Automatic door opener circuit

SEMmaint · Oct 21, 2015

Hello,

I know this is unrelated to a machine shop, but I was hoping maybe someone could give me some input.

A friend/coworker recently came to me asking if I knew how he could automate his chicken coop to open the gate once a day in the morning. He wants to wire it in a 9 or 12 volt DC circuit to make it battery powered but wants to keep it fairly cheap. I know it could be done with a PLC or a 24 hour timer hooked to a Singe action solenoid but all he needs is to actuate a solenoid for approximately 10 seconds to open the latch. He plans on resetting the latch every night when he puts the chickens up. Does anyone know of a fairly inexpensive (around 50 USD) option to this this?

PS. Moderators, if you feel this is an irrelevant question feel free to delete my post or move it.

Thanks in advance!

Miguels244 · Oct 21, 2015

Easily done by building your own circuit.
OTOH there are no shortage of industrial delay relays that will do this just fine.
Start here...
Timer Relays / Counters / Tachometers | AutomationDirect.com

SEMmaint · Oct 21, 2015

Miguels244 said:
Easily done by building your own circuit.
OTOH there are no shortage of industrial delay relays that will do this just fine.
Start here...
Timer Relays / Counters / Tachometers | AutomationDirect.com

Thank you for your reply! Its been a while since I've gone through electronics classes so I'm a little (A LOT) rusty. SO, in theory, I could hook up a single action solenoid to a timer relay, turn it on for 10 seconds once every 24 hours?

Miguels244 · Oct 21, 2015

If you find the right one yep.
Most electronic ones now come with many modes, read the manual to make sure it does what you need.
Bear in mind that many of these don't have a 'real time' clock so there will be drift.

Scottl · Oct 21, 2015

I'd have to agree that timer relays would be the simplest approach for people without an electronics background. A relay set for 24 hours triggering a relay set for 10 seconds. Simple wiring and relays could be selected to suit voltages used. I think the $50 target might be a little tough unless surplus relays were used.

Another option might be lighting controls intended to fool burglars when no one is home. Just need to add the delay for the latch solenoid which could be time delay relay, Christmas light controller, etc. Consumer grade stuff is usually pretty cheap.

savman · Oct 21, 2015

SEMmaint said:
Hello,

I know this is unrelated to a machine shop, but I was hoping maybe someone could give me some input.

A friend/coworker recently came to me asking if I knew how he could automate his chicken coop to open the gate once a day in the morning. He wants to wire it in a 9 or 12 volt DC circuit to make it battery powered but wants to keep it fairly cheap. I know it could be done with a PLC or a 24 hour timer hooked to a Singe action solenoid but all he needs is to actuate a solenoid for approximately 10 seconds to open the latch. He plans on resetting the latch every night when he puts the chickens up. Does anyone know of a fairly inexpensive (around 50 USD) option to this this?

PS. Moderators, if you feel this is an irrelevant question feel free to delete my post or move it.

Thanks in advance!

This is a perfect micro controller project. Arduino is cheap, easy, and best of all has a huge user base that has already completed and documented many common projects. If you Google Arduino chicken coop you will find numerous examples that will walk you through how to implement exactly what you are talking about.

50 dollars is no problem, just depends on how robust you want the solution. The MCU itself can be had for ~5 dollars US for an ebay clone, to mid 20's for a genuine article UNO, with options in-between. A real time clock module is <2 dollars for a clone from ebay (DS1302). Get a relay, battery, actuator, and a little code and you are set.

Who knows you might like it and decide to integrate some other capabilities with your MCU.

Now that I think about it, I might add a photo sensor to have the door open at dawn with the RTC as a backup/redundancy. Something to think about.

SEMmaint · Oct 22, 2015

savman said:
This is a perfect micro controller project. Arduino is cheap, easy, and best of all has a huge user base that has already completed and documented many common projects. If you Google Arduino chicken coop you will find numerous examples that will walk you through how to implement exactly what you are talking about.

50 dollars is no problem, just depends on how robust you want the solution. The MCU itself can be had for ~5 dollars US for an ebay clone, to mid 20's for a genuine article UNO, with options in-between. A real time clock module is <2 dollars for a clone from ebay (DS1302). Get a relay, battery, actuator, and a little code and you are set.

Who knows you might like it and decide to integrate some other capabilities with your MCU.

Now that I think about it, I might add a photo sensor to have the door open at dawn with the RTC as a backup/redundancy. Something to think about.

You are awesome! I just looked and I can get it done for about $48! And, as you said, it opens up a lot more options. Is their programming language anything like basic? I used basic in school and am hoping I can dust the cobwebs off well enough to do this.

Miguels244 · Oct 22, 2015

SEMmaint said:
You are awesome! I just looked and I can get it done for about $48! And, as you said, it opens up a lot more options. Is their programming language anything like basic? I used basic in school and am hoping I can dust the cobwebs off well enough to do this.

