Door chicken house

Post by **Herbus** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:29 am

I'm building a chicken house and want to open/close the little door by HS (sun set/rise).
The door will slide up/down with a small rope. I want to connect to rope to a affordable motor.
I've looked at motors for sun blinds but these are large and quite expensive. Any suggestions for a reliable but inexpensive solution?

Herbus (Jos)

Post by **Esteban** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:40 am

Check the link Tailwind posted. There are several projects there that use motors (one I saw cost only 15eur)

http://www.domoticaforum.eu/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3719

Ciao,
Esteban

Post by **Snelvuur** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:43 am

if the weight is not so big (meaning its on a glider or something) maybe a small motor from a cdrom player? would also be nice to know, do you have a pipe towards home or have power at the chicken house?

Best solution would be to do something with sunpower ofcourse

charge during the day, so it can open in the morning..

// Erik (binkey.nl)

Post by **Dickr43** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 11:43 am

Great project! But how will HS know that all chicken are inside?

Post by **erisan500** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:02 pm

hehe, install 2 IR bridges just after the door. (2, so you know if a chicken went in or out the "house")

Post by **Herbus** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:11 pm

The wooden door will be approx. 15x30cm.
I have power (220VAC) at the chicken house. Solar is also a smart idea!
I've looked at the picbasic projects but the are quite time expensive for this (simple) problem.

Off course all chickens get a RFID tag around the leg. With this tag I know exactly which chicken has produced an egg, how much food it takes, if its inside the house and, in combination with a Oregon Wage, how much the weight is. [:D]
Ok, that would be future..... I'm told that chickens will enter the house before sun set. If I close the door x min after sun set it will be ok.

Herbus (Jos)

Post by **Snelvuur** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:39 pm

if it detects motion in front of the door (lost chicken) it could open for 2 minutes. Hope you dont have a fox running around the place then..

// Erik (binkey.nl)

Post by **drmacchi** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:43 pm

I have seen some foxes with an X10 remote in hands !

. Ok, i did a similar project closing some basement grids. Here you can check what hardware i used.
http://www.domoticaforum.eu/topic.asp?T ... Terms=rain
i saw some linear actuators on the Bay at 50 bucks.

Post by **Snelvuur** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:56 pm

btw, look at http://hackaday.com/2009/10/14/add-a-ke ... more-17240

he uses a printer head that moves, maybe just enough for you to open a hatch too..

// Erik (binkey.nl)

Post by **Henk** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:54 pm

Yes it can be a nice project and even keep it simple, your shopping list is:

A low voltage motor with the right gear reduction - again Conrad has those or you may use a battery operated power drill
Two micro switches to detect the open and close status so the motor will stop
A light detection module also Conrad.
Powersupply for the module and the motor.

In case you need order numbers or connection diagram let me know

Henk

Post by **Herbus** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:10 am

Thanks for the replys.
I'm going to build this with a small motor that will be stopped by two (normally closed) switches. For open/close a UM7206 will be triggered by HS sun set/rise.

@Henk
I think that I have the right diagram, but if you're willing to send me yours with the order numbers of the motor and gear reduction it would be great.

Herbus (Jos)

Post by **Henk** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:46 pm

The type of motor depends on the load ... so what is the size of the door and weight ... I assume you will lift the door upwards .. you may consider using a counter weight. But this Conrad motor type . 22 19 36 will likely do the job power 60N/cm and a reduction of 1:600.

Please don't make the edge at the bottom of the door not too sharp otherwise it will turn into a chicken guillotine

Looking forward for the pictures !

Henk