I saw this posted in OzBargain last week and was surprised that bunnings NZ actually has the same price for this item without powerpass.
Comes down further to $19 with an AssetLab PowerPass card ($9.5 per plug) which would be a competitive price against Tuya smart plugs with power monitoring from AliExpress.
Stock availability
https://bunningsnz.youinstock.com.au/search/0608945
Probably because of high wattage appliances = heat.
+1 too much watts kills! Been running various models of these smart plugs for going on 3 years with zero probs. Until over-watted - only one to die was monitoring a Plasma TV, 5.1 surround and HTPC. I then forgetfully added on the marine aquarium filter and light = zzzp
I have maybe minimum 8 of these in my house. Never had a single problem.
I have dLink smart plugs which have been with me for more than 3 years now and counting so I don't think it is common for smart plugs to die that quick.
As for these specific smart plugs, they probably have the same 12 month warranty as the single pack ones which should cover you in case it indeed dies down in 4-6 months time. I am sure these are just a rebranded Tuya smart plugs and from what I know, Tuya does have an acceptable reputation on their smart devices range. I think that the key here is to not use it on high powered devices as it might fry it or if you really need to, make sure it does not exceed 2400 watts.
Other users who have actually already used it for some time might be able to give you better insights though.
I've had one for about a 2 years now, hasn't missed a beat, I only have low wattage LED lamps / lights plugged in.
Have easily reset and repaired to new wifi networks too.
I can recommend but I only have a test size of 1 unit lol
Is it wifi 2.4 GHz only?
Yes, most smart IoT devices are 2.4GHz only.
Yes. Pretty common for smart devices as 2.4 ghz usually has greater range and is less prone to interference.
If you have a dual band network and are having trouble connecting the device to it, try turning off 5 ghz and then turn it back on again after you've connected your device to the network. That usually does the trick.
Anyone tried them with Home Assistant?
I use them with Home Assistant with no issues.
I use them with Local Tuya.
They auto configure to expose a switch, current, power usage, power, and voltage.
They also have power on behaviour that restores last state. I find them more reliable than my Xiaomi Zigbee outlets with the same functionality.
These don't work with home assistant out of the box. They require disassembly and manual flashing with a flashing tool.
There is 3 generations of this plug, gen 1/2 were good ones, gen 3 requires more work.
Chip is a bekken CB2S but it has newer firmware so it doesn't work with tuya cloud cutter. You can flash manually with openbekken or esphome.
The casing is pretty hard to open and you can't really flash the chip while it's soldered in, it wouldn't work for me even powered externally.
It is a good deal if you have time to do this but otherwise I'd stick with the tapo smart plugs.
Sounds like I'll stick with the cheap zigbee ones then, not worth the hassle for higher power loads by the sounds of it. Don't trust the cheap zigbee ones with more than a few hundred watts though haha, but good for switching
These do work with Home Assistant out of the box. They can’t be easily flashed to run ESPHome, but that’s very different to no compatibility.
You can either add them as a Tuya or Local Tuya device. Local Tuya doesn’t rely on the cloud, and has been perfectly reliable for me.
What do you guys use these smart plugs for?
If you want to monitor your power consumption, turn appliances/devices on/off remotely, turn on/off appliances/devices by voice using virtual assistants (alexa/google home/etc.), turn appliances/devices on/off after specific time/specific time of day, combine with routines with alexa/google assistant (eg. turn lights 30 mins. after sundown) and possibly a whole lot of other possibilities if you flash it and use home assistant and/or combine it with other smart devices/sensors.
eg. I have a smart plug that turns my trickle charger on during my free power from 3 am to 6 am and also have one that turns my christmas lamp on 30 mins. after sundown. I also have a tuya plug that I use to monitor the power consumption of the devices in my home office and it's pretty handy when I am already on my bed and want to turn off devices that I left on in that room. I also use it to stop charging batteries or devices with batteries after a set amount of time to avoid overcharging. If you have a traditional on/off switch lamp, you can turn that into a smart lamp with these as well minus the dimming.
In previous house I had an oil heater plugged into it. Then through the Smart Life app I had em linked to a Tuya temperature sensor. If the room hit a certain temperature, the smart plug would either turn the heater on or off. This was for my 1yr old in autumn/winter.
Weve used them for a few things.
Heaters in winter
Tool/appliance chargers
Slow cooker so we can activate from work
Electric blankets
Any inaccessible sockets to remotely control a device
Can use them for lights but we prefer smart bulbs for them so we dan dim and adjust the lighting.
Also, easy to forget to turn these devices off (oil heater for example). I had an automation that turns it off at a specific time each day, or turn it off/on when the room reaches a certain temperature via home assistant.
Link no longer works, appears to be OOS
Still works for me. Both website and app.
Weird, I get 404 not found and when I searched the site for it I can't find a 2 pack.
try searching 0608945 in app or website.
No issues here. iPhone Safari
You might be browsing bunnings.com.au? It's 404 in bunnings AU site but not in NZ.
@ross: Seems to be an issue with browser. Tried incognito and found it, but not in stock in any stores near me and delivery not an option.
Thanks for the help.
@CheapCanuck: After you enter your delivery address, try find a store that has it in stock by clicking "change store" and then "extend your store search" right at the bottom of the sliding drawer that comes out from the right.
I was able to select delivery from bunnings rotorua with an auckland address.
I have many of these, and issues.
Accuracy - some give wildly wrong voltage readings so the power and energy measurements are also out. Not been really motivated to check the current readings but when one is saying 180v and the one beside it 223v and I am measuring 237v, there are problems.
Sticky relays. Loads with inrush like my set of LED party lights (30ish e27 lamps on a string) or a powerbrick for an amplifier will make the relays stick. Worse is that they are dual pole switching so there is a chance that the live will stick but the neutral will open making things live that look off.
Heat, these run hot. Very hot.
I suspect they are clearing the stock out because they would rather get $20 than have to throw them away.
Have you found alternatives?
The ones I have got off aliexpress have been doing a lot better than any of the grid connect smart plugs. Weird thing is that the grid connect wall switches where I care about getting them locally as they are fixed wiring have all been working great.
None are as narrow as the grid connects of the mirabellas from kmart that look to be almost the same, so cannot go side by side in a powerstrip or a double wall socket, and cover the adjacent outlets to the point they cant be used.
Has anyone automated higher wattage equipments like a hot water cylinder with 14A current? Have been looking for smart plug options for quite some time now.
I’m using this Tomzn 63 amp smart breaker for HWC, wired in place of on/off switch in cabinet placed in a small DIN enclosure. Works a treat so far. Flashable with Tasmota apparently but not easy - guide online
Was about to pull the trigger and saw the reviews on the single one doesn't look very good, a lots of them died after 4-6 months, is this common for smart plug?