My universal DIY egg turner (can double as coop door opener)

[PeterDenmark]

Hello.

I had a very hard time when i needed a functional setup for turning eggs, (and opening coop doors), so i decided to overcome my embarrassment with speaking english, and make a couple of videos, to share what i have come up with, if other have had the same struggles.

Here is a short and shaky video demonstration of my egg turner motor, on a test setup,

and a more in depth explanation on how i built it, and showing several setups - just watch the full video:

They are built with a reversible synchronous motor called a KTYZ60. The KTYZ50 could be used as well, and they are available i both 110v and 220v ac. They are both available on eBay with different speeds. I use a 2.5 rpm motor for the turners, and a 20 or 30 rpm for door openers.

The motor setup can be controlled with any kind of relay or timer, as long as they have both a Normally Open and a Normally Closed terminal (also called NO/NC or SPDT which means single pole double throw).
I can recommend the cheap but very good FRM01 module for egg turning. It needs a 12v wall wart (uses less than 1 amp) to power the board itself, but it can control 110v and 220 volt no problem. But any SPDT timer clock or cycle timer would be suitable as well.

If people need direct links to what i have used, i will see if i can find them for you.

Feel free to ask for more in depth explanation, if anything is unclear.

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Really neat invention! At first was thinking 1 unit did both door-controlling and egg-turning. That probably would be trickier than the 2 related setups but then again maybe more cost efficient if you plan on marketing devices.
(Think gofundme.com or Kickstarter.com if you're considering a try) Are the for sale?

 

[CJsCoop]

Very cool!

 

[PeterDenmark]

Well - the egg turner will work as a coop door opener, as i also briefly talked about. By putting a 10 inch long lever on the end of the motor, and the attaching a string from that to the top of you coop door, you have an instant coop door opener. I only showed the "quick and dirty" setup, that i did in an hour, to show that i doesn't have to be complicated .

I have no plans to make money on this setup, and don't sell them. Just wanted to share, as a small contribution to the forum .

If enough people (like 10 or more), i could however make a video showing in detail how to construct it. Making such a video is a lot of work, so if i have to make the effort, i would like some assurance that it will have an audience.

 

[TheChickenRun]

Hi Peter, this is brilliant, great concept. Thank you for the share.

 

[Boonie Stomper]

Can it turn eggs and work the door at their respective intervals continuously at the same time or do you use it for just one or the other? It really would be great either way though.
This device could save from needing to drop an ongoing event to go lockup the coop when running late and allow getaways without having to keep cooped up chooks.

 

[PeterDenmark]

Thanks "TheChickenRun", and you are very welcome.

Bonnie
I'm not quite sure i understand the question? The design is basically a box, with a thread, that can turn anywhere from 0 to 360 degrees, at time intervals of your choosing.
You can then put different parts on that threaded hole, by fastening the "tool" that fits your application, with a bolt.
In the case of the box shown i the video, i have a screwdriver thingy on it, to turn my eggs in the plastic incubator, but when the eggs were hatched, i could just unscrew that, and replace it with a lever, with a string on it, and put i above my coop door, to function as a door opener (imagine a fishing pole, that lifted your door - same idea, but instead of a fishing pole with a line, it's a lever mounted on a motor, that lifts the string)

I have also hooked it up to a ball valve to turn on water, where i replaced the timer with a humidity sensing relay, to water my plants when i was away, and used it in conjunction with a thermostat, to open my greenhouse door, when it was too hot, and close it when it got too cold, but that was beyond the scope of this forum.

 

[Sublight]

I would be part of your audience.