A new gizmo... finally!!

[Marc Levenson]

Hey guys, I've been wanting a feeding timer for my tank for a long time now.
Well over a year, maybe for the past few years.... I got very serious about it
in the past 12 months though.

Anyway, I finally made my timer yesterday. I don't have any idea if you guys
want one as well, but it's my prototype and if it works, I may make them for
others. Here's a picture of it installed under my tank, right behind my protein
skimmer.

The way it works: It is plugged in to a regular grounded outlet. Then I plug
my skimmer's pump into it. (You could plug in your normal filter or
powerhead(s) if you like. It can accept up to 5 amps, according to the specs of
the relay.

When it is time for me to feed the tank, I hit a button, and the unit turns off
what is plugged in for a specific time period. I have mine set to 60 minutes,
because I feed phytoplankton and want the corals to have time to eat. It can be
set from 1 minute to 60 minutes.

I'm not sure what it will go for, but I hope to keep it under $40 total. (plus
paypal charges and shipping obviously).

Here's my gizmo in action.

http://melevsreef.com/pics/unit_front.jpg

and here is the side view.

http://melevsreef.com/pics/unit_side.jpg

It is 5.5" x 5.5" x 3.5" wide

Marc



--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Pszemol]

"J" > wrote in message news:hc3Va.163043$ye4.110452@sccrnsc01...
> Wow what a great device. Where did you get that relay?
> give me some credit.

If getting relay is any problem for you I would recommend
checking out the website http://www.goldmine-elec.com
They have many different power relays for about $1-5 each.

The device itself is very simple, and if you do not need
any precision LCD display you can use standard 555 chip
with a simple RC circuit with variable potentiometr to set
the time for relay to be on/off state.

[Marc Levenson]

I'll go back and check. Maybe that is where I saw it. I've been all over google trying to
find what I saw last night.

I did look for transformers, and then power supplies, but not adapters.

Marc

Pszemol wrote:

> "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message ...
> > I was just at their site today looking at their power supplies. I want to find quality
> > (but cheap) 6v or 12v power supplies. I thought I found some last night for about
> > $3 each, but now I can't find it. LOL
>
> They have two places in their catalog to look for such things, they call them
> "power supply" when they refer to switching power supply in a box or
> "adapters" if they refer to ordinary wall plugs. I can see one 6V adapter
> and about 10 of different 12V adapters ranging in price from 3-6 bucks.
>
> Great site I was never disappointed with the products I have ordered from
> these folks.

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Marc Levenson]

Yep, there it is Jose. 12v for $2.95 each. That should really help with one component,
right?

G9596 500mA
G4166 200mA
G4167 200mA
G1627 300mA
G8335 800mA
G12950 800mA

The relay only needs 75mA, right? But all of these are $2.95

Marc


Pszemol wrote:

> "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message ...
> > I was just at their site today looking at their power supplies. I want to find quality
> > (but cheap) 6v or 12v power supplies. I thought I found some last night for about
> > $3 each, but now I can't find it. LOL
>
> They have two places in their catalog to look for such things, they call them
> "power supply" when they refer to switching power supply in a box or
> "adapters" if they refer to ordinary wall plugs. I can see one 6V adapter
> and about 10 of different 12V adapters ranging in price from 3-6 bucks.
>
> Great site I was never disappointed with the products I have ordered from
> these folks.

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Pszemol]

I wish they have better selection of 12VDC power relays...
I guess they sold out some of what I saw a week ago.

"Marc Levenson" > wrote in message ...
> Yep, there it is Jose. 12v for $2.95 each. That should really help with one component,
> right?
>
> G9596 500mA
> G4166 200mA
> G4167 200mA
> G1627 300mA
> G8335 800mA
> G12950 800mA
>
> The relay only needs 75mA, right? But all of these are $2.95
>
> Marc
>
>
> Pszemol wrote:
>
> > "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message ...
> > > I was just at their site today looking at their power supplies. I want to find quality
> > > (but cheap) 6v or 12v power supplies. I thought I found some last night for about
> > > $3 each, but now I can't find it. LOL
> >
> > They have two places in their catalog to look for such things, they call them
> > "power supply" when they refer to switching power supply in a box or
> > "adapters" if they refer to ordinary wall plugs. I can see one 6V adapter
> > and about 10 of different 12V adapters ranging in price from 3-6 bucks.
> >
> > Great site I was never disappointed with the products I have ordered from
> > these folks.
>
> --
> Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>
>

[J]

I found some for under $5. Marc stick with the relay power supply the 555
timer idea will require soldering, exc not really worth it with what we got.
Here's the link for the power supply 6v and only $2 I have ordered from them
before and everything turned out ok but YMMV. Marc is selling his food
timer, but I'll be happy to answer any questions but I won't sell them as
Marc and I have an agreement.
http://www.mpja.com/productview.asp?product=14446+PD


"Marc Levenson" > wrote in message
...
> Hey guys, I've been wanting a feeding timer for my tank for a long time
now.
> Well over a year, maybe for the past few years.... I got very serious
about it
> in the past 12 months though.
>
> Anyway, I finally made my timer yesterday. I don't have any idea if you
guys
> want one as well, but it's my prototype and if it works, I may make them
for
> others. Here's a picture of it installed under my tank, right behind my
protein
> skimmer.
>
> The way it works: It is plugged in to a regular grounded outlet. Then I
plug
> my skimmer's pump into it. (You could plug in your normal filter or
> powerhead(s) if you like. It can accept up to 5 amps, according to the
specs of
> the relay.
>
> When it is time for me to feed the tank, I hit a button, and the unit
turns off
> what is plugged in for a specific time period. I have mine set to 60
minutes,
> because I feed phytoplankton and want the corals to have time to eat. It
can be
> set from 1 minute to 60 minutes.
>
> I'm not sure what it will go for, but I hope to keep it under $40 total.
(plus
> paypal charges and shipping obviously).
>
> Here's my gizmo in action.
>
> http://melevsreef.com/pics/unit_front.jpg
>
> and here is the side view.
>
> http://melevsreef.com/pics/unit_side.jpg
>
> It is 5.5" x 5.5" x 3.5" wide
>
> Marc
>
>
>
> --
> Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
> Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
> Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com
>
>

[Pszemol]

> I found some for under $5. Marc stick with the relay power supply the 555
> timer idea will require soldering, exc not really worth it with what we
got.

What is the option for the 555 here? How is Marc doing the timing?
Do you install a regular bath timer to controll bath fans/ infrared heater?
Where can I get those timers cheap for myself?

> Here's the link for the power supply 6v and only $2 I have ordered from
them
> before and everything turned out ok but YMMV.

They say in one place it is 0.4A, in other it is 4A... :-)

[Marc Levenson]

The timer is part of the relay.

Pszemol wrote:

> What is the option for the 555 here? How is Marc doing the timing?
> Do you install a regular bath timer to controll bath fans/ infrared heater?
> Where can I get those timers cheap for myself?

The timer is part of the relay. Cheap? I just order $150 worth. ;)

> They say in one place it is 0.4A, in other it is 4A... :-)

Yeah, that is what I said.


--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Marc Levenson]

Sorry, it is the heart of my feed timer. Can't divulge the location. ;)

Marc


Pszemol wrote:

> "Marc Levenson" > wrote in message ...
> > The timer is part of the relay. Cheap? I just order $150 worth. ;)
>
> Cool... I was looking for such dvices combined together
> and I could only find expensive, industrial grade ones.
> Could you please point me to the store where you purchased yours?

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com