DIY topoff switch

whitebird

whitebird

Member
well at looseing 1 to 1/2 gal of water aday i ordered one of them float switchs got it hooked up and did fine for a few days then the points in it stuck and the pump wouldn't shut off
so i decided to order another one with the relay switch to help with the power serge of the 110, then i got to thinking why wouldn't a regular light switch work with a little modification
so got one took it apart took the spring out and cut the pice that locks the switch up and down and then got a outlet and did a mod to it by cutting a piece so there was no power to one and the switch would power it when needed for the pump. question is anyone tryed this and if so how long has it been running ? this one i have had working for over a week now with no problems oh i couldn't find a float laying around so itook a pill bottle stuffed it with styrofoam sealed it and used plexyglass for the float arm

 
reefraff

reefraff

Active Member
LOL!!!
Simplistic genius. I love it

I'd be a little concerned about the life of the switch from all the off/on cycles and how slow the contacts come together. Might cause some arcing. If you could hook the swicth up to a 12v power source and then use that to control a solid state relay it would be less apt to fail.
 
whitebird

whitebird

Member
hi Reef
the pump only runs for about 5 seconds to topoff and you can barly see the switch move i'm going to let this run for about a month unless it starts having troubles and take it apart and see what the contacts look like and go from there and if it shows any arcing i may have to go with a relay on it but so far i like the float setup better than the float switch that could fail to salt build up or any thing else that could jam it and only puting enough water in the topoff tank that my sump will hold in case it would stick on and untill till i see how this works so no over flows hopfuly
 
fishfreak1242

fishfreak1242

Active Member
That is amazing! I have to try that myself. It is a little confusing but after reading it a few times, I think I understand it. I just have a few questions. How did you manage to take apart the switch? How did you wire the outlet to the switch? Would it be possible to do the same thing, but instead of using an outlet you use a extension cord and cut one of the wire and connect the switch there, so that when the switch lifts up it completes the circuit and turns on the pump?
 
m0nk

m0nk

Active Member
That's a pretty cool idea. Mine is just gravity fed, cheap, and run by a cheaper float valve. This is a good thingamajig.
 
whitebird

whitebird

Member
yes fishfreak you could by pass the outlet and just use a extension cord i did it this way to keep a extra outlet and easy to unplug the pump if i need to.
the switch was the one i found that looked easy to take apart it had no rivets just 2 locks that can be bent over and the plastic switch part was glued and just poped it apart with a knife i'll get some pictures later of how i wired it as i got a extra switch i can show
 
ifirefight

ifirefight

Active Member
Whitebird...I applaud you on a job well done...however..I have read this thread over a few times ...and I keep saying to myself..." where is the fail safe"... What happens if the float gets stuck in the ON position..what keeps it from dumping all that water into the sump? I have an ATO and it has a float valve that triggers a pump..and a secondary valve that will shut down the pump if the water gets to high. Like I said...nicely done...you may just want to think of a safety backup.
 
whitebird

whitebird

Member
thanks fire
yes i have been giving it some thought
one is i could put anther larger float above the one in the water that would give more pressure up on the switch but then if the switch ever arced it might not work but i've never seen a light switch weld its self to gether but i'm more thinking about just adding another switch to run it by having a float 1 or 2" above the water and just reversing it so it is in the on possion all the time and powering the first and will shut the power off if the first switch fails, i'm going run this about a month and take it apart and see how the insides are doing and make sure theres no arcing going on
 
iyachtuxivm

iyachtuxivm

Member
i know it cant be much, but how much do you think it cost to put this together? Include hardware, time say at $12.00/hr( just a number),pump, anything else. Im guessing around $50. Great idea plus its fun to do DIY projects. Im collecting a bunch of DIY ideas to put together a tank just to see if they hold up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top