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HomeDesign rev A (27 Oct 2026): CAD, fit checks and assembly done; not built

KitchenGuard

One kitchen system for an older parent: burner left on, cooker whistles, gas left and alarms heard

Does the job of StoveSentry, CookerCount, GasLock and AlarmEcho in one system with one brain: a sensor bar under the kitchen chimney sees a hot burner in an empty kitchen and switches the hood fan, counts pressure-cooker whistles and hears the kitchen's smoke or gas-leak alarm; a weighing deck under the LPG cylinder gives gas left and the refill booking date; a pod by the stove shows it all and alerts the family. Monitor and alert only: it does not shut off gas or prevent fires.

Who buys it
Adult children who live in another city or abroad and buy for an older parent's LPG kitchen in India (GasLock's and CookerCount's buyer), and operators of senior homes and serviced apartments with gas kitchens.
Why it pays
Bought separately, our four products list from $226 up front plus up to $6 a month (StoveSentry $129 + $3/mo, CookerCount $19, GasLock $39, AlarmEcho disc $39 + $3/mo; AlarmEcho's own LTE Link adds $99). KitchenGuard is $179 + $3/month. One avoided kitchen fire is about $15k–40k (est., StoveSentry); booking LPG on the first allowed day avoids weeks without gas.
Target price
$179 per kitchen + $3/month for family alerts (target; India pricing in rupees to be confirmed); separately the four products are $226 + $6/month
First-minute wow
Mum puts the dal on for 3 whistles and goes to the prayer room: the bar lights 1, 2, 3, the pod beeps, and if the burner is still hot with nobody in the kitchen, her son's phone rings.
See the CAD designConcept page
KitchenGuard concept: the idea and where each part goes
The concept. The CAD design is below, under Printable CAD.

What the research found

And how this design answers it

  • Four single-job devices (hood bar, fridge pod, cylinder deck pod, alarm disc + Link) → one ESP32-S3 brain in one pod, one Wi-Fi radio, one backup battery and one app
  • One microphone does two jobs: CookerCount's whistle counter and AlarmEcho's alarm listener now share the T5838 in the hood bar
  • The thermal camera that watches burners also sees the cooker on the burner, so whistles are only counted while a burner is hot
  • StoveSentry put its MCU above the stove → the brain moves to the pod at counter height (cooler, battery-backed); the hood bar has no chip and no battery
  • GasLock's pod had its own ESP32-C6 and AA cells → its e-paper, HX711 and case now hold the shared brain
  • Dropped: CookerCount's LiPo and fridge magnets, AlarmEcho's LTE-M Link and separate disc, StoveSentry's BME688 fume sensor, GasLock's rev A shut-off (still the separate Plus kit)

Use case

Dal on, then the prayer room

Mother living aloneSon in another cityNeighbour

  1. 01Trigger: dal on the front-right burner; she presses the pod button 3 times for 3 whistles
  2. 02Detection: each whistle lights one LED on the hood bar; at 3 the pod beeps and the bar flashes
  3. 03Alert: 5 minutes later the burner is still hot and the radar sees nobody; the pod beeps, then the son gets a push and a call
  4. 04Action: the son calls the neighbour, who turns the gas off; the app also shows 6.1 kg of gas left and booking open on 4 Nov

Outcome: One device replaces four, at $179 + $3/month instead of $226 + $6/month; every alert is logged with the reading that caused it

How it works

Architecture

  1. 01

    Sense: MLX90640 thermal camera, LD2410C radar and T5838 mic in the hood bar; 4 load cells under the cylinder

  2. 02

    Decide: on the ESP32-S3 in the pod: burner zones, whistle template, alarm-sound grammar, gas left and booking clock

  3. 03

    Act: listed smart plug runs the chimney fan when a burner is hot; pod beeps; LED bar shows whistles

  4. 04

    Send: home Wi-Fi, MQTT over TLS; 4 x AA keep alarms going about 7 hours in a power cut

  5. 05

    Tell: family app with push, SMS and voice escalation; e-paper by the stove

Hardware

Real parts, buyable today

Bill of materials: about $119 per kitchen at quantity 1, plus about $20 for the optional fan plug (est.).

BlockPartWhy this part
BrainESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N8R8 on the pod PCBPSRAM for heat frames and audio; Wi-Fi and BLE; runs all four jobs
BurnersMelexis MLX90640 (110°) + Hi-Link LD2410C radarHot burner and nobody in the kitchen (StoveSentry)
SoundTDK T5838 MEMS micWhistles (CookerCount) and alarm sounds (AlarmEcho); wakes only on loud sound
Gas4 x 50 kg load cells + HX711Gas left and days left (GasLock deck)
Show1.54 in e-paper + 8 WS2812B LEDs + piezoGas and whistle target by the stove; whistle count on the bar
Power5 V USB adapter + 4 x AA backupNo lithium above the stove; about 7 h on backup (est.)

Mechanical

Printable CAD

8 parts, generated from code and checked as closed solids. Pick a part to inspect it, or download the STL files to print.

Loading the CAD…

Real CAD · drag to rotate · scroll to zoomReal CAD · swipe sideways

Open risks we are working on

  • Sensor signals over 1–2 m of Cat5e (I²C at 100 kHz, PDM audio) are unproven; a bench test with the hood fan running comes first
  • Chimney fan noise may hide whistles or alarm beeps; whistle and alarm accuracy are not measured
  • Many parents' homes have weak or no Wi-Fi; a 4G option (AlarmEcho's Link) may be needed
  • Not a gas-leak detector, smoke alarm or shut-off; it only hears an existing alarm and alerts
  • Indicative gas weight only, not a Legal Metrology measurement; load-cell creep in hot kitchens unmeasured
  • Product liability and Indian certification (BIS for the adapter, WPC for the radio) to be confirmed

Design stage only: nothing on this page is for sale. Specifications and prices are targets.