DIY Swirler Stein

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14009196#post14009196 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swannking
Seems like you guys are going thro a lot of trouble with the bearing and lubricant. How come the sea-swirl does not have the same problem and I don't think they use bearings. I do know that they put a lot of grease on the tube.
Click to expand...

I made my 'Steiner' with 2x 3/4" PVC insert couplings and have no problems binding. I will bey my dual bushing setup against a SeaSwirl for longevity no questions. The main problem I can collect from most experiences is they only have ONE bushing at the bottom (not two with one at the top as mine) or they did not painstakingly sand...sand...sand...and sand some more on the bushing with the smallest grit possible (600 in my case) until the fit between the top and bottom bushing was perfect. That is something that cannot be produced by rapid production techniques (like a Sea Swirl).

Looks like I might as well try the bearing for $5. I'll look at Grainger next week or the hardware.

DW302
 
My first Swirlers were made with two bushings, one below the box and another in the box. They were cut from a single 1/2 inch coupling. I used a dremmel sanding drum to open the coupling up until the down tube would slide into freely. I guess my mistake was not smoothing the I.D. with finer sand paper. With hindsight, I would use the bearing anyway. For the time it takes to make the bushing and sand the I.D., it is worth the $5.00 bearing to save the time.
I also think it makes sense that the bearing will last longer than the PVC to PVC surface frictions, even with grease.
Swannking,
I am not having a problem with the bearing or with lube. Running them with grease was servicing that I did not want to think of. It is running them dry that I had a problem. I agree with DW, the sealed bearing or properly made bushing would out last a Sea-Swirl design.
 
Nice Job dngspot !
How much if you build 2 for me!!!?
Eheim came out with a lub here is the description...

Finding a lubricant that is safe for corals, inverts and fish can be a challenge. Eheim comes to the rescue with their new maintenance spray that seeks to lubricate moving parts. “Moving parts, which are in regular contact with water become difficult to move after some time. Therefore EHEIM has developed a water neutral spray for use with all makes of aquatic and pond filters and pumps, using a special silicon. Maintains and lubricates all moving parts for aquarium and pond filters. You can easily reach even the most inaccessible areas with the practical spray tube - just point and spray!” Available first in Germany and can be imported in for a low $13.80 this spray should start to hit select Eheim dealers across the US early January if it hasn’t already

Thanks
Ed
 
well i thought this was such a cool thread that i set off to make my own swirl stein using a bunch of garbage laying around the garage. it wasnt going too bad untill i realized the motor i was going to use wasnt what i thought it was. what i thought i had was a small 15rpm motor but actually turned out to be gigantic gear box connected to a much faster motor. anyways its stopped me dead in my tracks so far, but ill probably end up breaking down and buying the right gear motor. i thought about trying to make the one i have work, but the whole assembally is way too big for the application...

i had to rig up a poor mans lathe to machine the end of a 3/8" acrylic dowell into a 5/16" peg to fit into a skateboard bearing.

drill strapped to work bench, acrylic rod in drill and passed through wood block thats screwed to work bench
DSC06708.jpg


using the dremel my wife just got me for christmas to sand away the O.D. of the acrylic rod from 3/8" to 5/16"
DSC06711.jpg


yay it worked!
DSC06713.jpg


i dont know eactly what to call that armature there, but i made it from a composite shim. i cut the shim with a knife and then sanded it to shape.
DSC06714.jpg


the toy i was trying to hijack the motor from is an automatic bubble blower. when the toy is on that white square peg turns at a rate of about 15rpms.
DSC06715.jpg


upon further inspection i realized that the peg is not connected to a motor at all, but rather a set of gears. "is there such thing as a slow motor that doesnt have a bunch of gears inside it? im guessing not? " in any case, what i have here is way too big to work with so ive scrapped the build for now.
DSC06718.jpg


i guess ill just have to spring out of pocket for the right parts? :rolleyes: thats ok, itll be worth it!

great idea by the way miwoodar, this is a very cool project! you guys over here in the DIY forum are so creative, its quite impressive to follow some of the things yall build. keep up the great work!

