ELV the MAX! question for beginner

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martinvanberkel
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ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by martinvanberkel »

I am new to domotica and look for a solution to control the temperature in three different areas in my house in Brussels. Found ELV Max! and have the impression that that would be a perfect match for my problem - a lot cheaper than the Siemens or Danfoss equivalents and controllable using my home network.

But there are two aspects that make me hesitate. First of all, I read in various places that this solution is not very reliable. Issues with time, network access, etc... Do I need to wait for ELV to improve their product before ordering and installing it? Secondly, the "domotica supplier" I work with does not know the product. Not sure if I can find anyone willing to help me installing and configuring it. Do I really need help, or is installation easy enough for an amateur like me?
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by Alexander »

Well you can always ask on this forum ofcourse. That's the forum all about.
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by Digit »

You're right, there (were?/are?) a lot of problems with the ELV MAX! system. The Cube not doing time synchronization was one the biggest problems.
Version 1.3.2 of the MAX! software has been released yesterday and according to ELV, the time problem should be solved now. Time will tell if that's really the case :wink:

It's hard to give an advice on whether you should use the ELV MAX! system or not; a few weeks ago, I would have said no. Because when you're a beginner and you're confronted with a heating control system that is performing that bad as it does/did, you can't do anything about it and you're stuck - the only way I could use the ELV MAX! system was by creating my own work-arounds for those things that were not done by the MAX! system in a reliable way; the weekly program is an example of that. That's the only way I managed to get the system going!

And yes, I've had moments where I had to control myself to not throw it all out the door... :evil: If you're a beginner and don't have the right resources to work around the problems of the MAX, you're doomed and your only hope is that the problems are solved by ELV.

But right now, I don't know. I still don't dare to say "yes" without hesitation. If you're in a hurry, buy something else. Because there's no guarantee yet that everything is solved now. If you can wait a couple of weeks longer, I would suggest you keep an eye on the ELV forum regarding the MAX! system. A much larger amount of users over there; follow the forum and watch how it all evolves... http://www.elv.de/output/controller.asp ... detail2=31

And if your domotica supplier doesn't know the ELV MAX! system, he/she has got some homework to do... :lol:
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by Cliff »

Hi All,
as a beginner with MAX! I have to state the following:

4 month after the last post in this thread I unfortunately have to warn every beginner from starting up with the MAX! System.
I gave it a try 3 times.
I send back the MAX! Cube twice an got each time immediately a new one. Once even together with a letter of apology and a gift coupon.
The third one with the newest software release finally worked.
However, all the rest still doesn't.
The Cube recognizes any device (like windows switch or a thermostat) with a probability of, let's say 70%. However a recognized device usually disappears from time to time.

The reachability of the hoteline was quite good and I got the feeling that they know about all the problems. Their main advice was to reset the cube and start from scratch. When the third assistent I got on the phone told me again the story about "...well I am using the system at my home and it works fine..." I became the feeling they are messing around with me.

Finally I send back the whole stuff and got back all the money without any complaints.
I lost 3 evenings and I am really pissed off now.

It is a pitty because the system would perfectly meet my needs.

Best Regards
Cliff
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by Digit »

Yep, all the MAX! buyers seem to be used as guinea pigs (proefkonijnen). I had a lot of trouble too in the beginning, but after I wrote my own software to interface with the Cube it works quite well, to be honest.
I think it's the Java app that is loaded with bugs. There is someone who wrote a replacement for the MAX! software; I saw that on the ELV forum a couple of weeks ago. It's called "MAX Buddy" IIRC. You could try that. But of course, it should be ELV that provides the working software!
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by Digit »

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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by FoRMaTC »

Is it possible to use external feelers (voelers) because my radiators are behind covers?
This system doesnt control my hvac so i need to buy a wandthermostate or i need to program something to controll my hvac via the opentherm gateway. Right?
Is the MAX! Opentherm?
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by Digit »

No external sensors can be used.
Right.
MAX! isn't Opentherm because it doesn't have to control the central heating.
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by FoRMaTC »

Ok clear enough, i will visit an honeywell evohome expert tomorrow.
I want to get rid of the hot livingroom and the cold bedrooms :)
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by Digit »

Had that too (Evohome); no way to control it HA-wise and had to buy too much additional (expensive) equipment if I wanted to do it the right way.
So the Evohome Touch (or what's its official name) ended up upstairs ("overloop") to get it working properly; so essentially the same problem.
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by FoRMaTC »

Yes you gave to buy external wirless sensors a la 100 euro :(
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by MarnixT »

ELV -the max is over a year old now. What's the current experience? How's the software and reliability (zijn er nog kinderziektes?)
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by sj3fk3 »

MarnixT wrote:ELV -the max is over a year old now. What's the current experience? How's the software and reliability (zijn er nog kinderziektes?)
I've been using it for about 6 months now and I must say. I think it's the best domotica investment so far. The stuff works. It's not the prettiest solution out there, but it's relatively cheap and it does what it is supposed to do.
Kind Regards,
Greg.
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by Digit »

I had some problems in the beginning but managed to get it 'stable' enough, yet still not 100% perfect.
OTOH it has some features only found on much more expensive hardware and the protocol is known which is also a big +.
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Re: ELV the MAX! question for beginner

Post by MarnixT »

sj3fk3 wrote:
MarnixT wrote:ELV -the max is over a year old now. What's the current experience? How's the software and reliability (zijn er nog kinderziektes?)
I've been using it for about 6 months now and I must say. I think it's the best domotica investment so far. The stuff works. It's not the prettiest solution out there, but it's relatively cheap and it does what it is supposed to do.
I have also decided to buy it and I must say I also like it very much. It's the first domotica system I'm actually really using. For the moment I'm just using the system in a standard way(two radiators and a wall thermostat, but with the max buddy software. No integration yet with domotiga or anything.
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