reef-pi :: An opensource reef tank controller based on Raspberry Pi.

[Erica-Renee]

Pi itself is not rebooting or restarting right ? Only the monitor was going on/off. If pi is going on/off , then that will be bad, it can easily dry the sd card,

I think the fan is doing something, check if changing the relay has any effect (i.e. try another channel that you know works alright, like the one thats controlling light right now). If you can isolate the problem, it will be easier to fix.

Going to do a bit more testing to find the exact problem... It might be as simple as i do not have the relay grounded to the power source YET

My thinking is its the cheap relay.. I bought a cheap one for testing.. My Production version i will use High end single relays .

 

[cheeseclock]

My stab in the dark at this is the relay coil inrush is sagging the rail. Check the voltage and current requirement of the relay. You may need a simple circuit to drive it.

https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.c...solation-between-raspberry-pi-and-relay-board

 

[cheeseclock]

I use these with an Arduino to trigger solid state relays.

WINGONEER 5Pcs IRF520 MOSFET Driver Module https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XHH1TQM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0anYAb18FKH76

 

[Erica-Renee]

here is the relay board i am using....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Channel-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

My suspicion is the fan (cheap box fan) is pulling to much at start up...

my thinking from above recommendations..
1. CHECK FAN... The fan is quite old and not so expensive..
2. Power relay from separate power source (intend on doing this anyway )
3. May not be a issue with higher end Relay

 

[cheeseclock]

Your relay board has a buffer/driver circuit. Are these verified to work with a 3.3v trigger?

 

[cheeseclock]

See, you're electrically isolated between coil and contact. Your driven device won't have any effect on the low level side of things unless something is seriously wrong with the inrush current. I suspect lights would dim in that case.

 

[Ranjib]

Going to do a bit more testing to find the exact problem... It might be as simple as i do not have the relay grounded to the power source YET

My thinking is its the cheap relay.. I bought a cheap one for testing.. My Production version i will use High end single relays .

my thinking is that the relay is not the culprit. Relay does not need to be grounded, in fact relay is only connected to the hot wire (among the three AC wires), And if my understanding is correct, you should see the blink effect even without relay/reef-pi connected. That is if you just connect the fan and monitor (without anything else) and turn on/off fan , you should see the monitor blinking

 

[Ranjib]

here is the relay board i am using....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Channel-5V-Relay-Board-for-Arduino/122930287950?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

My suspicion is the fan (cheap box fan) is pulling to much at start up...

my thinking from above recommendations..
1. CHECK FAN... The fan is quite old and not so expensive..
2. Power relay from separate power source (intend on doing this anyway )
3. May not be a issue with higher end Relay

yes. thats my thought also, this has nothing to do with relay or pi. its about the fan, its a common thing,

 

[Erica-Renee]

The fan was causing the issue.I cut the cord on it and put it out for the trash.

 

[Erica-Renee]

Question.
are there wiring diagrams for dosing system anywhere?

 

[Ranjib]

Question.
are there wiring diagrams for dosing system anywhere?

No :-/ .
Are you planning to use the dosing sub-system in reef-pi, which uses a variable speed peristaltic motor ? or something like BRS doser which is basically like any other AC equipment and runs on timer.

Dosing sub-system was introduced recently (after 1.0 release), and the docs are not there yet, i plan to write them together as part of the 2.0 release (which will bring whole lot of new things), but if you want to build it now, i can share a rough set of instructions/schematics

 

[Erica-Renee]

No :-/ .
Are you planning to use the dosing sub-system in reef-pi, which uses a variable speed peristaltic motor ? or something like BRS doser which is basically like any other AC equipment and runs on timer.

Dosing sub-system was introduced recently (after 1.0 release), and the docs are not there yet, i plan to write them together as part of the 2.0 release (which will bring whole lot of new things), but if you want to build it now, i can share a rough set of instructions/schematics

that is one of the things i want to use yes. Right now i use a dp-4 dosing pump.. configuring it is a Stupid pain in the butt and it does not keep correct time. (seems to be a common issues with them) My plan is to use its case to house the reef-pi controller .

So yes if you get time i would like to check out what you have



Thanks Erica ..

 

[Danny Taylor]

when will the 2.0 be released thanks

 

[Ranjib]

when will the 2.0 be released thanks

2.0 official release will be somewhere around X-mas. Most of the features will be available much before that, but they might not have proper documentation or go through some changes. We already have several of 2.0 features release (doser sub system , ph etc). Support for multiple ato and temperature is next.

