the swirler-stein
- Thread starter Isayso
- Start date
Well here are some meager photos of my prototype.
The motor is the same exact 2.5 rpm motor that hmott used on his. I have it mounted on some acrylic risers glued onto a styrene sheet which I will eventually make into my own box. The pipe is a 1/2" SCH80 through a 1/2" slip coupling which I bored out so that the pipe can slip through smoothly.
Ran it overnight and although the motor is kinda hot to the touch, it wasn't affecting the styrene sheet nor acrylic risers.
D.
The motor is the same exact 2.5 rpm motor that hmott used on his. I have it mounted on some acrylic risers glued onto a styrene sheet which I will eventually make into my own box. The pipe is a 1/2" SCH80 through a 1/2" slip coupling which I bored out so that the pipe can slip through smoothly.
Ran it overnight and although the motor is kinda hot to the touch, it wasn't affecting the styrene sheet nor acrylic risers.
D.
Last edited:
Looks clean D.
Any idea's for a material to put between the motor and the box, mine is getting pretty hot as well.
Daniel
Any idea's for a material to put between the motor and the box, mine is getting pretty hot as well.
Daniel
Allright....time to get into the game. I just ordered 2 of these:
at 4.3 x 3.2 x 1.6 $7.92 each plus shipping. These "project boxes" are labeled as fire retardant so that calms my fears about heat.
You can find them here:
http://www.hammondmfg.com/dwg2b.htm
My only concern with the box is that 2 of the metal screws will be hanging over the tank. I might replace them with stainless steel ones with a dab of silicone over the heads or go on a hunt for plastic/nylon screws.
I also ordered 2 of the same motors as Dahn and Hahn along with some Weldon #3 and #16. D...I like the risers...good idea to keep the motor from touching any plastic and/or acrylic. I was thinking the same mechanism for the top of the down tube, with the cam glued to the top. Looks like you used 1/4 inch acrylic for the cam? Is that styrene you used to afix to the motor shaft? .......safe to assume acrlic will work here? BTW....how did you "bore" the 1/2 inch slip coupling?....you must have a drill press? I need to get me one of those!
Peace Out
John
at 4.3 x 3.2 x 1.6 $7.92 each plus shipping. These "project boxes" are labeled as fire retardant so that calms my fears about heat.
You can find them here:
http://www.hammondmfg.com/dwg2b.htm
My only concern with the box is that 2 of the metal screws will be hanging over the tank. I might replace them with stainless steel ones with a dab of silicone over the heads or go on a hunt for plastic/nylon screws.
I also ordered 2 of the same motors as Dahn and Hahn along with some Weldon #3 and #16. D...I like the risers...good idea to keep the motor from touching any plastic and/or acrylic. I was thinking the same mechanism for the top of the down tube, with the cam glued to the top. Looks like you used 1/4 inch acrylic for the cam? Is that styrene you used to afix to the motor shaft? .......safe to assume acrlic will work here? BTW....how did you "bore" the 1/2 inch slip coupling?....you must have a drill press? I need to get me one of those!
Peace Out
John
what sort of movement do you get? Your cam is small and so is your motor arm, just like mine, but your connecting rod is much longer. I wonder how that affects the movement. I wasn't able to test it in my box as my box was a fixed size and I had the arm maxed out.
It looks nice.
It looks nice.
Aquaduck
New member
Flame retardant doesn't mean melt proof. I am familiar with those project boxes and they are not very robust. The good thing about them is they are very easy to cut. Personally I would stick with the PVC electrical boxes.
I suggested this before but maybe it got burried in the thread. Mount the motor to an aluminum plate as large as you can fit in the box. This will act as a heat sink and reduce the hot spot created by the motor. It won't reduce the internal temperature of the box unless you drill some holes for convection cooling.
I suggested this before but maybe it got burried in the thread. Mount the motor to an aluminum plate as large as you can fit in the box. This will act as a heat sink and reduce the hot spot created by the motor. It won't reduce the internal temperature of the box unless you drill some holes for convection cooling.
Kenzy
Premium Member
Sorry for not geetting back sooner, as far as heat my motor is running at 122F. Its some what hot to the touch,but there is no sign of heat discolouration on any thing in side the box. This was measured with an IR thermometer, handy little toy 
My "Swirler" has been running close to a month now 24/7 with no problems.
My "Swirler" has been running close to a month now 24/7 with no problems.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
the length of the connecting rod doesnt change the degree of oscillation as long as it offers full movement. The ratio of the radius of the large wheel to the small wheel on the motor is what determines the degree of movement. The only exception to this is when you go over 120 degrees...then a shorter arm (placing the wheels as close together as possible) helps with the torque angle (torque is a composite of the forcexdirection) that the arm has on the large wheel as it approaches the limits of its oscillation. Thats the simplest way to put it...lol.
smells like fish
New member
Here's my swirly. Pretty much copied from both hmott's and hahnmeister's swirl. Same motor and same Lowe's box.
It's arc is about 90degrees.
The reason my power cable goes go out the same side as the spinning pvc, because it's mounted facing the back of the tank.
I'm temporarily running the ph power cable on the outside of the pvc. It's not as neat as running it through the pvc and tying all the power to one cable, but it keeps the ph cable intact, just incase I decide not to use the swirl.
Like other's have already posted:
$4 for the motor - With shipping $7 motor.
$9 for the Lowe's box
$1 something for plastic spacers, to lift the motor off the box.
Things I already had like extra pvc, rubber grommets and a power cable with a switch attached. I also used scrap acrylic to cut the circles and arm out(my Hobbytown didn't have the right size tie-rod).
I'm a DIY novice. So, if I can build this, anyone can. I hope more people on the MJ mod thread try this.
