What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots of pics)

Re: What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots of pics)

Re: What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots of pics)

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7428320#post7428320 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aztbs
Then Bill remembered that we had a junked out old scooter that had been in the family. The occupant had bought a new one and the guys had salvaged the motor and chassis in the hopes of making themselves a remote control mobile ice chest for camping.
Click to expand...

I think you guys should have followed through with the motorized cooler idea. :D

This is from this year's CES in Vegas:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/01/11/gadgetshow.oddities.ap/index.html

"What's the point of relaxing at the lake or campground if you get sore lugging a packed cooler of drinks? That's where the $499 Cruzin Cooler comes in.

"It's the world's first motorized, rideable ice chest," said Charles Pennington, director of national retail accounts for Cruzin Cooler LLC.

The Cruzin Cooler comes with a padded seat for the rider and an electric or gas motor. It can hold 27 12-ounce cans, but you can pack more in a $149 trailer cooler that hooks onto the motorized lead cooler. You supply your own ice.

An ice chest/scooter looked totally out of place at the electronics show. But Pennington noted that the product actually is ridiculous in any setting -- which is why people want it. The company has sold 40,000, he said.

Two of the coolers' specs caught our attention. One is that the driver can weigh up to 300 pounds. The other is how fast the Cruzin Cooler can cruise.

"Fourteen miles per hour," Pennington said. "Which is haulin' *** on an ice chest."
 
Too bad that article didn't have any pictures.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7578378#post7578378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aztbs
elliotk - We brainstormed about rails on the ceiling that would allow us to slide the whole canopy over to the side away from the tank. Problem with that was a ceiling fan on one side and not enough room to slide the other way. The other thought was that if the lights stayed above the tank, just lifted up, it would give me light to work on the tank/place new corals. Now that I have been using it, I have to say that is the best thing I ever did.

Cuby2k - Wow, I am flattered! This was an evolving idea and I have a mechanically gifted hubby. We went back and forth with so many plans and much of it was derived from what we had to work with. Shortcomings - mostly the noise. It is chain driven and sounds like it with the grumbling rumble as it lifts. It is certainly no smooth hydraulic or actuated graceful thing like Scott (sidewinder) posted above. But, the noise really is no big deal because it is not running all the time. I don't mind it. It runs off of a DC motor. The batteries will need charging and eventual replacement. The screw lift will need to be oiled up occasionally and debris can be an issue. We intend to put some chain guards/tracks in, do a little more aligning/stabilization.
Besides some tweaking and cosmetic issues, I have been raising and lowering it every single day and it works fantastically. If I lower it too far, it reaches the bottom of the screw and it can stick to the lower stop. That means crawling in to the attic to give it a tug to free it. The motor has a torque sensing protection to keep it from burning out, so if the resistance is too much, it will not turn. That is a good thing in my opinion.

My only other advice is that this kind of thing may not be suitable for a Metal Halide system. It has some vibration (most of which we can eliminate with the tuning/tweaking I mentioned above). If you have very delicate lights I wouldn't do this.
Scotts system moves, but his lights are on pendants so the hanging helps absorb any vibration. Maybe with a pendant, this would work.

Final word is, I love it. Here is another picture of it taken with a much better camera:

FancyTank.jpg
Click to expand...

Any updates on this tank?
 
Re: Re: What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots o

Re: Re: What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots o

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11577163#post11577163 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Satori
I think you guys should have followed through with the motorized cooler idea. :D
Click to expand...

Wouldn't you know it!!!! Next time I have a wicked-dumb idea, I am going straight to the patent office! aaarrrrg!

As for the tank update, it is doing fabulously. It still has the "temporary" 21-month old pine canopy, but we have made major progress on the other woodwork. The canopy will get rebuilt in oak to match the stand, the top black trim on the tank will be hidden by some decorative molding and the open side of the end cabinet will get covered. The lift still works great after all this time, I can't imagine how I would ever live without it! Here is the "now and then" picture for ya!

now-then.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11578153#post11578153 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aztbs
Oh, and the idea thief's home page, with video for you Marc, is here http://www.cruzincooler.com/
Click to expand...

That's truly ridiculous but still funny.

How come you've not cornered the market on canopy elevating yet? You need a cool site like that one. ;)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7578378#post7578378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aztbs
elliotk - We brainstormed about rails on the ceiling that would allow us to slide the whole canopy over to the side away from the tank. Problem with that was a ceiling fan on one side and not enough room to slide the other way. The other thought was that if the lights stayed above the tank, just lifted up, it would give me light to work on the tank/place new corals. Now that I have been using it, I have to say that is the best thing I ever did.

Cuby2k - Wow, I am flattered! This was an evolving idea and I have a mechanically gifted hubby. We went back and forth with so many plans and much of it was derived from what we had to work with. Shortcomings - mostly the noise. It is chain driven and sounds like it with the grumbling rumble as it lifts. It is certainly no smooth hydraulic or actuated graceful thing like Scott (sidewinder) posted above. But, the noise really is no big deal because it is not running all the time. I don't mind it. It runs off of a DC motor. The batteries will need charging and eventual replacement. The screw lift will need to be oiled up occasionally and debris can be an issue. We intend to put some chain guards/tracks in, do a little more aligning/stabilization.
Besides some tweaking and cosmetic issues, I have been raising and lowering it every single day and it works fantastically. If I lower it too far, it reaches the bottom of the screw and it can stick to the lower stop. That means crawling in to the attic to give it a tug to free it. The motor has a torque sensing protection to keep it from burning out, so if the resistance is too much, it will not turn. That is a good thing in my opinion.

