Thanks again, Rob, for your video. I have been wanting to learn about ESP32, and am delighted that you are not only educating us about it but adding it to your (our) Smart Boat System. I have just recently been looking at how to add battery monitoring into the system rather than buying a separate and expensive battery monitor. I love your integrated approach and your commitment to keeping it robust but inexpensive. I look forward to the other ESP32 projects to integrate with Home Assistant for a fully fitted out Smart Boat. I also appreciate that you are teaching us how to build a smart boat system, and even make our own Lithium batteries, but using the video's to sell your own products like many systems. There are tons of YT videos but I don't know of another one that offers a comprehensive guide for an inexpensive system. John T in Fla.
Thank you so much for your kind words and support! I'm thrilled to hear that you're finding the ESP32 content helpful for your Smart Boat System. It's always been my goal to offer practical, affordable solutions, and I'm happy to hear they appeal to you. Stay tuned for more ESP32 integrations, especially with Home Assistant, to enhance your Smart Boat experience. Your enthusiasm for learning and building is truly inspiring!
This video poped up on my home page, and it retriggered inside of me, the will to mess up with my dorment ESP32 that are lying down on my drawer. Please do more home assistant + ESP32 videos!
Can you do a video on esp32 mesh network ? I have a 78ft aluminum boat and would like to setup sensors in the steering room, engine room, and bridge … but WiFi will not make it the whole way … so I am thinking a mesh could help and it sounds like esp32 can do that
That could be a possible future video but to solve your immediate problem you could just use a simple WiFi extender. The same that people use in their large houses. There are projects to set up an esp32 to do this as well but they are more involved.
I reused my existing battery box as the EVE 280 cells were the same length as the width of my previous AGM batteries. Simple plywood ends held together firmly with dyneema could also be an easy build. I am also starting to see some LifePO4 storage boxes being sold on Aliexpress but I cannot really recommend any as I have not used them
Can you help me to understand when we would use the esp32 and when we would use the Raspberry Pi? Your earlier videos seem to use the Pi but now there are videos using the esp32. Thank you.
The Raspberry Pi is the base of the Smart Boat and runs Home Assistant. The esp32, and you can have multiple, allow you to connect sensors via wifi to the Raspberry Pi. Example sensors are the all the Engine monitoring sensors like temperature, oil pressure and tank levels. Another example is a NMEA 2k wireless connect. Many of the speciality sensors use an esp32 as it makes life easier as you do not need to run cables and integrates easily with Home Assistant. See Engine monitoring For Tachometer: th-cam.com/video/-xflWB3R2Go/w-d-xo.html For oil pressure: th-cam.com/video/ScP7xjOwWFg/w-d-xo.html For Engine temps: th-cam.com/video/hfo4Pd6KxlE/w-d-xo.html For Fuel levels: th-cam.com/video/nj_IY5HZdic/w-d-xo.html
Hi Rob, I’m brand new to doing this and following your excellent tutorial but have things changed since you made the video? When I got to the part where you install ESP Home, you installed ESP Home Web 2023 .7.0? But all I had to download was esp-web-tools-example-0e9c98.yaml. I installed that and followed your video then got to the part where you can edit your file in Home Assistant and my file is totally different to yours - it shows 18 lines but only 15 lines of code. Yours is showing 31 lines with many more lines of code than mine. I’m using a Mac so had to use the Mac version of the drivers, rather than the universal that you used, if it’s anything to do with that?
Each version of ESP Web tools seems to have a different base yaml. This does not really matter as the code we add will go after this. As long as it installs without errors it will be fine. I have some extra ESP32 tips in my Smart Bilge Pump video th-cam.com/video/_46-2BMQ84U/w-d-xo.html Here I show how to optimize the base Yaml code and other tips.
I keep getting "failed to initialize. Try to reset your device or holding down the BOOT button while clicking INSTALL" I have tried this and still get the same message. Any ideas on what to try? I know the drivers are good as I did a difference SP 32 board yesterday. Thx Dave
Thanks again, Rob, for your video. I have been wanting to learn about ESP32, and am delighted that you are not only educating us about it but adding it to your (our) Smart Boat System. I have just recently been looking at how to add battery monitoring into the system rather than buying a separate and expensive battery monitor. I love your integrated approach and your commitment to keeping it robust but inexpensive. I look forward to the other ESP32 projects to integrate with Home Assistant for a fully fitted out Smart Boat. I also appreciate that you are teaching us how to build a smart boat system, and even make our own Lithium batteries, but using the video's to sell your own products like many systems. There are tons of YT videos but I don't know of another one that offers a comprehensive guide for an inexpensive system. John T in Fla.
