Introduction

Our goal with this is to automate a dangerous device. A dab rig vaporizes cannabis concentrate by heating it. My dab rig looks a lot like the one in the above picture. Set temp, turn on, and it heats to and then maintains that temp forever. The danger comes from the metal coil. They usually don’t have guards and get very hot (Between 400F and 600F usually). We will be adding an extra automation to make sure it’s only on when we are around it.

Requirements

• Home Assistant setup and externally accessible
• Home Assistant mobile app setup
• A smart switch (I HIGHLY recommend a switch that does not require an internet connection. I use TP Link smart switches)
• A dab rig that keeps its temperature setting between power cycles.

The Big Zone

The dab rig takes time to heat up. If I simply trigger the automation when I enter my home zone , it won’t be hot and ready when I go to use it. I created a new zone on top of my home zone, much bigger. I literally called it BigHome. Thats the zone I use for my automations to turn the dab rig on and off. The zone you use doesn’t matter but it needs to be the same zone for all automations , or weird things happen.

Turning it On and Off

This is honestly really simple and it’s just 2 basic automations. Make sure the zones match!

Safety

I have another automation that watches for the smart switch attached to my dab rig. The instant it turns on , it checks to make sure I’m in the big home zone. If I’m not, it sends a critical notification to my phone. You could also set this automation to just turn the switch off, but the dab rig is sometimes used when I am not home.

Expanding

This is a basic setup that can be customized to your specific routines. I have this switch included in my goodnight routine to make sure i’ts off when I go to sleep. The possibilities are endless.