Format error: csv value is not numeric" in /var/log/emoncms.log

After a successful migration to local EmonCMS, everything has been working rather well. Poking around earlier I noticed these errors in the emoncms.log log file.
I’ve been round in circles, but while a few others have had this error (or the json value is not numeric version) no one seems to point to a solution.
The error message is output every 30 seconds, and has been ongoing for days (from the logs) probably even longer, despite which everything seems to be working fine. Paul @pb66 pointed out the emonhub sends messages every 30 secs, but I’ve got mine sending it every 5s (to speed up the response time on the dashboards), but this error message is still occuring every 30s. Also, I don’t have any inputs or feeds logging at 30sec intervals, or any which seem to have invalid text in numeric inputs.

Does anyone know how to modify the php in input_controller.php to actually print the invalid values (in case it is actual data), so I can try to figure out where the data is coming from? Or is it just blank data being transmitted?

2018-10-23 10:36:46.147|ERROR|input_controller.php|{“success”: false, “message”: “Format error: csv value is not numeric”} for User: 1
2018-10-23 10:37:16.160|ERROR|input_controller.php|{“success”: false, “message”: “Format error: csv value is not numeric”} for User: 1
2018-10-23 10:37:46.168|ERROR|input_controller.php|{“success”: false, “message”: “Format error: csv value is not numeric”} for User: 1
2018-10-23 10:38:16.247|ERROR|input_controller.php|{“success”: false, “message”: “Format error: csv value is not numeric”} for User: 1

Hello @Vster, is there any chance that you have a script or other hardware somewhere posting at 30s that is separate to emonhub? The only reference I can find relating to that error is the input/post API and emonhub uses the input/bulk API. Do the errors still come through if you stop emonhub?

Hi @TrystanLea, I don’t have any hardware/software running at 30sec intervals that I know of. Just a serial feed of temperatures (every 5 mins) and another of the hot water tanks status (every 1 min or so).
I stopped the emonhub service for a couple of mins and the error messages were still coming through, so it’s not emonhub then.

How are these feeding into emoncms? Do they both bypass emonhub?

Hi, I don’t think so. These are serial devices connected to the Pi that are read by NodeRed. The NR code does some fiddling and then posts the values to EmonCMS like this -

image

I understood it’s only the RFM12 module that writes through EmonHub??

I know almost nothing about nodeRED, are they MQTT publications in pink? What is being posted in those?

Hi, Yes the pink nodes are MQTT publications. There’s loads of stuff being posted in there, so it’s picked up by other NodeRed processes. Why? Does that do through EmonHub?

No, they go to EmonCMS via its MQTT handler. You said you were still getting the error with emonhub stopped, right? So we’re looking for other things that go to EmonCMS outside of EmonHub aren’t we?

Have you checked those are not triggering the error?
From here, anything with “emon” as the topic gets picked up directly by EmonCMS

And buy that man a pint! :grinning:

You are indeed correct, there is a MQTT feed (not the serial inputs) that used for an inter process communication. A blank payload was ending up the MQTT message, which I guess was upsetting EmonCMS and hence the error messages in the log.

Blank payload programmed out, log now clean. Many thanks @Greebo!