Greetings, I am new to Arduino…
I will try to be specific to what I am going to try to do upfront, hopefully not needing to change direction down the line because of change in direction/function.
I want to do an Arduino project that controls 4-6 peristaltic 6 VDC pumps with on/off multiple times during a 24-hour day cycle and adjustable pump on duration timing, each pump independently, scheduled on a day to day calendar. and. If power is lost for it to retain and return to the proper spot in the timing process.
The article states that it is a simple / basic project. The suggested supplies are,
Peristaltic pump
PN2222 NPN Transistor
1N4001 Diode
Arduino microcontroller
Is this the best way to proceed with that example or is there a better way?
From searching there seem to be multiple hardware choices, Is it better to prototype on one setup and them transfer over to the end chosen components or choose the end components to start with and work them to the end of the project?
What supplies do I need to start this project? From my searching process, there are many different kinds of starter kits to be had.
Thanks
Thanks
It is for a reef aquarium, off the shelf 3 head units are $300-$500 for a reliable unit.
Pump 1- Calcium Chloride
Depending on amounts and how many doses needed to be spread out through the day.
Pump 2-NatriumHydrogenCarbonate (Baking Soda).
Same as above, but not together at the same time as the Calcium Chloride.
Pump 3 - auto top off RO/DI water with interrupt float sensor to maintain water height and salinity.
It's all about maintaining stability
I was looking into other Arduino LED projects and use the LDD LED driver to control the DC pump heads
A plus would be to program the timing through a Bluetooth app.
you mentioned peristalic pump without a link to the exact model you are considering.
then you mentioned a very specific device, the PN2222 transistor.
great transistor,I like the Darlington and use it as my first choice on small load units.
however, without knowing the maximum load of your pump, we cannot verify that it is the best for this application.
First thing you want to prove is the capability of that dosing pump.
Those cheapies leave a lot to be desired in terms of build quality and if you are after accurate delivery you need to test and prove those pumps work correctly long term, or buy some decent quality pumps.
Do not know which country you are in but in the uk this is a good supplier of such quality pumps; the old saying, you gets what you pays for.
Does a $5 ebay pump for critical additives, match all the money you spend on the rest of the tank and livestock ? http://www.williamson-shop.co.uk/oem-peristaltic-pumps-213-c.asp
For a DC pump transistor you might be better looking at a power darlington like a Tip122, it will handle the current needs of most such pumps.
As for writing your code, do look at others code for ideas, though rather than cut and paste, write your own from scratch otherwise you will never learn.
if your dosing pump can handle 1 gph, and you need 1 gph, you are on the edge of problems.
if you need 0.1gph and it can deliver 10 gph, you do not have enough sensitivity to deliver small enough amounts.
as for the match of the existing pump and the PN2222, it is a good match.
Transistors have a bit more resistance than FET's. the transistor carrying large amounts of power will get hot, hotter than an FET with the same power.
less than an amp and you should not have problems.
you should be able to test your pumps with a glass of water and some simple code.
there are lots of examples floating around.
you asked about what to use. in your case, fish tanks have been done extensively. you should be able to find numerous sites with what others have done. you might find that your pump is the best, or that it fails quickly and brand-x works forever.
some time with google, use the word Arduino with what you want
arduino ph control
arduino peristaltic pump
fish tank arduino
in your case use fish
arduino fish ph control
arduino fish peristaltic pump......
I have a project that involves power cycling the opto-isolated relays in accordance with an RTC, and have code to share if you're still looking. I too am searching for good peristaltic pump applications which brought me to this thread. That aside though, using an RTC will help you adhere to your schedule in case of short power outs, that's what I needed from my project. I also have my project connected to Blynk on my cell phone which involves Ethernet, but you can comment that out if you wish to stick with strictly bluetooth. For your water top off, I suggest getting a small float valve (like used in your toilet) to feed your tank RO/DI water as needed. I use them for my hydroponic reservoirs, and as long as your water pressure isn't insanely high, they'll work just fine. If your pressure is high, it would likely push past a stopped peri pump anyway which gives you another set of problems to mitigate. At any rate, let me know if you still need code.
Edit - I am still slumming for related materials and found my back to this thread that I commented on 5months ago. That aside, I built an 8 head peristaltic pump unit from a Jebao DP4 and a DP4 slave. I purchased those units with the intent of chucking circuitry so I could build circuits that can be controlled with an Arduino. I duplicated the TIP120 circuit shown in the Arduino tutorial, 8 times on a small protoboard and added a 1k resistor between the base and wire that leads back to a digital pin. Someone gifted me a sketch to use to calibrate each pump. The button circuit is also shown in the above tutorial and I press it till 100ml is produced, then I release the button and the serial monitor shows how many ms have elapsed which further tells me how many ms it takes to produce 1ml.