My only other advice is that this kind of thing may not be suitable for a Metal Halide system. It has some vibration (most of which we can eliminate with the tuning/tweaking I mentioned above). If you have very delicate lights I wouldn't do this.
Scotts system moves, but his lights are on pendants so the hanging helps absorb any vibration. Maybe with a pendant, this would work.

Final word is, I love it. Here is another picture of it taken with a much better camera:

FancyTank.jpg
Click to expand...

AWESOME! I have been thinking of something like this for the longest time and lose sleep on days when it crosses my mind. FINALLY someone has helped fill some of the gaps that I couldnt figure out myself. Great Job! Id like to see it in person one day.

Question:What is the distance of the top of the tank to the bottom of the canopy when fully lifted?

Also, FANS? How do you know how big to get and where? Frys Electronics? How are they wired? Only when lights come on or run all the time to help with heat control and evaporation?

Can you explain the right side electrical set up too, Plus the Blue bucket? Is that top off water and where did you get that, How large is it? Sorry for all the questions. I feel like I hit the mother load hear though...lol.

Thanks
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13033373#post13033373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MeskeetDog
AWESOME! I have been thinking of something like this for the longest time and lose sleep on days when it crosses my mind. FINALLY someone has helped fill some of the gaps that I couldnt figure out myself. Great Job! Id like to see it in person one day.

Question:What is the distance of the top of the tank to the bottom of the canopy when fully lifted?

Also, FANS? How do you know how big to get and where? Frys Electronics? How are they wired? Only when lights come on or run all the time to help with heat control and evaporation?

Can you explain the right side electrical set up too, Plus the Blue bucket? Is that top off water and where did you get that, How large is it? Sorry for all the questions. I feel like I hit the mother load hear though...lol.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Thanks, you are of course welcome to come and check it out.

The canopy goes pretty much all the way to the ceiling. When fully lifted, there is at least 2ft of clearance between the canopy and the tank. I have done some pretty intense reaquascaping/fragging/etc with the lid not all the way up.

I bought a 6 pack of CPU fans from Fry's for about $25. They are really quiet and have been running for about 2yrs with no problems. I bought the little foamy filter covers for them, also from Fry's to keep the dust and debris from getting in to the tank. I have to take the foam off and wash it regularly because it gets thick with dust and dog hair! :lol:
They are wired all together in to 12V battery charger (also from Fry's, about $20) so they have a regular power cord. They do come on only when the lights are on, and they run until about 15 min after the lights shut out. There is one fan per T5 bulb to keep them cool. I have a separate fan in the stand and a chiller to take care of tank temp probs. These fans are primarily for the overdriven T5's (retrofit kit)

The electrical box to the side has all of the systems plugs and wires to keep them high and dry. It has it's own subpanel and 4 GFI outlets. I finally got around to labeling all of the wires and it makes it so much easier.

The blue barrel is my top off reservoir and it is 30 gallons large (lasts about a week). I fill it with Kalk and drip the top off via a peristaltic pump. The barrel itself is a syrup barrel from a soda company. This particular one held Dr. Pepper and had that delicious sweet smell for weeks. You can often find them for sale on craigslist or from fellow reefers, they are really popular and can be found in 20, 30, and 55 gallon sizes.

I hope I covered everything. Bill and I are in the process of building the real canopy to match the rest of the stand. I put a second coat of stain on it just this morning so we are close. The plain old box that is on there now was meant to be temporary just to hold the lights while we built the stand/cabinets. After 2 years and change, we are almost ready to complete the "skin" be done with all of the woodwork! Once all of that is done, I suppose the tank will be "complete" and then what will I do with my time?!? :lol:
 
You'll make a new video of it going up and down, WITH SOUND. I remember loving the first version, because it sounded like a train. :lol:

Glad to see this tank is still going strong all this time later. How about posting some updated images of your livestock in this thread, or giving us a link to your current thread?
 
:lol: Actually, we do want some DIY articles for Reefkeeping, but this one may be a little too much for the majority of our readers. I mean, you're ripping apart some little ol' lady's scooter and driving huge holes through the ceiling, and then I can totally see someone putting that car battery on the sheetrock thinking it'll be fine there, only to see it come crashing through the ceiling later. ;) :eek2:
 
rofl, good point

I was actually thinking along the lines of thread of the month, TOTM, DIY of the month

More recognition than tutorial
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13035406#post13035406 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
You'll make a new video of it going up and down, WITH SOUND. I remember loving the first version, because it sounded like a train. :lol:

Glad to see this tank is still going strong all this time later. How about posting some updated images of your livestock in this thread, or giving us a link to your current thread?
Click to expand...

Just because you asked, I will put up a video with all of its roller coaster sounding glory. But you will have to wait until we get the new canopy put in. Hopefully this weekend, but you know how that goes.

Here is a thread from April and the tank's 2yr birthday pictures, with a bit of history.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1367671

I will take some updated shots when the new canopy is on.

:)

Thanks tundra. It isn't really a project of the month - it's two years old!! :D
 
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