah stinky!!"

 

[ginigma]

Mount a camera towards the toilet. Using motion and image analysis software, you can determine if someone is doing #1 or #2. If #2, you can turn the fan on and leave it on for x amount of minutes. The longer amount of time they were sitting there, the longer the fan stays on afterwards.





[I hope everyone realizes I'm kidding about the cam. I'm not that perverted!]

 

[racerx90]

Mount a camera towards the toilet. Using motion and image analysis software, you can determine if someone is doing #1 or #2. If #2, you can turn the fan on and leave it on for x amount of minutes. The longer amount of time they were sitting there, the longer the fan stays on afterwards.

This is honestly one of the more creative posts I've seen in a while. And yes, I got a laugh out of it...

 

[Quixote_1]

I've been trying to figure out a way of setting up the same thing for my bathroom. I'll be using a humidity sensor to turn on the fan automatically when someone has a shower, but the stink removal has been a challenge. The best idea I can come up with is a weight sensor that takes a readings when someone sits down, looking for sudden weight changes. lol
The only other problem would be differentiating between the two possibilities. I even considered a PH meter, but that would hardly be sanitary. The problem with attaching devices to your toilet seat is that it still needs to be easy to clean and disinfect. Maybe some sort of IR sensor could be utilized?

 

[rosenqui]

I went with a low-tech approach for all of our bathroom fans: each has one of these Leviton timer switches. For fans near a shower I used 30/15/10/5 switches; for ones in a powder room with just a toilet I've got 15/10/5/2 versions. It puts the onus on the bathroom user to decide if they just took a dump worthy of 5 minutes of fan time or 15, but it's a cheap system that just plain works. I'm also using them for some closet/utility-room lights that should never need to be on for more than a few minutes at a time. I believe the new UPB switches from PCS can be programmed to automatically turn off after X minutes - that would work equally well.

For the showers, it's nice to be able to exit the steamy bathroom and know that the fan will continue to run for several minutes to clear out the humidity. Again, it comes down to the human deciding how much time is needed, but at least I know the switch will go off eventually. At our old house we had no automation, and if we were hustling off to work in the morning we had to either leave the fan running all day to clear the steam out of our small ensuite, or switch it off and leave the bathroom very humid.