Bluetooth propane tank monitor: ESPhome, Otodata, Nee-vo, Ferrellgas, BLE

Hardware
62

Perfect! Thanks for posting the solution.

I just replaced the old CURL command with the new address and authentication mode and it sprang back to life.

Replace XXX with your base64 value of course but this is working for me:

command_line:
  - sensor:
      command: 'curl -H "Authorization:Basic XXX" https://ws.otodatanetwork.com/neevoapp/v1/DataService.svc/GetAllDisplayPropaneDevices --header Content-Type:application/json'
      name: "Propane Tank"
      unique_id: propane_tank
      value_template: "{{ value_json[0].Level }}"
      scan_interval: 86400
63

@Geoff_Blachstein @imadunatic you are right, looks like the “Level” value is available in the first call - great.

I changed my sensor to use the RESTful Sensor - Home Assistant form instead of curl. This does allow you to easily move the authentication value entirely to your secrets file: (note the value will have to include the "Basic " in front of it as you are passing it as the value of the entire Authorization header.

sensor:
  - platform: rest
    name: Propane Tank
    resource: https://ws.otodatanetwork.com/neevoapp/v1/DataService.svc/GetAllDisplayPropaneDevices
    headers:
      Authorization: !secret neevo_auth
    value_template: "{{ value_json[0].Level }}"
64

Thanks for the update on this guys. Mine broke as well. The updated command line sensor works great for me. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to get the REST sensor to work. I’d prefer that method, but I’m just happy to have a working sensor again!

65

@mkjr75 - anything in the homeassistant logs for the rest calls? It could be unrelated (as I would expect it to impact curls calls as well) but I recently noticed an increase in timeouts for the huum api. I’ve set a longer timeout option and am monitoring how that goes.

66

@diffhome - nothing I’ve been able to find. I just recently turned on REST debug, but I’m not finding any entries in the log, unless I’m in the wrong area (I don’t typically do a ton of debugging, most things just work!)

67

I’m trying to set this up for my house.

I also have a TM6030

I can see the iBeacon in nrf Connect for Mobile.

I tried to sign into the Nee-Vo account, but got a message that the device was already registered (probably by the previous owners)

I’m totally new to ESP and have hit a bit of a wall.

I got my ESP32 set up and in ESPHome, but can’t figure out how to get information from the beacon.

68

I don’t think anyone has been able to figure out communicating to the device directly, just through the neevo api (which needs an account and a paid data plan etc). Local device communication would be the holy grail :slight_smile:

69

I’m trying to make the adjustment to the new endpoint, but my testing via curl keeps returning a 502. Anyone else seeing this behavior? I’m pretty sure that I’m fully passing the login check, as prefixing anything to the front of that base64 string makes it fail earlier with a 401.

rick@merlin ~]$ curl -v -v --http1.1 -H "Authorization: Basic VALUE_REDACTED" "https://ws.otodatanetwork.com/neevoapp/v1/DataService.svc/GetAllDisplayPropaneDevices"
*   Trying 3.138.74.96:443...
* Connected to ws.otodatanetwork.com (3.138.74.96) port 443 (#0)
* ALPN: offers http/1.1
* TLSv1.3 (OUT), TLS handshake, Client hello (1):
*  CAfile: /etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
*  CApath: none
* TLSv1.3 (IN), TLS handshake, Server hello (2):
* TLSv1.2 (IN), TLS handshake, Certificate (11):
* TLSv1.2 (IN), TLS handshake, Server key exchange (12):
* TLSv1.2 (IN), TLS handshake, Server finished (14):
* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS handshake, Client key exchange (16):
* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS change cipher, Change cipher spec (1):
* TLSv1.2 (OUT), TLS handshake, Finished (20):
* TLSv1.2 (IN), TLS handshake, Finished (20):
* SSL connection using TLSv1.2 / ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384
* ALPN: server accepted http/1.1
* Server certificate:
*  subject: CN=*.otodatanetwork.com
*  start date: Jan 15 17:51:03 2024 GMT
*  expire date: Feb 15 17:51:02 2025 GMT
*  subjectAltName: host "ws.otodatanetwork.com" matched cert's "*.otodatanetwork.com"
*  issuer: C=BE; O=GlobalSign nv-sa; CN=AlphaSSL CA - SHA256 - G4
*  SSL certificate verify ok.
* using HTTP/1.1
> GET /neevoapp/v1/DataService.svc/GetAllDisplayPropaneDevices HTTP/1.1
> Host: ws.otodatanetwork.com
> User-Agent: curl/7.88.1
> Accept: */*
> Authorization: Basic VALUE_REDACTED
> 
< HTTP/1.1 502 Bad Gateway
< Server: nginx/1.18.0 (Ubuntu)
< Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2024 04:38:00 GMT
< Content-Type: text/html
< Content-Length: 166
< Connection: keep-alive
< 
<html>
<head><title>502 Bad Gateway</title></head>
<body>
<center><h1>502 Bad Gateway</h1></center>
<hr><center>nginx/1.18.0 (Ubuntu)</center>
</body>
</html>
* Connection #0 to host ws.otodatanetwork.com left intact
70

