GE - Green Bean Appliance Module
- Thread starter mrb627
- Start date
Help Support :
Better question: Who cares?
Malcolm, thanks for sharing this, I hadn't seen it yet. It looks like all this does is to share connectivity out of the appliance to other devices like a smartphone etc.
The open source small embedded computer world really opened up with the Raspberry Pi and Arduino platforms. A Raspberry Pi is basically a full PC with about the power of a Netbook one can buy for $35!
The "Maker" world is playing a lot with these platforms now. The development is pretty amazing being that it is generally all shared and collaborative. They are pretty easy to interface to hardware and programming uses high level languages that support high quality graphical user interfaces.
I'm collaborating on a current project with a friend to develop a flexible user programmable Pi based appliance timer. Think of a something the size of a Garmin Nuvi you can make do about anything you want cycle wise. Could be a nice replacement for legacy mechanical timers that are unobtainable today. And Internet connectivity would be an easy option to add.
Photo shows the current Raspberry Pi computer. Board footprint is about the size of a cigarette pack.
The open source small embedded computer world really opened up with the Raspberry Pi and Arduino platforms. A Raspberry Pi is basically a full PC with about the power of a Netbook one can buy for $35!
The "Maker" world is playing a lot with these platforms now. The development is pretty amazing being that it is generally all shared and collaborative. They are pretty easy to interface to hardware and programming uses high level languages that support high quality graphical user interfaces.
I'm collaborating on a current project with a friend to develop a flexible user programmable Pi based appliance timer. Think of a something the size of a Garmin Nuvi you can make do about anything you want cycle wise. Could be a nice replacement for legacy mechanical timers that are unobtainable today. And Internet connectivity would be an easy option to add.
Photo shows the current Raspberry Pi computer. Board footprint is about the size of a cigarette pack.
whirlcool
Well-known member
Once your custom program bombs out and the appliance no longer works how much will a service guy charge to come out and reload the original programs in your appliance?
Allen,
There won't be any service techs available. This is open source and only something that would be offered to the people that are interested in doing and learning and making something cool. Pretty much the same thing we all do with vintage machines isn't it? After all you can't find someone to come fix a 50 year old mechanical timer anymore...
There is good and bad with that comes with all technology no doubt. Some people are interested in embracing the good that it can come from technology. The other side of the coin would be rubbing clothing on a rock which is generally pretty reliable. The joy is that there is room for all of us in seeking our own personal approach.
There won't be any service techs available. This is open source and only something that would be offered to the people that are interested in doing and learning and making something cool. Pretty much the same thing we all do with vintage machines isn't it? After all you can't find someone to come fix a 50 year old mechanical timer anymore...
There is good and bad with that comes with all technology no doubt. Some people are interested in embracing the good that it can come from technology. The other side of the coin would be rubbing clothing on a rock which is generally pretty reliable. The joy is that there is room for all of us in seeking our own personal approach.
Something like this should make a lot of people on this board happy.
Just think, with enough good quality relays and a controller of some form, one could customize machines with mechanical timers that aren't offering ideal cycles to modern day standard...
A good example would be a Hobart-built KitchenAid Dishwasher... You could control how many (and duration of) pre-washes, soaks, washes, rinses and how long the drying cycle lasts. You could also add a delay start option. Keep the fan going until the door is opened, make the rinse only cycle last longer?
And just imagine the possibilities of the direct-drive washers (tl and fl). If people figured out the circuitry of those, you could make your own custom cycles... I could customize water temperature, water level, wash tumble length, how many rinses and how long of a spin on those blasted samsungs that I hate so much... I'm sure if people were devoted enough you could even program your own '6 motion' like movements into the machine... The TL direct drive machines you could adjust agitation aggression, arc, fill options etc.
The reasons above are why I like commercial appliances. If you can afford the products, you can customize the settings/cycles to do exactly what you want...
Just think, with enough good quality relays and a controller of some form, one could customize machines with mechanical timers that aren't offering ideal cycles to modern day standard...
A good example would be a Hobart-built KitchenAid Dishwasher... You could control how many (and duration of) pre-washes, soaks, washes, rinses and how long the drying cycle lasts. You could also add a delay start option. Keep the fan going until the door is opened, make the rinse only cycle last longer?
