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Thread: Getting alert from another device thru BoB

  1. #1
    Frequent Visitor rsucre's Avatar
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    Getting alert from another device thru BoB

    I would like to receive an alert and perhaps trigger actions when a LED from a third party device lights up. The device is a Hydor SmartLevel Auto Topoff that I use for one of my tanks next to my Apex. It has a led that lights up when there is an issue with the Auto Topoff. It also beeps, but I muted it with a switch. The idea is to use that LED as a signal to Apex.

    I think this could be accomplished using a low voltage relay, maybe a solid state relay. The LED would power the coil side of the relay and the other side would be connected to the breakout box (BoB), closing one of the BoB inputs.

    Any thoughts? Any simpler way?

    Here's the kind of relay that I have in mind. I think that the LED uses 3vDC. I have to verify.
    https://www.amazon.com/SMAKN-SSR-25D...id+state+relay

  2. #2
    Master Control Freak RussM's Avatar
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    The BoB uses a small signal DC voltage to sense continuity (OPEN or CLOSED). That SSR is intended to switch AC power, so it will not work. And hacking the ATO unit to try to the the voltage powering the LED to control a relay is just risky, and IMO, far too complicated. There's a far simpler solution and no DIY is needed. Plug the ATO unit into an EB832 outlet, then use the Apex to alert you if the power usage in watts is higher than the normal power consumption when ATO is not active. For example, let's say that the ATY unit itself uses 3 watts of power and your ATO pump draws 10 watts when running. You'd then set an alarm trigger for about 8 watts or higher to get an alert whenever the pump is running.
    Please do not send me PMs with technical questions or requesting assistance - use the forums for Apex help. PM me ONLY if the matter is of a private or personal nature. Thanks.

  3. #3
    Frequent Contributor zombie's Avatar
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    That one might blow the circuit board from high coil load and won't be very reliable at turning on (that's intended for 24V circuits). You want a 3V nominal rated one like this.

    https://www.ebay.com/i/232451307418

    You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

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    Frequent Contributor zombie's Avatar
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    Though Russ's suggestion of just using watts is a better idea.

    You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

  5. #5
    Frequent Visitor rsucre's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zombie View Post
    Though Russ's suggestion of just using watts is a better idea.

    You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

    Thanks for the replies. The LED in question lights up when there is an "exception" with the ATO, not when the pump is ON or OFF. I think that the idea of monitoring the power consumption from the ATO outlet is great, but not for my intended use. I don't want to get an alert each time that the ATO pump is on or off, just when the "warning" LED is ON.

  6. #6
    Frequent Contributor zombie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rsucre View Post
    Thanks for the replies. The LED in question lights up when there is an "exception" with the ATO, not when the pump is ON or OFF. I think that the idea of monitoring the power consumption from the ATO outlet is great, but not for my intended use. I don't want to get an alert each time that the ATO pump is on or off, just when the "warning" LED is ON.
    What Russ what getting at is that your exception light like come on at some predefined time when the pump has ran longer than that period or when the high switch closes. If you use the watts with a when statement that is shorter than the max fill to shut the ATO to manual OFF that will give you the ability to prevent the error light from turning on in the first place and give you manual control to remotely restart it if you wish. You could still wire to the LED error light for indication or install a float instead to see when high level occurs.

    You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

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    Frequent Visitor rsucre's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zombie View Post
    What Russ what getting at is that your exception light like come on at some predefined time when the pump has ran longer than that period or when the high switch closes. If you use the watts with a when statement that is shorter than the max fill to shut the ATO to manual OFF that will give you the ability to prevent the error light from turning on in the first place and give you manual control to remotely restart it if you wish. You could still wire to the LED error light for indication or install a float instead to see when high level occurs.

    You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.
    Hi. The exception light logic is more complex than that. I understand there is also something to do with the water levels. This ATO has 3 probes and one is a security probe. Sometimes, the warning gets activated for things like a clogged filter and other things that affect the water level. Sometimes it triggers too easily, therefore I muted the beep, which defeats its purpose. That's why I want it to signal Apex, so I can do more "intelligent" stuff with it. For instance, not to be too trigger happy, wait some time until it warns me, then turn the ATO device off, etc...
    Last edited by rsucre; 01-03-2018 at 16:43. Reason: Clarification

  8. #8
    Frequent Visitor rsucre's Avatar
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    Hi.... Do you think that this little board would to the trick? Assuming that the LED will act as the "Signal" and is low power 3V and there is a stable 3 - 5v power source inside the Hydor ATO that I can tap in, then I should be able to use the load side of this control board (obviously, without an actual load) as the switch to close the BoB pin to ground.

    Amazon IRF520 MOSFET Driver Module

  9. #9
    Frequent Contributor zombie's Avatar
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    And optocoupler would probably be better paralleled to the LED, but I would have to see the circuit of the ATO to know for sure with multimeter readings.

    You might be an engineer if...You have no life and can prove it mathematically.

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    Frequent Visitor rsucre's Avatar
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    Well I guess life is too short... I decided to keep things simple and just added a float switch to trigger the alert. When the Hydor Smart ATO device gets into alarm mode, it stops working, which sooner or later derives into low water level in the return chamber. The float switch will raise the alarm in Apex plenty of time before the return pump runs dry.

  11. #11
    Frequent Visitor revnull's Avatar
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    I did this with my tunze osmolator using the pump voltage (12vdc) to drive a simple automotive relay. In this config, I used the BOB switch state to drive a PMUP for my ATO.

    http://www.bareefers.org/forum/index.php?posts/284194
    - Ray

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