Thanks for the warning Aquaduck....I did check with the manufacturer of the project box and they claim the melting/warping temp is 166 F or 75 C....so I'm hoping that will be safe....any thoughts from the peeps who already have the motor?
Also....I was hopping to get a suggestion on the best way to get power to the motors temporarily. I know I need to find/purchase some sort of adapter which I probably have laying around the house. Just not sure how to read the motors electrical rating on the technical side. I don't want to fry the thing.
Lastly...I've got both Weldon #3 & #16 on order. I'm sure it tells me on the packaging but I was hopping to get some first hand suggestions on what the best applications are for both adheisives.
Thanks alot.
Peace out
John
Also....I was hopping to get a suggestion on the best way to get power to the motors temporarily. I know I need to find/purchase some sort of adapter which I probably have laying around the house. Just not sure how to read the motors electrical rating on the technical side. I don't want to fry the thing.
Lastly...I've got both Weldon #3 & #16 on order. I'm sure it tells me on the packaging but I was hopping to get some first hand suggestions on what the best applications are for both adheisives.
Thanks alot.
Peace out
John
I agree I'm still a little shocked so few people have tried it. It seemed at first finding a suitable motor was the problem, but thats been solved in a couple different ways. I also thought it was a very easy DIY. Its a little more costly than the maxi-mod, assuming you have a mj laying around, but even then its not even close to the price of a commerical swirl. Even less when you consider you've got it on a maxi-mod thats about the equal to a tunze, plus the swirl. I know it was a no brainer for me. I just wish I had let someone else find a motor cause now I have 2x .75rpm pieces of noisy junk I paid for 
Maybe I'll find some project for them. I was working with a friend here at work to come up with a way to move the mj up and down on the shaft. We had the wireing all worked out, but I can't seem to find the micro switches, and gearing for a dc motor. I scraped the idea but I have so many other projects I want to work on.
jcarrara,
The motor doesn't get over 125*F, it gets to 125 rather quick but doesn't seem to go over that, so I think your box is going to be fine. The melting point of pvc, from some random site online, said 157*F so your box actually has a higher melting point it seems.
I don't think these motors draw much for amps so if you use any 120v cable you'll be fine. You could even cut the end off a cheap extention cord and use that no problem.
I don't know anything about weldon, I'm sure someone else can help with that.
Maybe I'll find some project for them. I was working with a friend here at work to come up with a way to move the mj up and down on the shaft. We had the wireing all worked out, but I can't seem to find the micro switches, and gearing for a dc motor. I scraped the idea but I have so many other projects I want to work on.jcarrara,
The motor doesn't get over 125*F, it gets to 125 rather quick but doesn't seem to go over that, so I think your box is going to be fine. The melting point of pvc, from some random site online, said 157*F so your box actually has a higher melting point it seems.
I don't think these motors draw much for amps so if you use any 120v cable you'll be fine. You could even cut the end off a cheap extention cord and use that no problem.
I don't know anything about weldon, I'm sure someone else can help with that.
Thanks hmott.....just to be on the safe side.....I have an old cell phone charger/power supply. On the back it reads: AC power supply Input: 120VAC 60Hz 0.05A (0.05A) Output: 4.8VDC (4,8VDC) 350mA Should this be ok? Also, once I splice the cable, does it matter witch "prong" I hook each wire up to?
Thanks
Peace Out
John
Thanks
Peace Out
John
You don't need a dc power supply.. you just need a wire with a plug on the end. Don't use your cell phone charger unless you got a 4.8vdc motor your going to use. The 2.5rpm motor I used is 120vac, which is what your wall supplies. You just need any old wall plug and two stripped ends so you can attach it to your motor. Also make sure you don't work with it at all if the plug is in the wall and your wires are exposed at all. 120 can kill you, not likely, but it can. Just get an extention cord, or lamp cord, or replacement cord, and cut it so all it has is a plug for the wall and two exposted wires. Attach spade connectors to the ends and hock them to your motor and your in business. DON'T touch the spade connectors once its plugged into the wall! If you don't feel safe don't do it.
Note: I just wanted to add, of course everyone is doing all this at their own risk. And when I said.. "just a plug and two exposed wires". I mean just a 1/2" or so of the ends exposed. You certainly don't want the whole wire exposed. I'm sure everyone knows all this, but don't go sueing me if you zap yourself a good one. It probably won't kill you but it will hurt like all get out. Just make sure you don't work on it with the plug in the socket and you'll be fine.
Note: I just wanted to add, of course everyone is doing all this at their own risk. And when I said.. "just a plug and two exposed wires". I mean just a 1/2" or so of the ends exposed. You certainly don't want the whole wire exposed. I'm sure everyone knows all this, but don't go sueing me if you zap yourself a good one. It probably won't kill you but it will hurt like all get out. Just make sure you don't work on it with the plug in the socket and you'll be fine.
thanks for the warning hmott....I have a few old broken clock radios lying around so I'll ransack those. I am a little confused on the power supply issue you mentioned in that the one I mentioned is labeled "AC Power Supply" so I thought it would work....but it doesn't matter since I'm going with the old clock radio cord. I should have the motors in hand by end of week. Hopefully I'll be posting pics of my mod in a week or so.
Thanks for the help
Peace Out
John
Thanks for the help
Peace Out
John
your cell phone charger takes IN 120vac and puts OUT 4.8vdc. A standard cord will take in 120vac and put out 120vac. Your motor runs on 120vac, so you don't need anything to convert from 120vac to 4.8vdc. Your cell phone must charge on 4.8vdc. So if you ran a wire directly into it from your wall you'd fry it up. But if you supply 4.8vdc to your motor that needs 120vac it probably will just set there and do nothing. Your clock radio cord should be just fine.
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