All:
Thought I would post a few pics of a DIY Kalk Stirrer project I completed awhile back. Originally I had a maxi-jet pump sealed in the chamber to mix the Kalk on a timer every couple hours.
Worked ok, but it ate impellers because of the high PH. Decided to make a stirrer using some spare parts I had on hand. A Powermax II stepper motor and a split coupler, some acrylic etc.
Stepper motor is connected to a split coupler to a 3/8" acrylic shaft. The end of the shaft sits in a short piece of 1/2" acrylic tube at the bottom of the chamber to act as a bushing, but more importantly to keep the stir rod true when rotating and keep it from wandering.
The stepper motor is powered by a Pololu stepper motor driver. The stepper driver is driven by a PIC 18f14K50 programmed using Microchip C18 and MPLabX. I did not want a LCD display or buttons, so I use a terminal program to program the unit from the pc via a Bluetooth module.
RPM is variable from 0-20 rpm
Has a fast stir rate every set number of hours 1-24 hours to give the kalk a good stir. The rate for the fast stir is variable from 20-100 rpm and from 0-60 seconds
So far has been running perfectly for the last couple months, I do find I have to turn it off and on every once in awhile becasue the PC looses connection with the Bluetooth module.
Need to modify the paddle as it could probably stir better, but making the paddle more agressive will require more torque from the stepper.
YouTube video of it running
http://youtu.be/6kIKxdXs_1o
Thought I would post a few pics of a DIY Kalk Stirrer project I completed awhile back. Originally I had a maxi-jet pump sealed in the chamber to mix the Kalk on a timer every couple hours.
Worked ok, but it ate impellers because of the high PH. Decided to make a stirrer using some spare parts I had on hand. A Powermax II stepper motor and a split coupler, some acrylic etc.
Stepper motor is connected to a split coupler to a 3/8" acrylic shaft. The end of the shaft sits in a short piece of 1/2" acrylic tube at the bottom of the chamber to act as a bushing, but more importantly to keep the stir rod true when rotating and keep it from wandering.
The stepper motor is powered by a Pololu stepper motor driver. The stepper driver is driven by a PIC 18f14K50 programmed using Microchip C18 and MPLabX. I did not want a LCD display or buttons, so I use a terminal program to program the unit from the pc via a Bluetooth module.
RPM is variable from 0-20 rpm
Has a fast stir rate every set number of hours 1-24 hours to give the kalk a good stir. The rate for the fast stir is variable from 20-100 rpm and from 0-60 seconds
So far has been running perfectly for the last couple months, I do find I have to turn it off and on every once in awhile becasue the PC looses connection with the Bluetooth module.
Need to modify the paddle as it could probably stir better, but making the paddle more agressive will require more torque from the stepper.
YouTube video of it running
http://youtu.be/6kIKxdXs_1o