$2 float switch

[supersecretshinto]

Just finished my air powered sun tea jar auto top-off system. Made my own float switch for it and thought I'd post some pics. I'm not sure how many people can follow in my footsteps on this one but I thought it may be amusing for some of you to see how most of my equipment is literally garbage! The pics pretty much speak for themselves. It's just a couple of stainless nuts and bolts, a rod from an old set of blinds, a fish food container, a carmex container, a little plumber's tape and silicone, some scrap pvc and air tubing, and a $2 radioshack microswitch. The carmex container has a lip on the bottom that helps reduce any loss of sensitivity due to lateral movement (has to be some so the rod doesn't bind). Fine tuning is done by putting ballast weights (pennies etc.) into the carmex jar. This float works reliably and accurately to replenish the 32+ ounces of evaporation water that is lost in this tank every day. I know that's alot, but I am using trickle filtration and the air movement throughout the stand/hood is about 100cfm. I think this explains why this tank runs 2-3 degrees below ambient temp. even when all of the equipment is on! I do expect that will change if I end up adding a light near the sump and throwing in some cheato.

[TheNorthernLight]

that's a great idea. Simple.. yet effective!

 

What is the switch rated at? (which radioshack model?)

 

spy

[supersecretshinto]

Oh jeeze, I don't remember and I threw out the package! I do remember it was way more than I needed to run an air pump. Maybe 5 amps at 120vac. It is running at 120v because I was determined to build from what I had (no relay) and the switch is well clear of the water so I'm not worried about a short.