Metalworking (rec.crafts.metalworking) Discuss various aspects of working with metal, such as machining, welding, metal joining, screwing, casting, hardening/tempering, blacksmithing/forging, spinning and hammer work, sheet metal work.

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 27
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

Most of the descriptions say it has some kind of wax in a cylinder. When temp gets to about 55 to 70 degrees it melts forcing rod against greenhouse vent. I'm wondering how to make something instead of paying $60 ea. What kind of wax could this be. Doesn't seem like melting would make much pressure.. Some of these automatic vents push out 18in
I need to automatically open vents when it gets too hot. Forgetting to do it manually just once will be the end of all the plants in greenhouse.
I discovered that after retiring I can't afford to spend money anymore. I'm building a greenhouse so wife, who is still working, will not get tired of leaving me to goof off everyday.
  #2   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,910
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

Butter wrote:
Most of the descriptions say it has some kind of wax in a cylinder. When temp gets to about 55 to 70 degrees it melts forcing rod against greenhouse vent. I'm wondering how to make something instead of paying $60 ea. What kind of wax could this be. Doesn't seem like melting would make much pressure. Some of these automatic vents push out 18in
I need to automatically open vents when it gets too hot. Forgetting to do it manually just once will be the end of all the plants in greenhouse.
I discovered that after retiring I can't afford to spend money anymore. I'm building a greenhouse so wife, who is still working, will not get tired of leaving me to goof off everyday.


not sure exactly what's inside as the magic substance, but here's a
cut-away diagram of one

http://www.rostravernatherm.com/thermal-actuators.htm
  #3   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 425
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

On 2/13/14, 3:46 PM, Cydrome Leader wrote:
Butter wrote:
Most of the descriptions say it has some kind of wax in a cylinder. When temp gets to about 55 to 70 degrees it melts forcing rod against greenhouse vent. I'm wondering how to make something instead of paying $60 ea. What kind of wax could this be. Doesn't seem like melting would make much pressure. Some of these automatic vents push out 18in
I need to automatically open vents when it gets too hot. Forgetting to do it manually just once will be the end of all the plants in greenhouse.
I discovered that after retiring I can't afford to spend money anymore. I'm building a greenhouse so wife, who is still working, will not get tired of leaving me to goof off everyday.


not sure exactly what's inside as the magic substance, but here's a
cut-away diagram of one

http://www.rostravernatherm.com/thermal-actuators.htm



The 'actuators' of automotive thermostats are based on wax expansion as
well.... have been for eons.

More he

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax_thermostatic_element

Be sure to look through the extremal links at the end.

Erik

  #4   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,286
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

The dang things don't work for ****e. One you build will likely be
worse.

get a used furnace fan and thermostat. Free if you can find an HVAC
guy that keep the dead furnaces he changes out.

karl

P.S. My tomatoes just came up today. Broccoli yesterday. that's in the
basement under the grow lights.

  #5   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 425
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses


P.S. My tomatoes just came up today. Broccoli yesterday. that's in the
basement under the grow lights.


Curious... how much are the Tomatoes & Broccoli going to cost you...
factoring in the increased electric bill and all?

Erik


  #6   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,286
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

On Thu, 13 Feb 2014 17:48:58 -0800, Erik wrote:


P.S. My tomatoes just came up today. Broccoli yesterday. that's in the
basement under the grow lights.


Curious... how much are the Tomatoes & Broccoli going to cost you...
factoring in the increased electric bill and all?

Erik


Until Milady decided it was too much work, she sold about $2K in
produce for about $1K in expense.

Now, we just trade the entire neighborhood fresh produce for other
favors. We'll keep the bills down to $500, mostly heat.

Karl

  #7   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,584
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

On 2014-02-13, Butter wrote:

Most of the descriptions say it has some kind of wax in a cylinder.
When temp gets to about 55 to 70 degrees it melts forcing rod against
greenhouse vent. I'm wondering how to make something instead of paying
$60 ea. What kind of wax could this be. Doesn't seem like melting would
make much pressure. Some of these automatic vents push out 18in


I have no experience with these, but I suspect that there is
either a spring or a weight which pushes the rod out the 18" or so, and
the wax simply locks the rod in place as long as the temperature is low
enough. When it melts, it does not *push*, but rather *allows* the rod
to move.

Are those temperatures in F or C? 55 Sounds rather low to be
opening a greenhouse -- but I don't know what you are growing. And 55 C
is equivalent to 131 F which is a point at which I would expect many
plants to be uncomfortable. 70 C is 158 F, which seems even more
uncomfortable for most plants.

Anyway -- once you know what kind temperature you are looking
at, then experiment with Paraffin (used for sealing "canned" foods) and
other waxes (I save a lot of wax from Gouda cheese which melts at lower
temperatures than the Paraffin does. Find out what temperature you get
while there are still significant chunks of solid swimming around in the
melted wax. If you find two, and one is higher than you need, and the
other is lower -- experiment with mixing them in various proportions
(mix well while molten) and see what melting point you get as a result.

