Vortech controller DIY

Jonathan,

Why does it look so easy? Because it is! I have no formal training, but have liked to tinker for a few years now. I did run a small electronic control firm for a year but really knew nothing about electronics. Mostly I hired and fired people. :(

This controls speed and has cycles of 0.1 sec when using the Aquasurf. I can set the speed between near zero to 100%. Also you have up to 7 different modes and have the ACIII, or what ever AC you have, change between them with conditions or timers. The Aquasurf is a very sophisticated wave making addition to the ACIII. It was designed for the Tunze pumps but this changes all that. You should go to Neptune's forums and read up on it. Thread

If someone has 4 pumps it is less expensive. Also the $50 rebate will not last forever! Then, if you have 2 pumps it will save you money.


BTW there is nothing that needs to be done inside the Aquasurf. Only a 1/8" stereo plug needs to be put on the Aquasurf cable.
 
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I didn't know the Aquasurf had such low cycles. That is cool. That thread was very exciting...now the question is, do I mod or wait for Curt to build in the Vortech? Seems like with your input he could very easily turn out one for the Vortech.

Since we haven't seen a WWD yet, I am wondering what kind of functions I would be leaving on the table if I went the Aquasurf route?
 
I cannot speak for Curt, but know from experience, most manufacturers are hesitant to modify someone else equipment for resale. If Echotech Marine were to incorporate the DIY mod to their controller so it did not have to be modded, Curt would not have to do anything but sell the Aquasurf with a different end on the cable.

I am working on the demo video now.
 
Well, I really like the guys at Eco-Tech so I hope they will make this happen in some manner. My issues are more severe though since I really need to cool my pumps. Operating them at 50 - 60% just isn't going to cut it for my size system. I need 100% to make it work, and I can't do that without cooling.

My issues are:

a. I need to control my pumps (duh);
b. I need to utilize battery backup;
c. I need to cool my pumps to get maximum flow.

Getting thermoelectric modules or even heat sink/PC fans to operate based on pump temp. is a key speed bump. Even just haveing them on constant would be better than nothing. The site you posted for the thermoelectric cooling units does not stipulate that the measurements are mm, cm, or inches. My assupton is mm, but can you confirm that?
 
Well that's all very interesting but too much info. for me to digest. What would you recommend? Keep in mind that I need to cool a fairly beefy fin array. It also needs to be compact and sturdy enough to cope with higher than average ambient temp.

It seems to me that the thermoelectric units draw more power than a heat sink/CPU fan combo, and I have no idea how the water cooling ones work. If i am going to build a truly integrated cooling solution, it should be able to run off either the Vortech power supply, or possibly off a pass-through from the Aquasurf.

I am trying to build up an option set to discuss with Tim so that I can move forward with Eco-Tech's support on the cooling issue.
 
The easiest way I would think would be to attach an air cooled unit that incorporated both heat sink and cooling fan in one.

Something like this attached to your Vortech will help I think

http://www.crazypc.com/products/50910.html

They are designed to connect to your PC via a 12V powersource from the motherboard so you should be able to rig it to connect to the Vortech as well
 
Total wood dude. That is sweet. And your pump is operating very well to boot. very nice vid, and I appreciate your work immensely.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10766126#post10766126 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dhnguyen
The easiest way I would think would be to attach an air cooled unit that incorporated both heat sink and cooling fan in one.

Something like this attached to your Vortech will help I think

http://www.crazypc.com/products/50910.html

They are designed to connect to your PC via a 12V powersource from the motherboard so you should be able to rig it to connect to the Vortech as well
Click to expand...

That's what I originally had in mind until I saw the thermoelectric units. And BTW, I want a round form factor! :lol:
 
With this DIY the Aquasurf is powered off the Vortech but the Aquasurf does not pull much power. This also means that if the power goes out and you have battery backup to the Vortech, the aquasurf keeps the vortech going in the mode they were in, when the power went out.
 
So essentially the same way the Tunze works then. Very cool. So, tell me about the affect of drawing power off the Vortech, even at a small amount, will that affect top-end propellor speed?

