homemade socket expansion !!

[tall_jason79]

It uses basic relay logic to take power from the dc8 or 4 to fire a coil which then allows a different power source to provide power to those hungry equipment items ( lights , heaters) allowing the dc8 or 4 to operate at a much cooler temperature due to the lowered amperage draw! Here are a few cruddy pictures with my phone.


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tall_jason/5370885801/" title="expansion1 by tall_jason79, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5370885801_c3c61d20c1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="expansion1" /></a>


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tall_jason/5371491534/" title="expansion open by tall_jason79, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5371491534_264ecd16f9.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="expansion open" /></a>

 

[kraash]

Pretty cool!

I wouldn't take that to the airport or leave it layin around though !

 

[tall_jason79]

Screwed to the tank stand and in working operation! not that i had any doubts lol.

 

[scbadiver]

Umm, what did you say??? dc4, dc8...power...blah blah blah....? Please explain with "electric for dummies" lol What does this do and how?

 

[tall_jason79]

it uses a separate power cord to supply lights and heaters. Basically it does the same exact thing a heavy duty expansion does without the extra amp draw on the dc 8 .

DC8's only allow a max of 15 amps of power. This provides an additional 20 amps taking the strain off the DC8

 

[Reeferhead]

Very cool Jason :thumbsup: Do you have a parts list? How much did it cost to put together?

 

[Angler02]

Umm, what did you say??? dc4, dc8...power...blah blah blah....? Please explain with "electric for dummies" lol What does this do and how?

I believe you were asking what a dc4 and dc8 were as well. The dc 4 and 8 are basically a power strip that hook up to a controller, Jason has an Aqua controller Jr or AC jr. The dc4 has 4 plug ins and the dc 8 has you guessed it 8 plug ins. You run what is pretty much a phone cord from the dc4 to your controller and the controller tells your sockets when to turn on and off. He made a seperate box to lighten the amp load on the dc 4 as it may or may not be able to handle 2 400 watt lights among other items like heaters. Hope that helps.

 

[tall_jason79]

Nick, most of the stuff was from work so i do not have a price. If you are looking for something i can see what we have at work. A basic list would be as follows.

8x10 ish enclosure.
2 gfci's ( i used 20amp)
2 relays that can handle 15 amps @120v
1 fuse block( i used a 20 amp fuse since my circuit was 20 amps and the wire is rated at 20 amps)
I grabbed some terminal blocks from work to distribute the incoming power to the relays
3 receptical male ends.
14 feet of a 16-2 cable ( from controller to the coil of the relay)
12-2 cable ( recptical to the terminal blocks to supply the normally open line side of the relay)
and then wire.

 

[tall_jason79]

I would think you could find the relays, line fuse, and maybe the terminal blocks at radio shack. The wire and enclosure could be at home depot or ebay for the enclosure. I wanted to use a fiberglass box but this stainless box was available due to an error by an employee.

 

[scbadiver]

Thanks Angler! Now I have a much better understanding. Very neat Jason.

 

[tall_jason79]

thanks robbie,