At a suggestion, I would make the rod have a number of grooves
in the area which is in the wax holding cylinder so it is less likely to
slip if bumped when cold. Once the wax melts, it should move out
freely. But -- you would have to re-heat it to reset it.

O.K. -- looking at this web site:

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/vent2.shtml

I see that their openers work between 60 F and 75 F (apparently
adjustable), and they don't say "wax" but rather "a mineral which
expands when heated". *And* they self reset when it cools off. Perhaps
the design converts a high force from the expansion to long travel via
levers. Then again -- wax does expand significantly when it melts. The
Gouda wax which I save I melt to about 7/8 full in a soup can, and when
it cools (at the outside first) it leaves a cone (funnel shape) in the
top surface where the level retreats as it solidifies. So you could get
a significant amount of force as it melts. But the real range shown by
the web site 60-75F is rather low as a melting point for the waxes which
I have experience with. Hmm ... what does beeswax melt at?

Do I assume that you have a lathe? That would be helpful in
making the cylinder in which the rod operates and grooving the rod,
along making with the spring or weight and linkage to provide the
operating force. Since you are posting in rec.crafts.metalworking, I
consider it a reasonable thing to expect you to have at a minimum.

And later in the web page it does say that it uses wax and some
of the cylinders to have your 55-70F range, so ignore my conversion from
C above.

So -- find a wax which melts at the right temperature, and
enclose it in a cylinder with a piston. The larger the diameter, the
more force you will get, and you can use leverage to convert that force
to travel.

O.K. The adjustment of temperature is simply an adjustment of
how far the piston can move before it starts moving the vent. Download
the instruction sheet from them to get an idea as to what the linkage
looks like.

Good luck,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | (KV4PH) Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
  #8   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,013
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

It is oil. I have one on my Greenhouse - had two but a young installer
took apart the second one - the one he was doing - and leaked out the
oil. It naturally didn't work.

Palmgreen is a source.

Martin - learn to insert CR/LF or press returns after 80 columns...

On 2/13/2014 4:33 PM, Butter wrote:
Most of the descriptions say it has some kind of wax in a cylinder. When temp gets to about 55 to 70 degrees it melts forcing rod against greenhouse vent. I'm wondering how to make something instead of paying $60 ea. What kind of wax could this be. Doesn't seem like melting would make much pressure. Some of these automatic vents push out 18in
I need to automatically open vents when it gets too hot. Forgetting to do it manually just once will be the end of all the plants in greenhouse.
I discovered that after retiring I can't afford to spend money anymore. I'm building a greenhouse so wife, who is still working, will not get tired of leaving me to goof off everyday.

  #9   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,115
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

Karl Townsend wrote:
The dang things don't work for ****e. One you build will likely be
worse.

get a used furnace fan and thermostat. Free if you can find an HVAC
guy that keep the dead furnaces he changes out.

karl

P.S. My tomatoes just came up today. Broccoli yesterday. that's in the
basement under the grow lights.


So far the kale and iceberg lettuce have made an appearance . Oh , and
just in , the cauliflower and onions are starting to peep thru too . It's
all on a table top installed as a window sill in a SE facing window . This
stuff has all been planted starting on 2/8 , and I'm pumped !
--
Snag


  #10   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 533
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

I have no experience with these, but I suspect that there is
either a spring or a weight which pushes the rod out the 18" or so, and
the wax simply locks the rod in place as long as the temperature is low
enough. When it melts, it does not *push*, but rather *allows* the rod
to move.


And how does it *close again* under your suspicion?

If you ever cast wax candles, you have seen the considerable shrinkage
of wax as it changes from liquid to solid. That's all that's going on
here, and it provides plenty of force in both directions (in a
well-designed system, anyway.)

They are simple hydraulic mechanisms, the only part that's voodoo is a
wax that melts at ~70F rather than the more easily obtainable waxes that
melt around 100-120F, and good (or bad, more often) basic
hydraulic/mechanical design under the somewhat different parameters
where the volume of the cylinder is important to the distance of
actuation. Assembly without trapping air pockets will also help.

One possible source for this type of wax is refills for "wax cooling
vests" which have a similar melting/freezing temperature. Not exactly
cheap; but accessible; read the MSDS if you want to try the "direct
ordering from a chemical factory" route, but that's generally not all
that cheap or easy in small quantities without an established account.

Piston area is still directly related to force/pressure. The total
volume of wax in the cylinder is what sets how far it will actuate, as
the expansion when it melts and contraction when it freezes is the
"motor" in this system. Providing the cylinder with fins or heat pipes
can improve response time to temperature changes. Not overloading the
thing will improve service life...

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.


