Decided I would start a thread covering my DIY ATO. I will do my best to document how I did everything and provide as much info as I can. If you plan on following this thread as it progresses, there are a few rules you need to adhere too.
1. You will need to just put up with my occasional lame attempts at humor.
2. If you are tempted to say “You can do all of this much simpler by using a controller or a manufactured ATO” I will give you my response now. (a) It is not in the budget right now and (b) what would be the fun of that?
3. If you see something that will cause me problems down the road, I encourage you to say so. I have thick skin to match my thick head. Feel free to bash away.
In my limited experience, I see two different approaches which would be relatively easy to accomplish. One would be a simple float valve controlling a gravity feed from a reserve source at a higher elevation than the sump. In my mind, the float would eventually bind up due to salt build up or other impediments.
The other method would be to use some sort of float mechanism to activate a switch that would control a small pump. This has the same disadvantage of having the float mechanism bind due to salt build up. It also introduces the possibility of stray currents entering the system endangering the lives of livestock as well as persons.
I have chosen option two but will incorporate some features that will make it easy to keep the float mechanism clean as well as limit the danger to livestock and people. My design will incorporate magnetic switches mounted on the exterior of the sump. Only 9 volts DC will be run though the magnetic switches limiting the possibility of stray currents. The float mechanism will be a small magnet attached to a rubber (or possibly cork) stopper contained within a 3/4" PVC pipe. The PVC pipe will be mounted to allow for easy removal and cleaning.
I have attached a couple of pictures to start. The first picture is some of the materials I will use. At the top, you can see the 8 small magnets purchased at Home Depot for about $1.50 for a pack of 8. The rubber stoppers were about $1.00 each and the corks were about $0.50 each also at HD. The Ice Cube relay and the stab in base were surplus we had around the shop but could be purchased from Radio Shack or Grainger for a few bucks each. This relay has a 24 volt DC coil but will work on 9 volts DC. At the middle left of the picture is a 9 volt DC power supply from an old calculator or something similar. I cut off the end that would plug into the calculator to expose the wires. Across the top are the three magnetic switches (with the red pigtails attached). These were also surplus I found at our shop but I suspect you could pick some up that are similar at Radio Shack. These are Normally Open switches which means when no magnet is nearby the switch will be open (off). A Normally Closed switch would be closed at all times unless a magnet is nearby. In addition to these items I will use left over 3/4" PVC and fittings from an irrigation project I did for our HOA. It sucks when you are the president and the only one in the neighborhood who is handy. But, I get to keep the left over stuff they bought for the project I do for them. Hehehehe I also have leftover acrylic from the HOB Overflow I built which I will use to mount everything.
The second picture is some of the equipment I will use while building this. The third and fourth pictures are the finished control panel.
Edit: OK, so I posted the wrong picture for the second, third and forth ones. That is the equipment I used to do the HOA irrigation project and a control panel I designed and built for a factory we built in Ellijay.
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<legend> Attached files </legend>
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class="gc-images" title="Panel 01.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a>
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1. You will need to just put up with my occasional lame attempts at humor.
2. If you are tempted to say “You can do all of this much simpler by using a controller or a manufactured ATO” I will give you my response now. (a) It is not in the budget right now and (b) what would be the fun of that?
3. If you see something that will cause me problems down the road, I encourage you to say so. I have thick skin to match my thick head. Feel free to bash away.
In my limited experience, I see two different approaches which would be relatively easy to accomplish. One would be a simple float valve controlling a gravity feed from a reserve source at a higher elevation than the sump. In my mind, the float would eventually bind up due to salt build up or other impediments.
The other method would be to use some sort of float mechanism to activate a switch that would control a small pump. This has the same disadvantage of having the float mechanism bind due to salt build up. It also introduces the possibility of stray currents entering the system endangering the lives of livestock as well as persons.
I have chosen option two but will incorporate some features that will make it easy to keep the float mechanism clean as well as limit the danger to livestock and people. My design will incorporate magnetic switches mounted on the exterior of the sump. Only 9 volts DC will be run though the magnetic switches limiting the possibility of stray currents. The float mechanism will be a small magnet attached to a rubber (or possibly cork) stopper contained within a 3/4" PVC pipe. The PVC pipe will be mounted to allow for easy removal and cleaning.
I have attached a couple of pictures to start. The first picture is some of the materials I will use. At the top, you can see the 8 small magnets purchased at Home Depot for about $1.50 for a pack of 8. The rubber stoppers were about $1.00 each and the corks were about $0.50 each also at HD. The Ice Cube relay and the stab in base were surplus we had around the shop but could be purchased from Radio Shack or Grainger for a few bucks each. This relay has a 24 volt DC coil but will work on 9 volts DC. At the middle left of the picture is a 9 volt DC power supply from an old calculator or something similar. I cut off the end that would plug into the calculator to expose the wires. Across the top are the three magnetic switches (with the red pigtails attached). These were also surplus I found at our shop but I suspect you could pick some up that are similar at Radio Shack. These are Normally Open switches which means when no magnet is nearby the switch will be open (off). A Normally Closed switch would be closed at all times unless a magnet is nearby. In addition to these items I will use left over 3/4" PVC and fittings from an irrigation project I did for our HOA. It sucks when you are the president and the only one in the neighborhood who is handy. But, I get to keep the left over stuff they bought for the project I do for them. Hehehehe I also have leftover acrylic from the HOB Overflow I built which I will use to mount everything.
The second picture is some of the equipment I will use while building this. The third and fourth pictures are the finished control panel.
Edit: OK, so I posted the wrong picture for the second, third and forth ones. That is the equipment I used to do the HOA irrigation project and a control panel I designed and built for a factory we built in Ellijay.
<fieldset class="gc-fieldset">
<legend> Attached files </legend>
If I get a chance this afternoon I will try to clean up the schematic drawing I put together so it is easier for people without an electrical background to understand. Once that is done I will post it here.
