Door opener idea - screwdriver, garden lights, and limit switches

[Prospector]

I have seen various ideas online to build automatic door openers using drapery motors and car antennas. pricing these online it looks like an investment of about $80 by the time all the components are cobbled together.

Has anyone tried hacking an electric screwdriver ( http://www.instawares.com/tool-scrw...RT&srccode=cii_10043468&cpncode=22-58232794-2 ) and putting limit switches on the door? I am thinking using a solar garden light to activate the door in the morning, have the screwdriver wind up a string, and then a limit switch shut down the screwdriver. Since I have a dead garage door opener, I was thinking I could steal the limit switch circuitry from it.

Being that I am not an electronics guy at all, what I can't figure out is how to have the garden light turning off trip the garage door opener circuit the way a wall switch would in the house. Same thing at night, the screwdriver will reverse polarity via its own switch, can I get it to run backwards at night when the garden light turns on?

Any ideas??

 

[3goodeggs]

oh. I like the idea. The hubby throws out nothing... I foresee a project in the near future. Might not work, but that's the fun in tinkering!

Thanks for the idea! We have all those bits already on hand!
I will put the electronics member of the family on the closing bit of your question. I bet it is doable!

 

[nancypo]

You can buy a light sensor to turn outdoor lights on, might try that?

 

[Prospector]

Quote:
Good idea - the light sensor is called a photocell - there is already one built into the solar garden lights, thats what turns them on at dusk, and off at dawn. I have spare garden lights, but I don't have a photocell hanging around. If I have to buy one, I will.

We have a solar panel that runs four garden lights off it, so it would be easy to snip the wire from one of the lights and run it to the screwdriver, by passing the internal battery in the driver. The screwdrivers usally have a few rechargeable batteries in them, the solar panel charges 4 AA batteries which normally power the garden lights. This won't be my first time hacking it apart.

I think the power in the batteries for the garden lights is close enough to the power in the screwdriver to work. I don't have a lot to lose if I'm wrong. On the other hand, if I'm right, I wil have a solar powered door opener. No need to run 110 VAC to the coop, and the door opener would be mobile enough to install on the tractor.

Here is the down & Dirty on the driver I am considering:
- Electric screwdriver with built-in charger
- 2.4V, 7 amps
- 33 in-lbs torque
- 150 rpm, 800 feet-per-minute
- 1/4 collet

4 AA batteries should have 4.8 - 6 volts in them fully charged (1.2 - 1.5 V each) in order to trim that down I could put a jumper between charging terminals in the solar charger, but then I would risk over-charging its batteries. I'm not sure if I can recharge the screwdriver's internal battery off the solar panel, or if it would overpower it. All things to consider.

 

[sattoritx]

There is a guy that had a stand at bucks feed store, on the funky chicken coop tour in Austin. After watching his demonstration, and having looked at others online. I liked his much better. If i were to get one this is the one I would get, and I wouldnt even try to build one cause anything i would make wouldn't be this great of quality. The whole thing is water resistant as long as the top of the door isnt submerged in water. You use a heavy duty magnet to set the doors opening and closing times. Then you can use the magnet to close or open the door anytime during the day for weather incidents (afternoon storms) and it doesnt reset the original open/ close settings of the door. It is powered by a small lawnmower battery (not included).

He built safety switches into the door which opens the door 1 min after it closes in case a chicken is caught in the door when it closes and 5 min after it opens for 1 min to allow any chicks still in the run the time to get inside.

His is about $180 but I think it is built very well, with heavy duty materials, (no wood) and it is resistant to rust. He was actually telling people not to buy it today but to wait to see if you may need it first. It was refreshing not to be pressured into buying it right there.

You can check out the pullet-shut chicken door here.. http://www.chickendoors.com

I know it sounds like a shameless plug but I am in no way affiliated with this company, look at the quality and you will see how great this door is too.

 

[Prospector]

In my hunt for inspiration I came across that one. It does look really good, but the joy of tinkering and hacking things to come up with a solution is simply lost if I fork out cash for a ready-made solution.

There are a few very clever ideas out there to let the birds in and out in the morning.

 

[sattoritx]

And that I can respect =-) I have a tinkerer in the family too, although i wish he would move a little faster in getting projects done, lol.
well at least you can always fall back on something if yours doesn't work out. I am not a morning person so my coop is just going to not have a door, which just means i have to make the run just as secure.