-on a side note- if i wanted to learn how to build small electronic\mechanical devices, what college courses would i want to take? i have to get some college credits under my belt for the fire department, and it doesnt matter what classes i take. i figured ide make the most out of the time at school by learning something cool. :) electronics is deffinatly at the top of my list!
 
i went to 2 different hobby shops and radio shack looking for a gear motor today and didnt find anything. so to pass the time i pulled apart the gear box from the bubble blower and manually set the gears in a shallow dish. :lol:

i think im looking at 30 something rpms right now, i need 1 more gear to finish it. i just dont know what size it is becasue ive never used gears before.

DSC06757.jpg


DSC06756.jpg




:lol: whatever???
 
believe me, your both right! :lol: i dont know why im wasting my time? but i can tell you this, its so much fun :D

i need to find as low profile a motor as possible. the unit has to be under 1.25" thick to fit under the hood of my bio cube. right now that purple monstrosity fits EXACTLY with no extra space.
 
If you build on a flat piece of acrylic you can build them pretty thin. The motor I used is about 3/4 inch, with arms and linkage one could build one about an inch tall. I am have plans to take mine out of the box and put them on 1/4 acrylic. The box is a bit confining and makes it pretty difficult to keep the down tube arm from hitting the box, when the arc is more than 90 degrees. I guess I could make the down tube arm smaller and the motor arm smaller but taking the motors out of the box allows the motor to run cooler. My motors sit under 400 watt MH lights, about 3 inches. The boxes are holding up well and I am not concerned about the amount of heat the motors put out but the lights are giving me alarm. Every thing is running so well now, I may wait and see how they stand up instead.
 
i didnt think the motors were that thin, but if they are then they will work just fine for my application. i do need to have all the electronics sealed inside of a water tight box. since the unit will be inside of my bio cube, it will be exposed to extreme humidity.

i suppose i could use acrylic like you suggested and just build an entire box out of it? ide rather do that to be honest with you. not only will i be able to make an exact fit inside of the hood, but it will look a whole lot cleaner than what i have going on now! :lol:

do you have a link to the ebay page where you found your 3/4" motor?
 
well after finally completing the questionable unit i was working on i broke down and ordered a 3rpm microwave turntable motor from ebay. it only set me back $9.8o. not too bad i suppose?
 
I bought 4 motors for $24.00 shipped. 2 RPM 120V 2 Watt. Looking forward to getting everything running will post some build pick when I received the motors.
 
im soo close to finishing my SSmini! i could actually run it right now but i need a couple more parts. 1 nylon screw and a uniseal. (or something similar) the uniseal is for passing the electrical cord through the water tight box. does anybody know of anything else i could use? the smallest one ive found so far is 1/2" and thats not going to do me any good....
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14104259#post14104259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chrismunn
im soo close to finishing my SSmini! i could actually run it right now but i need a couple more parts. 1 nylon screw and a uniseal. (or something similar) the uniseal is for passing the electrical cord through the water tight box. does anybody know of anything else i could use? the smallest one ive found so far is 1/2" and thats not going to do me any good....
Click to expand...

Use a rubber grommet from Lowe's/HD. Much cheaper than a uniseal. If all else fails, use some of the black tubing from a MJ. I drilled my hole close to the top of the electrical box and wrapped the tubing around the edge of the box. The top of the hole is open with the lid off. When the lid is fastned down, it acts as a seal for the cord. You could use those snap-in "anti-yank" type cord installation plugs, but pricey compared to tubing I already had.

HTH,
DW302
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14104259#post14104259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chrismunn
im soo close to finishing my SSmini! i could actually run it right now but i need a couple more parts. 1 nylon screw and a uniseal. (or something similar) the uniseal is for passing the electrical cord through the water tight box. does anybody know of anything else i could use? the smallest one ive found so far is 1/2" and thats not going to do me any good....
Click to expand...

Here are smaller Uniseals. Cheap also. I get all my Uniseal there.

http://www.aussieglobe.com/uniseal3.htm
 
well paul i take that back, when i put the lid on my SS i cant close the lid on my bio cube. :D 1/8" mis-measurement on my part and now i have a totally defective and very dangerous swirler stien :rolleyes: ill have to build a new housing so that im able to get the lid on it. if not then the box will probably fill with water because it gets pretty moist under the hood. that would be a pretty bad situation!

when i do get the new box built then ill get that uni seal.for now ive got this...

 
Can you guys post more detailed pictures or your shaft mounting? I had alot of issues with mounting the shaft and go alot of binding. I got my hands on some bearings and I am going to give that a shot but the whole thing didn't seem right to me.
 
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