  #11   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,584
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

On 2014-02-14, Ecnerwal wrote:
In article ,
"DoN. Nichols" wrote:

I have no experience with these, but I suspect that there is
either a spring or a weight which pushes the rod out the 18" or so, and
the wax simply locks the rod in place as long as the temperature is low
enough. When it melts, it does not *push*, but rather *allows* the rod
to move.


And how does it *close again* under your suspicion?


There was no mention of it closing again in the original
posting, so I did not cover that at the start. I was figuring manual
reset, and the vent opening to be a catastrophe prevention measure.

He asked how it could possibly work, and I threw out one
possibility -- before going on to do more searching.

If you ever cast wax candles, you have seen the considerable shrinkage
of wax as it changes from liquid to solid. That's all that's going on
here, and it provides plenty of force in both directions (in a
well-designed system, anyway.)


Did you not read all of what I posted? I described that very
shrinkage -- and did a web search for the term to see what some makers
might say about it.

They are simple hydraulic mechanisms, the only part that's voodoo is a
wax that melts at ~70F rather than the more easily obtainable waxes that
melt around 100-120F, and good (or bad, more often) basic
hydraulic/mechanical design under the somewhat different parameters
where the volume of the cylinder is important to the distance of
actuation. Assembly without trapping air pockets will also help.


Someone else posted a pointer to a site which included a
cut-away view which showed how it was made. A bit more complex than I
first thought. Wax cylinder with a flexible diaphragm at one end, which
bulges and presses on hydraulic oil, which then pushes the piston. The
return force for closing (based on the first site I found) comes from
springs in the mounting, not from the shrinking of the cooling wax. The
shrinkage simply *allows* the springs to re-close the vents.

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Remove oil spill source from e-mail
Email: | (KV4PH) Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---
  #12   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 95
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

On 2/14/2014 0:33, Butter wrote:
Most of the descriptions say it has some kind of wax in a cylinder. When temp gets to about 55 to 70 degrees it melts forcing rod against greenhouse vent. I'm wondering how to make something instead of paying $60 ea. What kind of wax could this be. Doesn't seem like melting would make much pressure. Some of these automatic vents push out 18in
I need to automatically open vents when it gets too hot. Forgetting to do it manually just once will be the end of all the plants in greenhouse.
I discovered that after retiring I can't afford to spend money anymore. I'm building a greenhouse so wife, who is still working, will not get tired of leaving me to goof off everyday.


Such thermal expansion devices have a very short stroke but LOTS of
force. So you need some lever-arrangement or such that transforms the
short stroke to the stroke needed.

I would start with a stainless-steel bellow, weld a couple of valves
for filling/ deairing, and fill with something. Oil? The bellow will
extend/retract based on temperature. Then the levers from flat steel.
Make an arrangement that moves freely more when the bellow reaches
"fully closed" and "fully open" positions. Otherwise, after that it
will break the system..

To be honest, those ready-made things start at around 20usd, so there
really is no reason to build one.. If I were to make one, I could make
it cheaper with "Arduino uno" MCU and electric actuator, and then it
would be a precise control. Of course, totally not necessary, but there
are propably a few gotchas in making the mechanic one work in all
situations. The electric one would be simple to test.

  #13   Report Post  
Posted to rec.crafts.metalworking
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default What is in automatic vent openers used in greenhouses

replying to Ecnerwal, Sid S. wrote:
Jojoba oil (a plant product) is not actually an oil, it is a low melting point
wax that melts at appx. 44-54℉. Paraffin Gulf Wax melts, depending on
exact mix, around 99-120℉. Beeswax melts even higher. If one was to mix
in the right amount, around 50/50 more or less, one of the latter two
mentioned waxes with Jojoba oil(wax) you may hit the sweet spot you want where
the expansion/phase shift occurs at your desired temperature range. I have
heard people in the greenhouse industry sheepishly allude to the use of both
beeswax & natural plant oils/waxes inside their greenhouse vent products. Some
say an oil, some say a wax. The fact that the actual ingredients are skirted
around when mentioned leads me to believe the process is not patentable nor
hard. Jojoba plant wax in the beeswax or paraffin may be the "ingredient that
Shan‘t be named". IDK, would have to try. Maybe even Vaseline would work
in the mix.

--
for full context, visit http://www.polytechforum.com/metalwo...es-593133-.htm


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Can Openers (O/T?) Chade UK diy 23 March 1st 13 03:43 PM
How to set up the Automatic Air Vent in my Boiler? Ragworm The Abominable UK diy 4 May 10th 06 08:15 PM
heating system on a canal boat, automatic vent valves stevet UK diy 14 January 12th 05 12:36 AM
Automatic Garage Door Openers Han Chung UK diy 4 April 15th 04 02:19 AM
automatic garage door openers. dave UK diy 12 July 23rd 03 09:16 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:18 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 DIYbanter.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about DIY & home improvement"