Howdy all...Just wanted to share something I stumbled on tonight. I like DIY stuff as long as it's not going to 1) cost more than just buying something new, or 2) put me at risk of electrocution, burning down the house, etc.
So I was looking at cycle timers and didn't realize they were so pricey ($100+). Just to turn something on for a brief period then turn it off. And while these aren't exactly programmable per say, these give cycles that are short enough to suffice for me. All I wanted to do is turn my ez cloner (DIY box I got plans from on this site) sprayers on for a couple minutes, then off for a few. And the shortest cycle on regular Wally World timers is like 12 minutes long.
Soooooo I searched and found this youtube video (here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfV9IUcFxE) that shows you how to modify one of those cheapo wall timers like you see at Walmart, Radio Shack, etc. It's simple and requires no electronics expertise whatsoever. Just take it apart, remove a gear, glue a washer in, then reassemble. Depending on the brand of timer you get, your mileage may vary. His unit is 50 second cycles each and starts over at 35 minutes. For whatever reason, mine is more like 40 seconds and I'm not sure for how long. I think it depends on the number of 'notch' things (the little things you push down/up for on/off). Any other "real" cycle timer where you can program and all that stuff requires some electronics knowledge and materials that I wouldn't even know where to get.
Perhaps everybody that needed a cycle timer knows about these already. If not I hope someone besides me finds good use for this, I was stoked to have stumbled onto it
So I was looking at cycle timers and didn't realize they were so pricey ($100+). Just to turn something on for a brief period then turn it off. And while these aren't exactly programmable per say, these give cycles that are short enough to suffice for me. All I wanted to do is turn my ez cloner (DIY box I got plans from on this site) sprayers on for a couple minutes, then off for a few. And the shortest cycle on regular Wally World timers is like 12 minutes long.
Soooooo I searched and found this youtube video (here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfV9IUcFxE) that shows you how to modify one of those cheapo wall timers like you see at Walmart, Radio Shack, etc. It's simple and requires no electronics expertise whatsoever. Just take it apart, remove a gear, glue a washer in, then reassemble. Depending on the brand of timer you get, your mileage may vary. His unit is 50 second cycles each and starts over at 35 minutes. For whatever reason, mine is more like 40 seconds and I'm not sure for how long. I think it depends on the number of 'notch' things (the little things you push down/up for on/off). Any other "real" cycle timer where you can program and all that stuff requires some electronics knowledge and materials that I wouldn't even know where to get.
Perhaps everybody that needed a cycle timer knows about these already. If not I hope someone besides me finds good use for this, I was stoked to have stumbled onto it