 

[Danny Taylor]

2.0 official release will be somewhere around X-mas. Most of the features will be available much before that, but they might not have proper documentation or go through some changes. We already have several of 2.0 features release (doser sub system , ph etc). Support for multiple ato and temperature is next.

great thanks to you have the schematics for the doser and ph please

 

[Ranjib]

great thanks to you have the schematics for the doser and ph please

Not yet,
doser schematic is fairy similar to lighting schematic, except the pwm output goes to an l293d chip (schematic/tutorial is available on adfruit, if you are curious). a single l293d chip can control two peristaltic pumps (dosing pump)
ph schematic is exactly same as atlas scinifitic recommended for ezp ph circuit for pi, including the 5v pull up. I am pretty sure i have shated the photos of both of the circuit prototyped on a adafruit perma proto board (small atoid sized :-) ) . I'll repost them in case you plan to build it before the docs/schematics are published

 

[cheeseclock]

The fan was causing the issue.I cut the cord on it and put it out for the trash.

Well, I was completely off on that one! I thought you were having an issue similar to the one I had with an Arduino. I am driving four solid state relays which require 10mA each to operate. I noticed that if I triggered all four simultaneously, the lights on the board would dim. While within the current limits of the unit, for some reason it didn't like it which I chalked up to inrush and sagging the +5 for a moment. They're decently sized Idec units that I use to switch 110v outlets on and off.

My little Pi showed up on Saturday. I ordered the Zero W. I'm curious if the Wi-Fi is going to work if I stuff it inside the metal chassis.

Ranjib, I'm building a new light assembly which will be fan cooled. I can use standard PC fans driven from the Mean Well constant current drivers, which is the plan currently. I doubt you're looking for additional work, but it would be nice to have temperature controlled PWM for fans. Of course, we all probably have a wish list of things.

 

[Ranjib]

Well, I was completely off on that one! I thought you were having an issue similar to the one I had with an Arduino. I am driving four solid state relays which require 10mA each to operate. I noticed that if I triggered all four simultaneously, the lights on the board would dim. While within the current limits of the unit, for some reason it didn't like it which I chalked up to inrush and sagging the +5 for a moment. They're decently sized Idec units that I use to switch 110v outlets on and off.

My little Pi showed up on Saturday. I ordered the Zero W. I'm curious if the Wi-Fi is going to work if I stuff it inside the metal chassis.

Ranjib, I'm building a new light assembly which will be fan cooled. I can use standard PC fans driven from the Mean Well constant current drivers, which is the plan currently. I doubt you're looking for additional work, but it would be nice to have temperature controlled PWM for fans. Of course, we all probably have a wish list of things.

Couple of thoughts on using reef-pi to control pwm fans for lights:
- 2.0 release will bring in multiple temperature controller support. Using that you can use a ds18b20 sensor and switch on/off fan. This wont let you control the pwm speed of the fan. But a fixed speed pwm should be possible only with circuit changes, without any code changes in reef-pi
- We can make this a thing for 3.0 release. But in a more generic form. Something along the line of reef-pi offering a sensor input to control a pwm output. This can be ato sensor controlling variable speed ato pump, or tempertature sensor controlling fan or cooler device etc. We have to chalk out lot more details for that, though.

 

[cheeseclock]

Couple of thoughts on using reef-pi to control pwm fans for lights:
- 2.0 release will bring in multiple temperature controller support. Using that you can use a ds18b20 sensor and switch on/off fan. This wont let you control the pwm speed of the fan. But a fixed speed pwm should be possible only with circuit changes, without any code changes in reef-pi
- We can make this a thing for 3.0 release. But in a more generic form. Something along the line of reef-pi offering a sensor input to control a pwm output. This can be ato sensor controlling variable speed ato pump, or tempertature sensor controlling fan or cooler device etc. We have to chalk out lot more details for that, though.

That's not a terrible idea with enough spare outputs. One could have a three stage fan or something similar using resistors.

 

[Ranjib]

That's not a terrible idea with enough spare outputs. One could have a three stage fan or something similar using resistors.

or just add a potentiometer and manually control the speed, and let reef-pi control the overall turn on/off part. Start with 50% speed and see how long it takes to cool things down (by reef-pi charts) and then adjust over time. That way, we'll have lot more understanding & data for future improvement.