Member postings for Ian P

A few replies ago, Kiwi Bloke asked....

Not sure how your controller is arranged. If you have two circuits, each valve-controlled, what happens if both are 'off' at the same time?

From The OP's description the existing installation sounds to be plumbed reasonably sensibly but is lacking in the control method.

Rather than squeezing pipe why not solve the problem electrically?

I may be wrong but I do not recall seeing restrictors being required in installations fitted with electrically operated valves.

Ian P

Why not?

They are arrays of individual LEDs each operating off low voltage, low current but connected in an array.

Ian P

I think squeezing the pipe is a rubbish idea!

If the person installing the heating originally was an **** then it seems likely they were also an **** electrician.

I'm not sure what electrically operated valves are available currently but I think even the (oldish) Honeywell 'Y' Plan actuator could be set up to 'stop' at part travel. Whilst basically a crude/simple design it is never the less quite ingenious. It has a small synchronous motor that moves the valve to the open position against a spring, cutting the motor power then allows the spring to return the valve shut. There is a microswitch inside the valve that detects the 'shut' position and puts a diode in series with the mains power (which is now trying to drive a stalled motor). so that the motor only 'sees' half wave AC which locks the motor rotor whilst at the same time reducing power consumption. As far as I remember (its 40+ years since I messed with one) there was some way of using the diode to stop the valve at some intermediate position.

If you have an existing CHG system that already has a electric valve then there should already be a tank thermostat, maybe its just not been wired up correctly (or at all).

Ian

by moving a the fa

If there is an electrically operated valve that interrupts the flow to the heating coil, then just fit a tank thermostat to control the valve.

Ian P

I bought two of the same modules for the LEDs and had a different problem!

The DC:DC boost works fine and I could adjust the output voltage no problem, what did not work though was the constant current control. At no setting of the trimmer pot could I get a constant current, in fact the pot acted as a sort of switch with very little control at lowish current (using a 100 Ohm load) and at part travel the output jumped (and latched) to having no current limiting.

I did power the Leds at 600mA using an ali clad 8 Ohm series resistor but I then had three components that needed heat sinking so abandoned the idea.

I tried tracing the circuit to see why the CC did not works but the 'PCB tracks' are too well concealed under the resist coating that I gave up.

I contacted the ebay seller explaining the fault and he sent a nice apologetic reply and a full refund also saying not to bother returning them. They work as straight DC:DC step up converters so I'm sure I will find another use for them.

Ian P

p.s. You mention 3A at switch on (without load) is that just the momentary inrush?

For the sake of clarity and avoidance of confusion

O-rings whether metric or imperial are referred to by the inside diameter followed by cross section

Ian P

I use a fair number of O-rings is stuff that I design and make yet very rarely use an O-ring out of either the metric and imperial kits I have. Two reasons really, one is the seal material which is a bit of an unknown quality, secondly is whilst a kits look to cover a range of sizes, in reality its is a fraction of the standard size range.

I sometimes need to seal 1.5mm (and sometimes smaller) control spindles, and up to 250mm diameter bayonet joints so well outside what kits contain. For underwater use my preference is silicone rubber.

Ian P

By coincidence I looked at a old brick sized first generation mobile phone, I had taken out its set of NiCad cells years ago so they did not leak or damage the electronics. The LCD (with the phone unpowered) is total mess, its is blackened on all four edges but the rest of the display is a mass of black specks.

Your weighing scales (being quite old) might possibly incorporate a generic, rather than a custom LCD module. An image of it 'lit up' in operation would show whether it has just plain 7 segment characters or whether it has other annunciators. I suspect the former as the panel shows oz, g, net (nett?)

Ian P

On seeing the above reference to 'JB Weld Original' I looked online and see there are dozens of different versions of J B Weld (which is something I was not aware of)

I dont have any idea which is the original 'original' but if I was looking for an adhesive I would select the most suitable one for the job in hand, I suspect though that I would eventually end up with a larder full of JB Weld versions I may never need again. My 'original' would be the one I used the first time.

On the forum and in the MEW there are many articles and postings that mention using JB Weld, so which version is being recommended?

Is there one version that suits most workshop purposes? (its a genuine question)

Ian P

I wonder if the pliers have another Cooksons description error. They are made from stainless.

If anyone buys these please report back here

Ian P

I've just looked on the manufacturers website (Beadalon.com) and they do say the head is stainless. My apologies to Cooksons.
BTW the double headed pliers are tempting

Edited By Ian P on 16/01/2023 14:37:01

Yes but some of them will be duplicates!

So it will take a little longer to find the one you want

Ian P

I wonder why one might need to drill pearls and beads in two operations 180 degrees apart?

Yes it might be necessary if the object was over the 35mm diameter but that would be a whopper pearl. I can imagine threading a string through double drilled holes would be fraught with difficulty because of the drill drifting

Ian P

I doubt writing to Cooksons will help much.

A few years ago I bought one of these (link below) precision vices on the basis that it had 'carbide' jaws. Their description which originally said the jaws were hard (with carbide mentioned in the text body) has since been updated and now says there are soft (as a result of me returning the vice and telling them in an email

Ian P

**LINK**

Well if you are not sure what foot control and VFD have to do with this thread, I'm not sure anyone else can tell you!

See the first sentence of your original question

Ian P

If this is a dummy fuel filter then why does it need a seal?

If it does have to seal then a suitably sized O-ring would be fine (and act as a cushion between the glass and metal)

Ian P

I will stick my neck out first.

Wayne, I have read all your posts in this thread and admit I still do not understand what you are trying to do!

You mention 'grinder'. Is that an angle grinder, bench grinder, surface grinder, die grinder or something else?

Thick wall and tube (two tubes even) mean little without knowing the context.

Lots here who are more than willing to help but its difficult by guesswork.

Ian P

Whilst I knew there were some variable speed inverter type controllers available, I understood the concensus was that they had limited speed control and were of dubious value.

These AT2 inverters look to be an answer for some situations. Whilst I am perfectly happy to continue with VFDs with 3 phase output, curiosity got me looking for an online AT2 manual, but I've drawn a blank!

Just watched a youtube video of an AT2 being unboxed, but the box did not seem to contain any documentation.

Has anyone got an AT2 or a link to its user manual?

Ian P

Ideally, you need a three phase motor with the VFD if you want a usefully wide range of speed control.

Ian P

Many, or probably most, VFD's can be set up or programmed to work with momentary or latching switches.

Ian P

I too received a pair of these modules and thank Michael for spotting them.

Regarding the voltage/current values just posted by Les, I would like to point out to (less electronically aware readers) that it is current rather than voltage which is the main consideration when selecting a power source.

The voltage across an illuminated string of LEDs (which varies slightly with temperature anyway) may be of interest but its not critically relevant, with these modules a 'constant current' supply (with an unloaded output higher than 45 volts (ish) is how they should be used.

I have not powered up mine yet but I not try to connect them direct to a regulated DC supply even if it was set to 44.15 Volts

Ian P