And just imagine the possibilities of the direct-drive washers (tl and fl). If people figured out the circuitry of those, you could make your own custom cycles... I could customize water temperature, water level, wash tumble length, how many rinses and how long of a spin on those blasted samsungs that I hate so much... I'm sure if people were devoted enough you could even program your own '6 motion' like movements into the machine... The TL direct drive machines you could adjust agitation aggression, arc, fill options etc.
The reasons above are why I like commercial appliances. If you can afford the products, you can customize the settings/cycles to do exactly what you want...
whirlcool
Well-known member
I understand what it's for, I was under the impression it could be used with any washer that has electronic controls, new or old.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to do laundry the way YOU want to do your laundry rather than letting the EPA decide for you. The possibilities are endless. But the story did say that some programming knowledge is required. And that requires a skill.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to do laundry the way YOU want to do your laundry rather than letting the EPA decide for you. The possibilities are endless. But the story did say that some programming knowledge is required. And that requires a skill.
Hi, fellow appliance enthusiast here, I've been lurking here for a while but just joined today! Here's some info about the Green Bean module. I plan on ordering one soon. Historically, Whirlpool has been my favorite manufacturer but it's stuff like this that's really been making me like GE more lately. I am not happy at all about the Electrolux acquisition.
Anyhow... back to the Greenbean. This will only work with GE appliances, and only certain newer models at that. My fridge happens to be on the compatible list so I'm looking forward to playing around with it. All of the appliances on the list have RJ45 ports in various locations that will allow the Greenbean to communicate with the appliance's electronic controls. The good part is that if you have a compatible appliance, this thing will be pretty powerful. You can modify the appliance's operation, integrate it with other things, or both. Yes you will need to write code. The appliances that work with the Green Bean have two main modes: user mode and native mode. User mode pretty much just gives you remote access and programming to the regular stuff on the machine that you could normally activate with the control panel. Native mode gives you full access to all the inputs and outputs of the control board, so yes, you could in theory write your own cycle. However, in native mode, the machine's normal lockouts and safety features are disabled to give the most flexibility, so you have to write your own. For example, if you wrote a program for your dryer in native mode, you'd need to add code to stop it if the door is opened.
You cannot do what jkbff says with the Greenbean, however you have long been able to do that with other microcontrollers like the Arduino. I remember watching a YouTube video where the guy was sick of buying new keypads for his Maytag tall tub dishwasher so he ripped out all the Maytag electronics and wired up an Arduino to control all the components via relays and designed his own keypad (including an LCD screen).
Here is the Green Bean compatibility list:
Bottom Mount Refrigerators (Louisville built)
CFE28
CFE29
CWE23
CYE22
CYE23
DFE28
DFE29
DYE22
GFE26
GFE27
GFE28
GFE29
GNE26
GYE22
PFE27
PFE28
PFE29
PWE23
PYE22
PYE23
ZWE23
Dishwashers (Louisville built)
ADT521
CDT725
CDT765
DDT575
GDF510
GDF520
GDF540
GDF570
GDT530
GDT550
GDT580
GDT720
GDT740
PDT750
PDT760
ZDT800
ZDT870
Electric wall ovens (LaFayette built)
JK3000
JK3500
JK5000
JK5500
JT3000
JT3500
JT5000
JT5500
PK7500
PT7050
PT7550
PT9050
PT9550
Electric freestanding ranges (LaFayette built)
JB740
JB745
JB750
JB850
JB850
PB930
PB950
Gas freestanding ranges (Mexico built)
JGB750
JGB760
JGB770
JGB850
JGB870
PGB920
PGB940
PGB945
PGB950
Dual fuel freestanding ranges (Mexico built)
P2B940
Front load washers (Louisville built)
GFWR2700
GFWR4800
GFWR4805
GFWS2500
GFWS2600
GFWS2605
GHWS3600
GHWS3605
Front load match dryers (Louisville built)
GFDR270
GFDR480
GFDR485
GFDS250
GFDS260
GFDS265
GHDS360
GHDS365
Top load washers (Louisville built)
GHWN8350
GHWN8355
GTWN7450
GTWN8150
GTWN8155
GTWN8250
GTWS8450
GTWS8455
GTWS8650
GTWS8655
Top load match dryers (Mexico built)
GHDS830
GHDS835
GTDL740
GTDP740
GTDS810
GTDS815
GTDS820
GTDS825
GTDS850
GTDS855
GTDS860
GTDS865
Heat pump water heaters (Louisville built)
GEH50
Anyhow... back to the Greenbean. This will only work with GE appliances, and only certain newer models at that. My fridge happens to be on the compatible list so I'm looking forward to playing around with it. All of the appliances on the list have RJ45 ports in various locations that will allow the Greenbean to communicate with the appliance's electronic controls. The good part is that if you have a compatible appliance, this thing will be pretty powerful. You can modify the appliance's operation, integrate it with other things, or both. Yes you will need to write code. The appliances that work with the Green Bean have two main modes: user mode and native mode. User mode pretty much just gives you remote access and programming to the regular stuff on the machine that you could normally activate with the control panel. Native mode gives you full access to all the inputs and outputs of the control board, so yes, you could in theory write your own cycle. However, in native mode, the machine's normal lockouts and safety features are disabled to give the most flexibility, so you have to write your own. For example, if you wrote a program for your dryer in native mode, you'd need to add code to stop it if the door is opened.
