Well I finally got my automatic door working after a couple months and some trial and error!
Here are some pictures of the finished system. I go back and forth on using the x10 system because it has been a little tricky and Im not as confident with it because its computer controlled and it sends the signal over the existing wiring in the house but on the flip side it's really easy to make adjustments to. For example yesterday morning we heard one chicken in particular making a lot of noise, in fact it woke us up around 6:30 on a Saturday when we like to sleep in a little. Anyway I looked down and a small group of chickens were walking up to the patio which is about 100' from the barn and they never venture this way. So I went down to find a couple piles of feathers from our last buffed laced polish, we're guessing that's one reason why the breed is so rare because we lost three to predators and one was a runt. My wife had mentioned that she thought letting them out at the break of dawn was a bad idea because the predators are still out so I went into the activehome (x10) software and delayed the opening of the door by 30 minutes after dawn. I also adjusted the closing time to 1/2 an hour after dusk instead of 45 minutes because it's very dark at that time.
Another nice thing about the x10 is that I installed a light in the coop at the same time and set that to come on 2 hours before dawn and off at 9:00pm and we increased egg production from about 1 egg a day to as many as 13 one day so the light made a huge difference.
The first pilot relay I ordered was a single pole double throw because I thought the linear actuator had one lead for up and one for down - wrong. So I ordered another double pole double throw pilot relay.
The actuator I purchased from
www.firgelliauto.com came somewhat unassembled almost like they inadvertently sent one that was to be tossed. They were nice enough to ship another one free of charge which ended up burning up the motor on the second or third operation. Again I contacted the company and they said that I should reduce the fusing from 5amp to 1 or 2amps and recommended that I increase the strength of the actuator from 8lbs of force to 15lbs. I was very surprised they offered to ship the new actuator which was more money free of charge. This being the third actuator and it works great. I believe the only thing different from the 8lb model is the gear ratio is much lower and it takes twice as long to open and close - I really don't care how long it takes as long as it operators! I would recommend checking with
www.firgelliauto.com before ordering an actuator just to make sure it fits your application. They were excellent to deal with in my case.
The x10 switches I had were for incandescent lights only and when I tried to operate both the relay and CF light I still had 70v coming out of the switches. After a little research I learned that these switches electronically change the wave form and don't necessary open and close but take the sign wave to zero. I found different x10 switches on
eBay for about $7 bucks each - really no hardship there either.
So that's my system, its working great and I hope it does for a long time.
One last thing to mention is the x10 system, and I really don't want you to think Im hung up on this technology, has a remote control so the kids really get a kick of opening the chicken coop door remotely before the module does automatically.
Prices of material
Actuator 15lb with brackets - $87
Two x10 switches - $20
pilot relay - $20
Plexiglass Door- $15
Door Track - $10
electronic power supply from Hong Kong - $15
Total - $165 - The challenge alone was worth every penny and the actuator cannot be moved once it's in the down position unlike those other door latching mechanisms or the UK's string system.