I am not able to reproduce this. Switching in my VALUE_REDACTED value in the command gets a 200 response.

Do things work if you visit https://ws.otodatanetwork.com/neevoapp/v1/DataService.svc/GetAllDisplayPropaneDevices in a browser and enter your username and password?

71

@tinker_ha — Just want to thank you for the work you did here. I got an ESP32 device reading the data directly using your recipe with little fuss, and it’s great to have that working as well as the API other folks shared.

72

I did mine with a shell script that log the info to a file when the data return the % level. Then a command line sensor that “cat” the log every 60sec. Does the job and haven’t failed me since I implemented it some time ago…

73

I’m using an ESP32 board that used to pick up status from my TM6030 via bluetooth just fine. I’ve since had to upgrade esphome and recompile the firmware due to a bad drive. Ever since, I’ve not bee able to see the tank level being broadcast. The RSSI for the TM6030 is showing up in esphome as: “Sending state nan dBm with 0 decimals of accuracy”

I’ve downgraded esphome to version 8 and tried every version up through the current dev release. Nothing gets me around this issue.

Has anyone else experienced this?

My scan settings:

esp32_ble_tracker:
  scan_parameters:
    window: 1100ms
    interval: 1100ms
    # duration: 30s
    active: False
74

I recommend you try a bluetooth scanner app on a phone to see if the tank monitor is broadcasting data correctly. This way you can rule out issues with you ESPHome config. “nRF Connect” is a good app on Android.

In the app you should see the tank monitor. The message from it will rotate through 3 different lines; one of which is the tank level. You will have to watch it for a few minutes to see it change.

It could be distance between tank monitor and your ESP32 device. The tank monitor also runs of battery which could be dying which will limit or shut off the bluetooth broadcast.

75

As luck would have it, I can no longer see the TM6030 using nRF Connect. I could in the past though. I was hoping it wasn’t showing up because I messed with the settings in the app.

The battery was pretty much dead, so I replaced the two cells and verified over 6 volts from the “fixed” battery. Still, no level advertisements.

At this point, I may have to just buy another one from ebay.

Thanks for the sanity check though. I was pretty much chasing my own tail for a while.

76

Good information. I updated the code to sensor templates…

#Nee-Vo JSON
sensor:
  - platform: rest
    name: Propane Tank
    resource_template: https://ws.otodatanetwork.com/neevoapp/v1/DataService.svc/GetAllDisplayPropaneDevices
    headers:
      Authorization: !secret neevo_auth
    value_template: '{{ value_json.propane_tank | default }}'
    json_attributes:
      - CompanyName
      - CustomName
      - Level
      - SerialNumber
      - Product
      - TankCapacity
      - TankLastPressure
      - TankPressureDisplayUnitSymbol

  - platform: template
    sensors:
      propane_tank_company_name:
        friendly_name: "Service Company"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'CompanyName') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:account-wrench
      propane_tank_custom_name:
        friendly_name: "Name"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'CustomName') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:home-account
      propane_tank_level:
        friendly_name: "Tank Level"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'Level') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:storage-tank
        unit_of_measurement: "%"
      propane_tank_serial_number:
        friendly_name: "Serial Number"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'SerialNumber') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:numeric
      propane_tank_product:
        friendly_name: "Product"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'Product') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:storage-tank
      propane_tank_capacity:
        friendly_name: "Tank Capacity"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'TankCapacity') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:car-coolent-level
        unit_of_measurement: "gal"
      propane_tank_last_pressure:
        friendly_name: "Last Pressure"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'TankLastPressure') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:numeric
      propane_tank_pressure_display_unit_symbol:
        friendly_name: "Pressure Units"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'TankPressureDisplayUnitSymbol') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:numeric
77

Found your thread and was able to get my tank in to Home Assistant. One more app I can remove from my phone!!

