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DIY Automatic Restart Timer for 120V Devices


smarcus3

  

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Have you ever wanted to restart your protein skimmer after feeding after a certain amount of time has passed or some other task.

 

I have and have gotten tired of trying to remember to restart the skimmer after feeding so I thought I would automate the process.

 

************** I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURY, LOSS OF PROPERTY, OR DEATH DUE TO ELECTRICITY OR ANYTHING ELSE. I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK ***********************

 

First things are needed are:

 

  • 3 prog extension cord
  • electrical box
  • timer switch
  • wire nuts
  • ELECTRICAL KNOWLEDGE

 

Extension Cord

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Timer

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Next, you need to cut the cord in half and strip back the outer insulation. Be sure not to nick any of the wires by accident. Then strip each wire. The white and green wires will be reconnected back to themselves while the black wire will run through the switch. The black wire is the hot wire and therefore switched to increase safety. This picture shows the wires after this step is completed.

 

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Close up of the wires.

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The wires need to then be run through the electrical box. If you don't do this step before you connect the switch to the wires you cannot get the wires into the box.

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The knob of the switch should pull straight off which should show a nut. This holds the face plate to the switch. The picture below shows all the pieces of the switch.

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If you use the same switch as me or one like it, it will have a NO and NC sides. The NC stands for normally closed and NO stands for normally open. Since we want the device running normally when the switch is off we want to hook up to the normally closed side. If you had a device that only wanted to run for "X" minutes you would hook up to the normally open side. The black wire from each side goes to the top and bottom of the NC side.

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This picture shows the NO and NC sides more clearly and the wire nuts used to connect the grounds and neutral wires together.

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Another view.

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Next all the wires and the switch need to be carefully put into the switch box. You need to make sure none of your wire nuts come lose in the process. THIS IS IMPORTANT. IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH WORKING WITH DANGEROUS ELECTRICITY DO NOT DO THIS DIY PROJECT.

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Another view showing the wires coming out of the box.

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Once the box is in, place the faceplate and knob back on.

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Next, you need to ensure all the wires are connected correctly. This can be done either with a voltmeter or the electrical connection tester (green device). This tester comes in handy and is quite cheap.

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This shows the tester on the female end of the cord connected to the switch.

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Another view of the tester.

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To use the tester, you need to plug the male end into the wall and look at the LEDs on the tester. For mine, the two yellow lights stands for all good connections.

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Finally, when all connections are made and tested I sure the electrical box to a piece of wood which will secure it as well as make a stand that will make for a nicer install later.

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Next, the wires coming out of the box need to be secured to make sure that they cannot be pulled out of the box. I used two wire staples for this.

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This shows the final product including stand without it being painted.

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The stand is painted and next to the tank all ready to go.

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This shows the timer and the protein skimmer it controls.

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A final picture of the protein skimmer.

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This timer works as following.

  • When in the 0 minute position the device is running.
  • When the knob is turned to 'X' minutes, the device stays off for that ammount of time

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According to the description on the front of the package, the timer switch is for turning something ON for up to an hour. That would be "Normally Open", and wouldn't work for this application. The fact that this switch also allows "Normally Closed" operation is great, but people need to watch out for switches that only work in the "normally Open" mode.

 

I used a bathroom heater timer switch that was only designed to work "Normally Open", and so I had to add a relay to the circuit to invert the behavior (I didn't know you could get "Normally Open" timer switches.

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According to the description on the front of the package, the timer switch is for turning something ON for up to an hour. That would be "Normally Open", and wouldn't work for this application. The fact that this switch also allows "Normally Closed" operation is great, but people need to watch out for switches that only work in the "normally Open" mode.

 

I used a bathroom heater timer switch that was only designed to work "Normally Open", and so I had to add a relay to the circuit to invert the behavior (I didn't know you could get "Normally Open" timer switches.

 

True. This works great for me as I found a switch that has both a normally open side and a normally closed side at home depot. I assume with some effort looking for one anyone could find it.

 

I use it every day and love it. It works great.

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I am amazed this hasn't gotten more attention.

 

I can make these for anyone that would want one. If you do want one please send me a PM or post on this tread.

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Great write-up, thanks! Been contemplating trying to figure this project out, so you made my life easier. Quick question tho... Assuming I can find a switch with both NC and NO options, can I use the same switch to turn off my return pump and turn on a small circulation pump at feeding time?

 

In my ideal situation, I'd like to keep food from going through the overflow into the sump, but also keep it moving rather than just settle to the bottom. Sure, I know I could have the circulation pump on all the time, but I really don't need the extra flow in my DT, so why waste the electricity...

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Great write-up, thanks! Been contemplating trying to figure this project out, so you made my life easier. Quick question tho... Assuming I can find a switch with both NC and NO options, can I use the same switch to turn off my return pump and turn on a small circulation pump at feeding time?

 

In my ideal situation, I'd like to keep food from going through the overflow into the sump, but also keep it moving rather than just settle to the bottom. Sure, I know I could have the circulation pump on all the time, but I really don't need the extra flow in my DT, so why waste the electricity...

 

Absolutely and glad you like the write up.

 

The return pump would be hooked up to the normally closed side of the switch and the feeding pump to the normally open side of the switch. If you need a diagram I can quickly draw one if you like.

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