I am really stoked to hear that it will work with the BB unit. That puts to bed one speed bump! :D
 
The modes/functions are named PF1, PF2, PF3 etc.... On the status screen you see the particular PFx that the pump is in. You do not see the particular speed the pump is turning.
 
I don't want to intrude on this post or be negative towards this mod especially since I think this is my first post here (been a long time reader though), but there may be an issue with this that you want to investigate.

I want to stress that I'm only going towards my general knowledge of this type of circuit. I don't have a controller like this at my disposal and it cound be built very differently from what I'm describing, so if I'm wrong, just say so. If I'm right though, it could be a serious issue worth looking into.

Usually when a potentiometer is employed to adjust voltage from 0 to X volts, they tie the bottom end to ground, the upper end to the positive voltage supply, and the wiper (middle terminal) of the pot puts out whatever voltage is proportionate to wherever the dial position happens to be.

Ok so what this mod appears to be doing is forcing the wiper to ground, thus zeroing the voltage out and telling the stepper controller chip to reduce the speed to minimum.

Here's my concern... if the potentiometer is set to maximum, and the circuit is built by Vortech as I described, then the wiper is sitting right on the positive terminal when at the maximum position. Therefore closing a relay contact from teh wiper to ground would result in a direct short across the power supply of the controller. If the pot is set to nearly maximum, it would cause a huge amount of current to be shunted through the "in circuit" portion of the potentiometer, potentially smoking it.

Let me be perfectly clear... I have never seen this controller myself and have no idea whether or not this is true. I happend across this thread while searching for something else on this board and thought it would be worth it to raise the concern even if I am dead wrong. However, what I described is as I said the way these circuits are often designed, and if it is designed that way, it could pose a problem. It may be worth it to check, as someone may find out the hard way if I am right.

Gio, I don't want to disrespect your knowledge, so I'm assuming you know what I'm trying to say, but if you want to discuss it with me I'll be glad to.
 
I do understand your concern. In face there is a possibility that a very small portion of the pot wiper could be smoked. I do not believe this is a real problem as the area affected will be very small and at the very end of the pot's range high range. If this did occur, there would be a dead spot that caused the pump to go wide open. Seeing that the dead spot would be at or near the highest pump setting, that is what we would want it to do anyway.

This also brings to light one other mistake I made in the theory section of the original DIY. Max pump speed it achieved at 0volts and minimal speed is achieved at 5 volts and not the other way around. As far as the Having a dead spot in the pot, this actually work in our favor.

Thanks for bring that to light as I am sure there were other concerned about it also.

Now go check out the video of the Aquasurf your Vortech video. That mod removes the POT. LOL


No disrespect taken BTW. That is what these DIY threads are all about. Sharing information.

Welcome to RC.
 
Just out of curiosity, what is the value of the potentiometer?

If it is... say 10K or even more, you could always put a 330ohm, 1/2w resistor or so in series with the relay... that would limit the current flow and possibly make things a little safer.


BTW, the small portion smoking open would cause a big problem, because the top end of the pot is tied to the positive voltage. That's how the wiper produces a varied voltage. By tying the bottom end to ground and the upper end to the positive supply (which is probably +5 or +12), the position of the wiper causes the output voltage to vary from 0 to +5 or +12.

So if you smoke open a section at the high end like that, then the wiper would produce no voltage at all, since the positive voltage feed would be disconnected via the smoked section of the pot.

I drew something up in paint real quick to illustrate. The black lines represent the existing controller schematic. The blue is the mod circuit. Sorry it's a lousy diagram... I don't have Eagle or anything on my work PC for drawing up schematics.

RC-1.jpg
 
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The pot is 50K.

Just so everyone knows, I have run my vortech all over the speed dial (POT) and I have not had any trouble with the DIY as is, so I think it may be a moot point.

At the moment, I do not have time to test it with a current limiting resistor as I am doing more work on the Aquasurf your Vortech DIY. When I get a little time, I will test it.
 
If the manufacturer included a resistor on the high side of the pot (which they may very well have), then there will be no problem.

The circuit that they used may also be entirely different than the example I suggested; rather a design that doesn't have any problem with this mod.

If you've tested it across the scale then I'd agree. I was only raising the possibility. Sounds like my concerns were for not, so all is well. :cool:
 
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