Apex alarm trigger, Amp Draw

[jrpark22000]

Ostrow posted a thread which I really like; curious to see if anyont else would find it useful enought to suggest for a enhancement.

Would you use an email alarm trigger if your EB8/4 amp draw reached a set value?

If it went too high/low it could signal a malfunctioning peice of hardware, shut off return pump, anything out of the normal your tank.

 

[Deleted member 143833]

Not currently available but it is on the list of potential things to come.

 

[jrpark22000]

Excellent, thank you for the conf Kenargo.

 

[reefcam]

I would use it and also would be nice to detect if the AMP for an EB8 has dropped below a certain value. The reason is because my recirc pump is connected to a water sensor that will trip and shut off my pump. So the only way to detect if the pump is OFF line is by the current draw.

 

[BigKahuna]

Is the hardware capable of monitoring individual draw of each outlet or is it just the whole EB8 have a reading? It would be cool to set up outlets with a pre-defined amp range so you could tell the actual status of each one. Just wondering.

 

[apjohnson]

Hey reefcam, ever thought about using a float switch in your overflow to determine if your return pump was off? When your return pump is off, the water drops to the drain level of your standpipe, but when it's on, it's probable 1/2" or more higher. I know that's not a lot of tolerance, but it's just another idea on how to detect a malfunctioning return pump.

Also, you could have a "water too high" float switch in your sump that would do the same thing. If the water got to that level, then you would know if you had a problem with something not pumping water out of your sump (i.e. return pump) or something letting too much water into your sump. Something letting too much water into your sump would cause a salinity drop which you could see with if you also had a salinity probe. In any case, more than normal amounts of water in your sump is an alertable condition.

--AJ

 

[hilde123]

Reefcam, a much better solution than both amp draw or sump level (especially if you have an auto-top off system) is a pressure switch or a flow switch. I use a pressure switch which simply threads into a tee on the outlet of the pump, if there is pressure then there is water flowing. Conversely, no pressure, no flow. The pressure is a dry contact and can easily be connected to the Apex by a breakout box or the mini-din 8 connector. You can then trigger actions from it by using the SwitchX = Open then .... In my program, if the pressure switch senses no pressure, my backup return pump kicks on (seperatly plumbed) which would keep water flowing.

 

[swearint]

Is the hardware capable of monitoring individual draw of each outlet or is it just the whole EB8 have a reading?

No, the amp probe monitors total current, not individual outlets. I doubt individual outlet current would be possible as currently designed.

Todd