Thanks for your work on this!

78

If y’all are still looking for a solution on this, this tank monitor I purchased 3 years ago has been great.

Hooks up via REST API direct. No recurring fees on the tank monitor and it’s solar powered, which is great since we’re only at our place half the year.

Once you purchase the unit, they give you the credentials needed to hook up HA via REST API. Super straight forward, took me 15minutes to hook it up.

You can check them out here www.centriconnect.com

There’s also an HA forum thread on integrating these here: LINK

DSC_0275
DSC_02751920×1272 88.6 KB

79

I see a LastReadingDate returned in the API response. Example:
"/Date(1762640871977-0500)/"
I think I figured out how to add it. Might have messed up on the timezone, but close enough for me. Just curious how often the readings update.

{{ as_datetime(((state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'LastReadingDate').split('(')[1]).split(')')[0]).split('-')[0] | multiply(0.001) | round(0) | timestamp_local) }}

Updated code:

sensor:
    #Nee-Vo API
  - platform: rest
    name: Propane Tank
    resource_template: https://ws.otodatanetwork.com/neevoapp/v1/DataService.svc/GetAllDisplayPropaneDevices
    headers:
      Authorization: !secret neevo_auth
    value_template: '{{ value_json.propane_tank | default }}'
    json_attributes:
      - CompanyName
      - CustomName
      - Level
      - SerialNumber
      - Product
      - TankCapacity
      - TankLastPressure
      - TankPressureDisplayUnitSymbol
      - LastReadingDate
  - platform: template
    #Nee-Vo API JSON
    sensors:
      propane_tank_company_name:
        friendly_name: "Service Company"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'CompanyName') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:account-wrench
      propane_tank_custom_name:
        friendly_name: "Name"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'CustomName') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:home-account
      propane_tank_level:
        friendly_name: "Tank Level"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'Level') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:storage-tank
        unit_of_measurement: "%"
      propane_tank_serial_number:
        friendly_name: "Serial Number"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'SerialNumber') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:numeric
      propane_tank_product:
        friendly_name: "Product"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'Product') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:storage-tank
      propane_tank_capacity:
        friendly_name: "Tank Capacity"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'TankCapacity') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:car-coolent-level
        unit_of_measurement: "gal"
      propane_tank_last_pressure:
        friendly_name: "Last Pressure"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'TankLastPressure') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:numeric
      propane_tank_pressure_display_unit_symbol:
        friendly_name: "Pressure Units"
        value_template: "{{ state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'TankPressureDisplayUnitSymbol') }}"
        icon_template: mdi:numeric
      propane_tank_pressure_last_reading_date:
        friendly_name: "Last Reading Date"
        value_template: "{{ as_datetime(((state_attr('sensor.propane_tank', 'LastReadingDate').split('(')[1]).split(')')[0]).split('-')[0] | multiply(0.001) | round(0) | timestamp_local) }}"
        icon_template: mdi:calendar-range
80

Not quite a total nube here; I’ve got my HA setup and even got ZigBee and a couple other integrations setup.

I saw this thread when I first built my setup, and loved the idea of having my tank monitor in HA, and hoped though playing with HA I’d figure this out, but several months in I still have no idea:

Where does this code actually go?

I think the only YAML work I’ve done was when I removed one of my devices (a tablet) from the map, so I’m a bit lost, but would love to implement this.

Any direction would be much appreciated!

81

There are two ways to connect to the propane monitor discussed in this thread.

One uses local bluetooth via an ESP32 device in which case the YAML code is for ESPHome and is added to the device’s configuration file.

The other uses REST commands through the internet in which case the YAML code is for HomeAssistant and typically added to configuration.yaml file.