Use PWM to control your Jebao DCT pump using brushless motor controller from ebay

Yup. Two in series is 24V at 100A-hr so it would run 2400W-hrs (assuming slow discharge so the discharge penalty is minimal). So a 100W pump (or two running at 50W) can run for a day. That's enough time to get a generator primed and gased in case of a longer gap... Or it would ride through most normal outages.
 
ok, good news, my pump is now running using the green board. It was a user error. Somehow I programmed my arduino to output 25% pwm, since I don't want it to splash water out of the bucket all over the room if I start out at 100%. After I changed it to gradually increase to 100%, the pump is now running!

I tried to Gnd the Z/F direction pin, and the pump spins. I can't tell though if it is actually spinning the reverse direction or not, but the water still comes out of the top, but definitely not as strong as the forward direction. So maybe the impeller is actually spinning the opposite direction. In any case, I still believe this will work with crossflow and gyre.

I checked the signal pin, and the signal is the same as what I saw on the white board. If the pump is running, there is a signal that seems random, but probably is synchronized with each commutation. One thing for sure though, once the pump stops, the signal either stays low or stays high. So I think that can be used to detect if the pump is running or not.
 
I will try again later. I can't find another 12v power supply so I used a splitter.
The green board specs says it works with 12v. I think the pre-drivers requires 10v bias, so I think this should work with 12v. So the only reason this won't work is if the pump itself does not want to work with 12v.
 
Hmmm.. Ok, the results require some interpretation... I'll share the data and leave the interpretation for later.

So, first, I set up the measurement for the 24VDC first. Remember that I was seeing about 70W a couple of days ago (~3A)? Now it's only drawing ~1.8A at the same setpoint (signal = 4.5VDC). Here's a few details:

1. The pump has been running continuously for 2+ days.
2. When I first tested the pump, it hadn't been running for a couple of months after a deep cleaning. It may have had a lot of resistance to turning?

Ok. So that establishes the new baseline of 45W (at least for my old recently cleaned pump) at a signal of 4.5VDC. I have a new pump too (out of the box) - so I'll rerun the tests on that one too.
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/IMG_6255_zpsr3flmpn2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/IMG_6255_zpsr3flmpn2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6255_zpsr3flmpn2.jpg"/></a>

Then I ran the same setup on my 12VDC. A little detail on my 12VDC source: it's capable of driving up to 800W, so its current capability is exceptionally high. First, when I plugged it in, the current went negative ~-0.3A. The pump was actually running but with a negative current? Very weak, but it was running at about 3W. I realize that the wire is covering up the negative sign before 0.28 in the picture, but it's there if you look closely.
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/IMG_6252_zpsv66lf8fu.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/IMG_6252_zpsv66lf8fu.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6252_zpsv66lf8fu.jpg"/></a>

I decided to disconnect the other loads on my 12VDC source, and after a few seconds, the current reversed and went positive until it got to 0.75A. That's about 9W (so 20% of the 24VDC state). The flow is significantly lower than the 24VDC too.
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/IMG_6257_zpsbeqflzma.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/IMG_6257_zpsbeqflzma.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_6257_zpsbeqflzma.jpg"/></a>

That's the data - interpretation?
 
Is your meter set to measure DC current? I take it that it is set correctly.
Your current connection may be reversed. I think the sign should not matter.

I think you need to rewire your Amp meter connection.
The power supply negative goes direct to green board negative.
The power supply positive, connects to meter + then meter - to green board +.
 
Last edited:
I'm making my measurement on the ground (-ve), not the +ve line.

The normal 24VDC measurement works fine.

The current flips without changing the connections, so it's a real flip. I repeated it several times.

It is on the 20ADC.
 
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NQrE0Moqhw8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
I agree. While it turns, it doesn't do much for flow.

Still makes me wonder about running higher though in a cyclical mode. Just not sure how high would be safe.
 
One more tidbit on the current measurement. I'm using modified meter wiring to reduce the resistance in the current loop. Last time, I used the standard meter wire probes. I think that could contribute to the higher current reading.
 
Can you measure power and current using stock controller?

BTW to test running at 100%, simply connect the VR pin to 5V pin with a jumper wire.
 
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I thought of that, but I wanted to characterize over different setpoint voltages 0-5V

I'll collect a lot more content this weekend
 
I was thinking more of how the max setting between the 2 compares, since you mentioned the fish-street T1 can drive the pump 120% (120% more flow than stock controller that is).
As these are BLDC motors, the amount of flow is proportional to the rpm and is proportional to power usage. And if you can get a hold of a T1, you can measure and verify if the claim is true or not.
 
ok so here are the actions/tests for this weekend:

1. set up the Apex connection on a VDM so I can run two pumps at the same time.
2. measure the current on a brand new jebao controller and measure the associated flow for each of the setpoints. (new/new)
3. measure the current and flow on the new jebao controller with the old pump at the same setpoints. (new/old)
4. measure the current and flow on the Apex/driver with the new pump for different 0-5V setpoints. (apex/new)
5. measure the current and flow on the Apex/driver with the old pump for different 0-5V setpoints. (apex/old)

Then I'm going to create a phased flow with the two pumps out of phase and run them off one power supply... that's my actual application :D

I think that'll cover all the questions for now?

for the Apex-driven voltages, I'm thinking:

0.00
0.50
1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
2.75
3.00
3.25
3.50
3.75
4.00
4.25
4.50
4.75
5.00

I suspect that the 2.75 to 5.00 (10 settings would line up with the native controller's setpoints). I could open it up and just measure it, but I'd rather not.

That would correspond to the Apex running

0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
5.5
6.0
6.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
8.5
9.0
9.5
10.0
 
I used a killawatt and compared the power usage of the green board to the stock controller. Green board uses 25 watts, stock controller uses 35 watts. There may be difference in the flow, but it is hard to quantify. The stock controller with all 10 leds on will probably pull a few more watts, but I was not expecting 10watt difference.

Maybe when you do the comparison, you can test say time to fill up a 5 gallon bucket in order to quantify any difference in flow.
 
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