And it's fun.

billzweig · Oct 23, 2015

Digital Twin Timer Relay Time Delay Relay 2 Relay Output AC 12 24V | eBay

I am using a similar one, it had a crystal controlled clock.

savman · Oct 24, 2015

SEMmaint said:
You are awesome! I just looked and I can get it done for about $48! And, as you said, it opens up a lot more options. Is their programming language anything like basic? I used basic in school and am hoping I can dust the cobwebs off well enough to do this.

No. Arduino uses C/C++. But don't let that discourage you.

Using the Arduino IDE it's pretty easy to learn to use a few functions from the Arduino library even if you have zero programming experience. In fact, that's the type of person Arduino is geared towards. Just Google around and you will find tons of tutorials teaching you the basics; and again there will be many examples of code doing precisely what you want to do that you can learn from. (or even copy, but then you wouldn't learn anything.)

JHEAD · Oct 28, 2015

Open-up

SEMmaint said:
Hello,

I know this is unrelated to a machine shop, but I was hoping maybe someone could give me some input.

A friend/coworker recently came to me asking if I knew how he could automate his chicken coop to open the gate once a day in the morning. He wants to wire it in a 9 or 12 volt DC circuit to make it battery powered but wants to keep it fairly cheap. I know it could be done with a PLC or a 24 hour timer hooked to a Singe action solenoid but all he needs is to actuate a solenoid for approximately 10 seconds to open the latch. He plans on resetting the latch every night when he puts the chickens up. Does anyone know of a fairly inexpensive (around 50 USD) option to this this?

PS. Moderators, if you feel this is an irrelevant question feel free to delete my post or move it.

Thanks in advance!

I had a similar project last summer, I think everyone else has already answered the control circuit issue. I used a deep cycle boat battery, automotive type 12 volt DC starter solenoid (Part Number: SS718) and the digital twin timer relay. Be sure to use lots of springs to assist the door opener. Good luck!

rdhem2 · Nov 1, 2015

Think about a momentary control circuit.
Any input from momentary to a few seconds signals the gate to open. A stop/open limit switch stops the gate open circuit. One timer, one relay, one switch,-------done deal. Or replace the timer with a photocell and get your open at sunrise option. Add a pushbutton for a manual override.

Just my two cents worth cause I love to see myself in print.

lwalker · Nov 3, 2015

I designed this circuit years ago for the same purpose on Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds. I never built it, but other people have and they replied that it worked well. I may actually build one this year since I don't get home until after dark now and I am tired of losing chickens to predators.

The original need was for a motor controller that was triggered by a two contact closures: one for morning and one for evening. It had the constraints that all parts had to be easily accessible and not require specialized electronics knowledge. I've posted so many links to the circuit that I should probably build a few and start selling them...

http://www.cedarlakeinstruments.com/SharedFiles/coopdoor.png

Two relays, a battery and two limit switches and you're golden!

NielDietz · Nov 16, 2015

Can you please tell for what type of circuit you are looking for and what you achieved till now for this?
Are you want to build it using any MCU board or simple components?
Also do you want to use any motor for it? Can you please provide some more details here?

SEMmaint · Nov 18, 2015

NielDietz said:
Can you please tell for what type of circuit you are looking for and what you achieved till now for this?
Are you want to build it using any MCU board or simple components?
Also do you want to use any motor for it? Can you please provide some more details here?

I had a coworker ask me to see if I could figure it out. Any type of circuit would be fine as long as it stayed close to his $50 price range. He does not want to use a motor for it because the door is going to be spring assisted. Basically we are planning on using a single acting solenoid as a "deadbolt" He wants to be able to reset the circuit every night because he is going to be checking on his chickens every night anyways due to natural predators. Basically he wants to account for all the chickens. So, all he wants is a circuit that can be battery powered, and open the door at a certain time every morning. The door will stay open throughout the day and be manually closed at night.

Pugs · Nov 23, 2015

SEMmaint said:
Hello,

I know this is unrelated to a machine shop, but I was hoping maybe someone could give me some input.

A friend/coworker recently came to me asking if I knew how he could automate his chicken coop to open the gate once a day in the morning. He wants to wire it in a 9 or 12 volt DC circuit to make it battery powered but wants to keep it fairly cheap. I know it could be done with a PLC or a 24 hour timer hooked to a Singe action solenoid but all he needs is to actuate a solenoid for approximately 10 seconds to open the latch. He plans on resetting the latch every night when he puts the chickens up. Does anyone know of a fairly inexpensive (around 50 USD) option to this this?

PS. Moderators, if you feel this is an irrelevant question feel free to delete my post or move it.

Thanks in advance!

I lead a robotics club for 4-H in my area and came across this thread. We use the Arduino's to teach the kids about robotics and automation. Really enjoyed following the post. if it works for you could you post some schematics and general info on what your final product looks like. will share in our meetings as something the kids could do for a small DIY project.

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