??????Automatic Coop Door????

[Xtradust]

Go Nifty Go! We all need cheap auto coop doors!

I worked in a building once that had a fire alarm system that automatically closed all the doors when the alarm went off. The doors were held open by electrified magnets attached to the wall. The doors had a piece of steel on them that attached to the magnets.

When the alarm was triggered, the power to the magnets went off and the doors closed.

We need those magnet goodies from a door company or make them ourselves with wire wrapped around a steel bar (I might have to ask school kid how that worked again) and then we need some kind of transformer to turn the power source into whatever the magnets would call for. Then we need a timer.

That's the broad strokes. Maybe someone smart can fill in the nuts and bolts.

Matt

 

[Presto]

With the Automatic door what happens if one of the girls does not make it in before the door closes? I am new to chickens so please excuse me if I sound silly. It sounds like a great idea since sometimes I get home late from work.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Matt, funny you should mention this...

My first design called for an electromagnet holding the door open, then I found problems there and moved to a different elec. magnet using a "pull solenoid" to pull a pin and remove a pin to release the door. There were problems there too.

So far, the best thing I've played with is the car lock actuators I bought on ebay. I just need to figure out how to reliably turn them on and off quickly at the right time. I'm thinking about using a wall adapter and a lamp timer, but there are some problems with that too.

Where are all my chicken engineers when I need them???

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Quote:
I don't think I've ever found my girls not in the coop at night. I'd set the timer to go off an hour after dark to ensure they are all in. That said, my design is more of a fail-safe than a system to always rely on.

I'm always worried that we'll forget to lock up the girls, this at least give me some insurance just in case we forget. If it works really well then you only need to check in occasionally to verify the girls are always getting in.

In my opinion, I'd rather risk loosing one hen that didn't get into the coop in time instead of loosing all my girls because I forgot to lock them up.

 

[Settin'_Pretty]

Me personally I'd just have the door open automatically and then be closed manually.
That way they can get out and start their day regardless of when I drag my sorry backside out of the bed.

BUT if someone was concerned about having a door close on a bird with a system that opened and closed, there are sensors that are used with garage doors that will stop the door if anything in in the doorway.
It's just an electric eye, and it's relatively inexpensive.

Making a door that would just pop open in the morning would be much cheaper, and safer as far as birds getting stuck or being a possible fire hazard in case of malfunction.
Having a solenoid "hot" all the time is very dangerous, they generate a lot of heat.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Settin'_Pretty :

Having a solenoid "hot" all the time is very dangerous, they generate a lot of heat.

Yup, that's why I abandoned the first idea and then went for a temporary pull solenoid.

My situation is a bit different because my girls have a small run they can access during the day, opening the door to "the great outside" is the one I want to auto close. I honestly (based on my girls) am not at all concerned about them getting locked out or the door closing on them.​

 

[CoyoteMagic]

Here's one I've seen. I'm sure we can come up with something even better!!

http://dragonflypower.com/doorcloser.htm

 

[twigg]

Have you thought about using an automatic drapery motor?

You could probably even use the remote control too.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Quote:
I've seen that before and it makes me chuckle! Totally a Rube Goldberg design!


Twigg, I did look into drapery / blind automatic systems, but they were expensive and didn't seem like they would be a good fit for the design I was going for.

I think I could pull this off with the following:

$5 actuator
$5 wall adaptor
$5 lamp timer

Then you just need to build the door and the latch pin that gets pulled to release the door.

I do like the idea of a shock to slow down the door. One main issue is making it difficult for an animal to open back up.

So.... where are my engineering friends!?

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Okay, here is my design in all of its 8 color glory:

Basically here is what happens:

The timer turns on for as short of a time as it can be set to.
The actuator pulls a pin which releases the door
The door falls and the "door latch" swings right (gravity wants to center it) and locks the door into place.

In the morning I simply move the latch over, raise the door, and hook the pin.

What do you think?

PATEND PENDING!