You cannot do what jkbff says with the Greenbean, however you have long been able to do that with other microcontrollers like the Arduino. I remember watching a YouTube video where the guy was sick of buying new keypads for his Maytag tall tub dishwasher so he ripped out all the Maytag electronics and wired up an Arduino to control all the components via relays and designed his own keypad (including an LCD screen).
Here is the Green Bean compatibility list:
Bottom Mount Refrigerators (Louisville built)
CFE28
CFE29
CWE23
CYE22
CYE23
DFE28
DFE29
DYE22
GFE26
GFE27
GFE28
GFE29
GNE26
GYE22
PFE27
PFE28
PFE29
PWE23
PYE22
PYE23
ZWE23
Dishwashers (Louisville built)
ADT521
CDT725
CDT765
DDT575
GDF510
GDF520
GDF540
GDF570
GDT530
GDT550
GDT580
GDT720
GDT740
PDT750
PDT760
ZDT800
ZDT870
Electric wall ovens (LaFayette built)
JK3000
JK3500
JK5000
JK5500
JT3000
JT3500
JT5000
JT5500
PK7500
PT7050
PT7550
PT9050
PT9550
Electric freestanding ranges (LaFayette built)
JB740
JB745
JB750
JB850
JB850
PB930
PB950
Gas freestanding ranges (Mexico built)
JGB750
JGB760
JGB770
JGB850
JGB870
PGB920
PGB940
PGB945
PGB950
Dual fuel freestanding ranges (Mexico built)
P2B940
Front load washers (Louisville built)
GFWR2700
GFWR4800
GFWR4805
GFWS2500
GFWS2600
GFWS2605
GHWS3600
GHWS3605
Front load match dryers (Louisville built)
GFDR270
GFDR480
GFDR485
GFDS250
GFDS260
GFDS265
GHDS360
GHDS365
Top load washers (Louisville built)
GHWN8350
GHWN8355
GTWN7450
GTWN8150
GTWN8155
GTWN8250
GTWS8450
GTWS8455
GTWS8650
GTWS8655
Top load match dryers (Mexico built)
GHDS830
GHDS835
GTDL740
GTDP740
GTDS810
GTDS815
GTDS820
GTDS825
GTDS850
GTDS855
GTDS860
GTDS865
Heat pump water heaters (Louisville built)
GEH50
As you seem to know a lot about this system, hvtech42, do you know if it's possible to read out the code so you can safe the original code as backup and/or only modify the already existing code?
And, BTW, do you know which programming language is used?
And, BTW, do you know which programming language is used?
I don't actually have any hands-on experience with this thing, I just spent a bit of time reading through GE's GitHub page. It looks like they're still working on their laundry documentation, but here is their page on the range. The Greenbean SDK is based. And no, as far as I know, you won't actually be able to see GE's built in algorithms written out. I can imagine coming up with a balancing routine for a load washer program would be a pain. And I haven't seen anything written about how this would affect warranty - if a part failed, how would they know it was because of a manufacturing defect as opposed to someone writing a crappy program? There are a lot of unanswered questions about this thing, and if it were the right time of year I would be inclined to think it was an April Fools joke.
The Greenbean SDK is J4v4scr1pt based. For some reason the site is not letting me write out that word.
