I have a mini fridge or mini cooler (2 prong) which can be plugged into a car or plugged into the 110V wall outlet. Usually I just plug it into the wall and use it in the garage. I want to control the mini-fridge through x10. I purchased the X10 appliance module. Since the minifridge draws alot of current I would like to shut it off for about 4 hours during the late night and turn it back on during the day. Now here is the problem.
Everytime it shuts off via x10 using the appliance module for a long period of time, it will not turn on via x10 commands. I have to very quickly toggle it OFF/ON/OFF/ON/OFF/ON to get it working. BUT THAT DOES NOT WORK ALL OF THE TIME. Furthermore that cannot be easily programmed using the ActiveHome software. Someone advised me to put a small 7 watt night light to help draw current but that never worked. (Should I put something in that will draw more power?)
The funny thing is that if you shut if off for 5 seconds and then turn it on, it works ok. But if it's off for a long period of time, it will turn on again, unless you toggle it on and off quickly.
Is there an specialized appliance module that will actually work? And can someone please explain why it doesn't work.
Note: I assume the minifridge draws alot of current because I accidently kept it plugged into my car and in 6 hours my car battery was dead.
