There are definitely people that can use this. I'm glad someone finally came up with a low cost solution
0-10 Minute feeder timer project in 15 Minutes!
Hi all,
I wanted to contribute something after reading thousands of interesting articles through the years on this forum. I recently moved selling off most of my equipment in the process. All of my custom cabinets had built in timers for feeding purposes. I have recently started up some nano tanks and missed my timers for feeding, so I did a quick search and found nothing of interest for the cost. I used to use Omron timers but they are around $250.00 each. I went at this with a low tech approach this time. I found a timer on Amazon that is used for protecting A/C compressors from rapid cycling. It is a simple delay circuit that cuts the power after you press the button for a preset amount of time. The delay can be set between .03-10 Minutes. I have found that 10 minutes is a perfect time for my needs. I can feed the top water and mid water swimmers easily before my filters come on and eat all the food up. I put it all together in 15 minutes...I wasn't trying to win award for a clean look as it sits inside my cabinet next to the food. i built this in a standard plastic 2X4" electrical box and everything fit nicely. It could have been housed in a 4X4" box with s socket easily...The best part is, it cost under $15.00 to make! The most expensive part is the timer module. I found many different higher prices for this, but Amazon has it for $5.50
Hope someone can use this,
-2manyfish
Parts:
1 ICM Controls ICM203 Delay-on-Break Timer with 0.03 minutes-10 minutes, Adjustable Time Delay, (Amazon)
1 NC Momentary Push Button Switch Amazon (Uxcell a15070300ux0231 NO/NC SPDT Momentary Push Button Switch, 5 Piece, AC 250V, 2Amp / 120V, 5 Amp)
1 power cord cut in half or 110V-220v Socket depending on your application.
1 Utility box 2X4", 4X4" (Optional)
I wanted to contribute something after reading thousands of interesting articles through the years on this forum. I recently moved selling off most of my equipment in the process. All of my custom cabinets had built in timers for feeding purposes. I have recently started up some nano tanks and missed my timers for feeding, so I did a quick search and found nothing of interest for the cost. I used to use Omron timers but they are around $250.00 each. I went at this with a low tech approach this time. I found a timer on Amazon that is used for protecting A/C compressors from rapid cycling. It is a simple delay circuit that cuts the power after you press the button for a preset amount of time. The delay can be set between .03-10 Minutes. I have found that 10 minutes is a perfect time for my needs. I can feed the top water and mid water swimmers easily before my filters come on and eat all the food up. I put it all together in 15 minutes...I wasn't trying to win award for a clean look as it sits inside my cabinet next to the food. i built this in a standard plastic 2X4" electrical box and everything fit nicely. It could have been housed in a 4X4" box with s socket easily...The best part is, it cost under $15.00 to make! The most expensive part is the timer module. I found many different higher prices for this, but Amazon has it for $5.50
Hope someone can use this,
-2manyfish
Parts:
1 ICM Controls ICM203 Delay-on-Break Timer with 0.03 minutes-10 minutes, Adjustable Time Delay, (Amazon)
1 NC Momentary Push Button Switch Amazon (Uxcell a15070300ux0231 NO/NC SPDT Momentary Push Button Switch, 5 Piece, AC 250V, 2Amp / 120V, 5 Amp)
1 power cord cut in half or 110V-220v Socket depending on your application.
1 Utility box 2X4", 4X4" (Optional)
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