My Current build

[Broady2067]

Hi All,
I thought i would share my current build and welcome any feedback as to changes and the like. I must say i bought this from Facebook market place and wipe the card on the PI and started from scratch for the config. I will at some point be tidying up the wiring. I have had to check all connections as there were a few lose wires.

 

[glb]

Very cool. Please keep us posted!

 

[Broady2067]

Very cool. Please keep us posted!

The next thing will be to get an aviation plug and use it for a temp sensor or two to come out of the bottom of the enclosure. I also need to get some nylon standoffs to fix everything in place. The rats nest of wire is bugging the hell out of me.

 

[Broady2067]

Just out of interest does anyone use solid state relays?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hi All,
I thought i would share my current build and welcome any feedback as to changes and the like. I must say i bought this from Facebook market place and wipe the card on the PI and started from scratch for the config. I will at some point be tidying up the wiring. I have had to check all connections as there were a few lose wires.

Very nice looking!!

 

[geologeek]

Just out of interest does anyone use solid state relays?

I replaced a set of 8 mechanical relays (the 5vdc modules with optoisolation) as a couple of the relays fused from switching my heater and ato with SSR versions. They were working perfectly for a while and completely silent. But today two of the channels just broke when one of my heaters gave up the ghost and blew (with sudden water ingress) and the other when switching off the channel with a power strip that has my wave makers and sump return pump on.

Don't know why the fuses didn't blow but the SSR's packed in?? Need to look into this and see if there is some way of protecting the SSR or investing in better 5vdc modules? Not that there appears to be much choice as they all appear to be the same across the marketplaces.......

Might get an additional ac/ac SSR to sit between the 5vdc modules and the channels for higher power items such as pumps and the heaters so reef-pi switches the module and that relay switches a more powerful SSR to handle the higher power loads??

 

[Broady2067]

I replaced a set of 8 mechanical relays (the 5vdc modules with optoisolation) as a couple of the relays fused from switching my heater and ato with SSR versions. They were working perfectly for a while and completely silent. But today two of the channels just broke when one of my heaters gave up the ghost and blew (with sudden water ingress) and the other when switching off the channel with a power strip that has my wave makers and sump return pump on.

Don't know why the fuses didn't blow but the SSR's packed in?? Need to look into this and see if there is some way of protecting the SSR or investing in better 5vdc modules? Not that there appears to be much choice as they all appear to be the same across the marketplaces.......

Might get an additional ac/ac SSR to sit between the 5vdc modules and the channels for higher power items such as pumps and the heaters so reef-pi switches the module and that relay switches a more powerful SSR to handle the higher power loads??

Not sure what all that means. lol

 

[geologeek]

Not sure what all that means. lol

Like in your build you have the relays in a module, think you have 10channels? Well I had 2 off 8 channel modules in my first build, but several of the mechanical relays died on the board from being switched on/off so frequently with my heater and ATO being controlled (think the relay contacts fused) so I replaced one of the 8 channel modules with an 8 channel Solid state relay version. They worked perfectly well for about 6 months until yesterday when my heater died as did my ATO pump and now those two channels on my SSR module no longer work.

I think the power surge was not enough to blow my inline fuses but managed to destroy the SSR on the module.

 

[Broady2067]

Is there a better way to do this.

Like in your build you have the relays in a module, think you have 10channels? Well I had 2 off 8 channel modules in my first build, but several of the mechanical relays died on the board from being switched on/off so frequently with my heater and ATO being controlled (think the relay contacts fused) so I replaced one of the 8 channel modules with an 8 channel Solid state relay version. They worked perfectly well for about 6 months until yesterday when my heater died as did my ATO pump and now those two channels on my SSR module no longer work.

I think the power surge was not enough to blow my inline fuses but managed to destroy the SSR on the module.

I get what you mean. One of the channels is defective on the six channel bar so i am going to replace it. I not sure i will have the same issue as mine are used to control equipment via the outlet sockets and the only time they will be off is when i run my feed macro.

 

[geologeek]

Are those blade fuses circled in orange on the AC side or DC side?

 

[Broady2067]

Are those blade fuses circled in orange on the AC side or DC side?

yes

 

[geologeek]

yes

Which? Not sure I would be personally comfortable having DC blade fuses on with AC current running through them.

 

[Sral]

Are those blade fuses circled in orange on the AC side or DC side?

Appears to be the 12V or so DC-side, as the same red cables also go into the Buck-converter, the other side of which is connected to the white USB cable going into the PI.

 

[Broady2067]

So for me this is all very messy. I need to clean up the inside layout and do some cable management. Has anyone any suggestion. I have bought some nylon stand offs and will be fixing things in place. Thinking of re-wiring the outlets with longer wires and labelling as i go. I was also wondering if there is a better solution to power the entire thing. I have seen the build series from @Ranjib on the adafruit website and all the builds seem to have there own raspberry pi. I would like to be able to add separate modules and link them to the main unit if possible. Also there are only a certain number of pins on the Raspberry pi, can they be used for multiple uses i.e. different functions?

 

[Sral]

So for me this is all very messy. I need to clean up the inside layout and do some cable management. Has anyone any suggestion. I have bought some nylon stand offs and will be fixing things in place. Thinking of re-wiring the outlets with longer wires and labelling as i go. I was also wondering if there is a better solution to power the entire thing. I have seen the build series from @Ranjib on the adafruit website and all the builds seem to have there own raspberry pi. I would like to be able to add separate modules and link them to the main unit if possible. Also there are only a certain number of pins on the Raspberry pi, can they be used for multiple uses i.e. different functions?

