I’m in the process of upgrading my blinds and I wanted to know if anyone had recently used the myiblinds (iblinds) v.3.1 hardware (iblinds Kit v3.1). I figured it would prudent to ask about current add-on compatibility before purchasing a bunch of these units.
I should also say that I’m still on version 2.5.12 since I haven’t completely looked into upgrading to version 3.1.x (and a quick look gives me the sense that this is going to be a non-trivial upgrade that needs to be planned out).
I got one a while back to test them out (with the solar attachment). The install is as easy as they say; the integration with OH is sufficient (I don’t think I installed it before I moved to OH3 so I can’t speak to 2.5.12 specifically, but I see no reason it should be any different); the device itself is mediocre. It’s pretty noisy (not too surprising I guess) and occasionally gets confused about percentages between fully open and fully closed.
If you’ve got blinds instead of shades, they’re probably still one of the better options out there, but I wasn’t impressed enough to put them in the rest of my blinds.
Interesting, thanks for that Justin. I was planing to only start with two units to see how they fair. I’m curious though, In my research, I haven’t turned up any other solutions I like that are z-wave, work with OH and have any relevant talk about them (i.e. youtube vids or forum threads). Is there another solution you found for your blinds or did you just decide to not automate your other windows treatments?
I just haven’t automated any of the other windows yet. I haven’t found any other options, and just felt that the price point on these was a little too high given the result. If they were maybe half price or so, then I would probably go all in for them.
Ditto. I have four blinds that I’d love to automate, but not at the current prices.
If and when the time comes, I’ll go with purpose-built units. I have a feeling that a retrofit will be more of a project than a solution.
I’m also hesitant to add Z-Wave devices at this point in time, as I want to see what happens with Matter/Thread.
Exactly… iBlind was running a sale during Black Friday for $99 a unit which was still a bit steep and now they are back up to $109.
Initially I was going to engineer something to turn the rod mechanism on my mini-blinds with a small 12v high torque motor and a Qubino 12-24V shutter controller but that was proving to be a p.i.t.a. and since I was moving away from mini-blinds anyway, the project became moot. The issue with most of these systems is power but with my custom build I could use a small 12v AGM, Li-ion, LiFePO4 battery or AC power supplies to run at least two windows.
Now looking at this again, I’m wondering if that is the way to go since I can just throw all the electronics in the 2" channel that holds the mechanics.
Anyone know the diameter of the metal bar that turns the blinds? The motor I have is about a 6mm (~0.24in) D shaft. Maybe I just need a shaft coupler to an appropriately sized hex rod?
I doubt that there’s one standard diameter, so I think you’d have to get the blinds you want and measure. I have cordless blinds, so I can’t give you any rough estimates.
I have cordless ones coming too. That geeked me out- had to do it LOL
It has to be a standard though since otherwise iBlinds wouldn’t be able to sell their product. I can’t see there being much slop in the connection to (really through) the tilt drum.
If no one else responds, when I get mine (at least a month from now), I’ll measure and post it back here.
Check out their FAQ. They’re pretty specific about what will and won’t work, and I suspect that’s to protect them from customers complaining later on when parts don’t connect properly.
https://support.myiblinds.com/faqs/
I usually lose interest in products when there are a lot of qualifiers.
Heheh, I read through that before my last post- great minds…
They tell you everything EXCEPT the diameter of the actual tilt rod and its shape (D, hex, etc…).
I’m googling more now. There are blinds repair part places, someone has to have this listed…
(like, 2 minutes later)
“1. These wand tilters fit inside a headrail that is only 2.25” wide and 1.5" tall2. Has a hexagon shaped gear hole in the center (this means that the metal rod that is located inside of your blind’s headrail must be hexagon shaped in order to fit inside of the gear.)3. The hexagon shaped gear hole in the center is 1/4" wide in diameter."
BooYau !
…but I’ll have to verify when I get mine
Isn’t this what you’re looking for?
Ha! Looks like you found something it too!
That was on the iBlinds FAQ page. I think you missed it earlier.
I definitely missed it then. I thought I expanded all the sections. Ugh, I HATE when people do that with technical specs. We have scroll wheels for a reason…