Thank you so much for your kind words and support! I'm thrilled to hear that you're finding the ESP32 content helpful for your Smart Boat System. It's always been my goal to offer practical, affordable solutions, and I'm happy to hear they appeal to you. Stay tuned for more ESP32 integrations, especially with Home Assistant, to enhance your Smart Boat experience. Your enthusiasm for learning and building is truly inspiring!
Nice video, Rob. Thanks for sharing your work. Looking forward to exploring the ESP32 capabilities in boat automation.
Thanks Yannis. Engine Temperature sensors coming soon. Sailing season has finished so I have a bit more free time.
This video poped up on my home page, and it retriggered inside of me, the will to mess up with my dorment ESP32 that are lying down on my drawer. Please do more home assistant + ESP32 videos!
I plan to do many ESP32 + HA videos. So stay tuned. One coming next week!
Is there a driver for a PI4, had to start over from the boat?
Can you do a video on esp32 mesh network ? I have a 78ft aluminum boat and would like to setup sensors in the steering room, engine room, and bridge … but WiFi will not make it the whole way … so I am thinking a mesh could help and it sounds like esp32 can do that
That could be a possible future video but to solve your immediate problem you could just use a simple WiFi extender. The same that people use in their large houses. There are projects to set up an esp32 to do this as well but they are more involved.
any good mounting boxes that you know of or have used?
Thx
I reused my existing battery box as the EVE 280 cells were the same length as the width of my previous AGM batteries. Simple plywood ends held together firmly with dyneema could also be an easy build. I am also starting to see some LifePO4 storage boxes being sold on Aliexpress but I cannot really recommend any as I have not used them
Can you help me to understand when we would use the esp32 and when we would use the Raspberry Pi? Your earlier videos seem to use the Pi but now there are videos using the esp32. Thank you.
The Raspberry Pi is the base of the Smart Boat and runs Home Assistant. The esp32, and you can have multiple, allow you to connect sensors via wifi to the Raspberry Pi. Example sensors are the all the Engine monitoring sensors like temperature, oil pressure and tank levels. Another example is a NMEA 2k wireless connect. Many of the speciality sensors use an esp32 as it makes life easier as you do not need to run cables and integrates easily with Home Assistant. See
Engine monitoring
For Tachometer:
th-cam.com/video/-xflWB3R2Go/w-d-xo.html
For oil pressure:
th-cam.com/video/ScP7xjOwWFg/w-d-xo.html
For Engine temps:
th-cam.com/video/hfo4Pd6KxlE/w-d-xo.html
For Fuel levels:
th-cam.com/video/nj_IY5HZdic/w-d-xo.html
Hi Rob, I’m brand new to doing this and following your excellent tutorial but have things changed since you made the video?
When I got to the part where you install ESP Home, you installed ESP Home Web 2023 .7.0? But all I had to download was esp-web-tools-example-0e9c98.yaml.
I installed that and followed your video then got to the part where you can edit your file in Home Assistant and my file is totally different to yours - it shows 18 lines but only 15 lines of code. Yours is showing 31 lines with many more lines of code than mine.
I’m using a Mac so had to use the Mac version of the drivers, rather than the universal that you used, if it’s anything to do with that?
Each version of ESP Web tools seems to have a different base yaml. This does not really matter as the code we add will go after this. As long as it installs without errors it will be fine.
I have some extra ESP32 tips in my Smart Bilge Pump video
th-cam.com/video/_46-2BMQ84U/w-d-xo.html
Here I show how to optimize the base Yaml code and other tips.
@@SmartBoatInnovations thanks for the reply Rob, it seems to be working - I’ve managed to get it reading temperature. Many thanks for your guides
I keep getting "failed to initialize. Try to reset your device or holding down the BOOT button while clicking INSTALL" I have tried this and still get the same message. Any ideas on what to try? I know the drivers are good as I did a difference SP 32 board yesterday. Thx
Dave
Ok, got it. Driver issue. Thx Davw
Great.
You obviously chose ESP32 ahead of other boards like Pi Pico. Is there a reason for that choice?