For a quick and dirty cable management you could do the same as @Ranjib in the guides: grouping cables together using large diameter heat-Shrink tube.
A possible upgrade would be to poke holes in the heat shrink and screw it to stand-offs to fix them in place.

A different method might include two adjacent stand-offs that one screws a piece of PCB or plastic to, which would also keep the cables underneath in place. Would also be useful as a labeling surface I imagine.


Regarding modularity: I tried something like that using DB9 plugs and cables for digital on/off signals like Equipment and shielded USB-cables for I2C bus lines, as you can see in my build-thread here. You could do something similar with appropriately sized airplane plugs which you already intend for the Temperature sensors if I remember correctly.

 

[Broady2067]

For a quick and dirty cable management you could do the same as @Ranjib in the guides: grouping cables together using large diameter heat-Shrink tube.
A possible upgrade would be to poke holes in the heat shrink and screw it to stand-offs to fix them in place.

A different method might include two adjacent stand-offs that one screws a piece of PCB or plastic to, which would also keep the cables underneath in place. Would also be useful as a labeling surface I imagine.


Regarding modularity: I tried something like that using DB9 plugs and cables for digital on/off signals like Equipment and shielded USB-cables for I2C bus lines, as you can see in my build-thread here. You could do something similar with appropriately sized airplane plugs which you already intend for the Temperature sensors if I remember correctly.

Read the recommended thread and yes thats is the sort of thing i would like to go for.

 

[Fish Fan]

Just a suggestion with cable/wire management, these little sticky pads and zip ties can go a long way to keeping things neat. Simply stick the pad to the project box enclosure where ever it's needed, then secure your cables with a zip tie.

https://www.amazon.com/XHF-Back-Glue-Protection-Fasteners

I have a quick question, please. Is your build basically using regular European house-hold electrical outlets controlled by the RPi and an 8 channel relay? I'm asking because this is different than using the American DJ controllable power strip as described in the Reef-Pi Power Controller guide on GitHub. Years ago I used an RPi to make one of those holiday light controllers where string lights ("Christmas" type lights) would flash in sync to music. That setup simply used regular US 120v duplex outlets in a regular plastic outlet box. Each outlet was controlled by the Pi via an 8 channel relay. Is that what you're basically doing here? Is there any advantage/disadvantage to doing it this way rather than using the American DJ power strip? For me, not having to purchase the American DJ power strip would save me a little over 50 USD, which is not insignificant.

Thank you and good luck with your build!

-Fish Fan

 

[Broady2067]

Just a suggestion with cable/wire management, these little sticky pads and zip ties can go a long way to keeping things neat. Simply stick the pad to the project box enclosure where ever it's needed, then secure your cables with a zip tie.

https://www.amazon.com/XHF-Back-Glue-Protection-Fasteners

I have a quick question, please. Is your build basically using regular European house-hold electrical outlets controlled by the RPi and an 8 channel relay? I'm asking because this is different than using the American DJ controllable power strip as described in the Reef-Pi Power Controller guide on GitHub. Years ago I used an RPi to make one of those holiday light controllers where string lights ("Christmas" type lights) would flash in sync to music. That setup simply used regular US 120v duplex outlets in a regular plastic outlet box. Each outlet was controlled by the Pi via an 8 channel relay. Is that what you're basically doing here? Is there any advantage/disadvantage to doing it this way rather than using the American DJ power strip? For me, not having to purchase the American DJ power strip would save me a little over 50 USD, which is not insignificant.

Thank you and good luck with your build!

-Fish Fan

It uses a 6 and a 4 relay strip 10 outlets in total. I just want to be more compact.

 

[Sral]

Just a suggestion with cable/wire management, these little sticky pads and zip ties can go a long way to keeping things neat. Simply stick the pad to the project box enclosure where ever it's needed, then secure your cables with a zip tie.

https://www.amazon.com/XHF-Back-Glue-Protection-Fasteners

I have a quick question, please. Is your build basically using regular European house-hold electrical outlets controlled by the RPi and an 8 channel relay? I'm asking because this is different than using the American DJ controllable power strip as described in the Reef-Pi Power Controller guide on GitHub. Years ago I used an RPi to make one of those holiday light controllers where string lights ("Christmas" type lights) would flash in sync to music. That setup simply used regular US 120v duplex outlets in a regular plastic outlet box. Each outlet was controlled by the Pi via an 8 channel relay. Is that what you're basically doing here? Is there any advantage/disadvantage to doing it this way rather than using the American DJ power strip? For me, not having to purchase the American DJ power strip would save me a little over 50 USD, which is not insignificant.

Thank you and good luck with your build!

-Fish Fan

I think I saw somebody who opened an American DJ strip, and they function exactly like those relay boards, if I recall correctly.

 

[theatrus]

I think I saw somebody who opened an American DJ strip, and they function exactly like those relay boards, if I recall correctly.

The American DJ strips were "just the relay" - no FET or transistor was provided to make it logic level. Not a big deal.

Also the one I had testing the Pico boards literally had a defect on the PCB which meant some relays didn't work. Quality was not high