the swirler-stein - Page 13

Barto · 06/03/2006, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rainer Feyer
the beauty of the beast is to conquer the DIY project -

Rainer Feyer,
I don't think I've heard that worded better, inspiring, thanks!

Rainer Feyer · 06/13/2006, 07:32 AM

Actually,

just finished my own swirl stein this weekend and it works fantastic!

I used a different gray/ sqaure electrical box which had posts to screw in the top plate. With it, I simply cut the posts half way and used them to screw the motor mount plate in place.

I will do pictures while making the second one ( I need 4 all together).

I only get about 80 degrees of rotation and will have to change the cams; will try to make the cams so they are adjustable.

Pictures forthcoming with the second version.

Thank you VERY Much to all who have actively participated in this threat; most likely one of the most enjoyable and helpful threats I have read!

shookbrad · 06/13/2006, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smells like fish
This is from page 9 from this thread. diy seaswirl

The biggest problem of a DIY seaswirl is the rotating elbow part(swing joint). The guy who made the webpage, made his own, but if you scroll back up on this page, shookbrad had a link to a commerciallly available swing joint. I don't know if he was able to use that swing joint however.

I just have not had time to build my DIY SeaSwirl using the swing joint. When I do I will be sure to post my results.

grochmal · 06/13/2006, 12:14 PM

Hey guys, just got forwarded to this thread.
I made my own version of this to rotate my Tunze stream.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=864697

I'm using the 3/4 rpm surplus motor that others discussed here.
http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...tname=electric
To attach an arm to the motor shaft, I epoxied a piece of hollow threaded rod to the shaft - the kind that is used to install ceiling light fixtures.
See the "threaded pipe" in this diagram:
http://www.rd.com/images/tfhimport/2...e004img002.jpg

This allowed me to use a couple of nuts on the shaft to lock the arm in place.

I also noticed that the motor gets warm as heck, so I'm curious how long they'll last.
This motor is quite loud but it runs much quieter when the shaft is pointing down instead of up, which is luckily how I needed to mount mine anyway.

exoticaquatix · 06/18/2006, 02:19 PM

just tagging this thread, no time to read it today. great job guys.
-nick

shelburn61 · 06/21/2006, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dhnguyen
this is the motor I'm gonna use on this mod if I ever get around to actually work on it soon

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.a...tname=electric

People seem to be using a lot of different motors, but I keep reading about heat and reliability problems. What's the best motor(s) and where do I get it? How is the one above?

dhnguyen · 06/21/2006, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shelburn61
People seem to be using a lot of different motors, I keep reading about heat and reliability problems. What's the best motor(s) for and where do I get it? How is the one above?

That's the same motor I used. Had it running 24/7 for a while now and although it does get rather hot, I haven't had any issues with it. In any case even if the motor only lasted 6 months to a year, they're cheap enough to replace.

D.

shelburn61 · 06/21/2006, 04:50 PM

so I guess no one has been able to find an alternate source for the motors used in Sea Swirls?

onehundred20 · 06/29/2006, 12:46 AM

anyone able to PM me a links to that MJ stream mod....thanks

Chrisrush · 07/14/2006, 07:05 AM

A buddy of mine on DFWMAS made one of these swirler-steins and I asked him about hooking up a tunze to it instead of a modded mj and he thought that it would be no problem. Has anyone actually tried a tunze?

Thanks,
Chris

grochmal · 07/14/2006, 07:16 AM

Here is mine:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=864697

Chrisrush · 07/14/2006, 07:24 AM

Thanks Jeff, have you had any troubles with your unit?

grochmal · 07/14/2006, 07:29 AM

No, it's still working great.
I don't care for the motor though.
When you first plug it in it's really loud but does quiet down some after a few minutes.
But even then it is quite noticible.
I have a second one that I was going to use for my other Tunze but now I'm thinking of trying to find a quieter one.

humboldt reefer · 07/30/2006, 02:58 PM

I thought I'd bump this back up to see how everyone else's swirlsteins are working and post a video of mine. These are the absolute coolest contraptions Ive built yet. Thanks for postng it all to begin with

http://www.hostdub.com/albums/Unit00..._stuff_097.mpg

dhnguyen · 07/30/2006, 03:14 PM

Looks like that swirler-stein coupled with a Maxi-stream mod is working out just fine for ya :-)

Very nice indeed Tim.

D.

humboldt reefer · 07/30/2006, 03:39 PM

Yeah its deffinately rockin. I need to get off my butt and finish the other one now. I think you have me mixed up with zapata41. I got the idea for the shroud from him. And alot of my frags. Cool guy.
Well here are a couple pic's of the inards of my stien.

The next one I want to build to move up and down as well as rotate. Should be a fun little project.
Ryan

dhnguyen · 07/30/2006, 04:23 PM

Woops yeah I thought you were zapata41

well you know seeing his signature rain gutter shroud and the fact that you're in Humboldt also

Keep us posted on the new project.

D.

zapata41 · 07/30/2006, 10:31 PM

those things look nice ryan. glad to see it is working well for ya. think i might build a pair or 3 of those now, since i am gonna 86 the CL pump and try to just run 2 or 3 streams in the tank on timers.

also what type of motors are those and where did you get them from.

Tim

shookbrad · 07/30/2006, 10:54 PM

I don't know why everyone is having problems with heat. If the motor is getting hot attach a small heat sink to it. That will cool it down a lot. It will extend the life of the motor also.
You can probably find a small heatsink on an old computer motherboard that is too old to use but you could not find yourself throwing it out since you paid $100 for it 5 years ago. LOL I have 3 lying around.
Anyways if you look hard enough around your house I am sure you will find one.
If not you can find lots of them by searching google for small heatsink. Here is a link to one I found with a fan for $5.00
http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProdID=5948

humboldt reefer · 07/31/2006, 12:51 AM

Tim thanks. Yeah they seem to be working great. Havent had a chance to work on the other one yet. I put an inline probe holder in my calcium reactor and the damn thing sprung a leak everywhere so I've been rebuilding that. Anyway I used the 2.5 rpm motors from surplus center
https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.a...tname=electric
I've got an extra one if you want to try it.

Cody Ray · 07/31/2006, 01:33 AM

I think I would want to hook a seio on one

Aquaduck · 07/31/2006, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shookbrad
I don't know why everyone is having problems with heat. If the motor is getting hot attach a small heat sink to it. That will cool it down a lot. It will extend the life of the motor also.
You can probably find a small heatsink on an old computer motherboard that is too old to use but you could not find yourself throwing it out since you paid $100 for it 5 years ago. LOL I have 3 lying around.
Anyways if you look hard enough around your house I am sure you will find one.
If not you can find lots of them by searching google for small heatsink. Here is a link to one I found with a fan for $5.00
http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProdID=5948

Yep. I said it before and I'll say it again.... mount the motor on an aluminum plate, not acrylic. Why do I see everyone using acrylic? When was the last time you saw an acrylic computer CPU cooler.

Nobody listens.....

impur · 07/31/2006, 09:01 AM

Where would you get an aluminum plate that fits as perfect as the cut out acrylic?

brentp · 07/31/2006, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by impur
Where would you get an aluminum plate that fits as perfect as the cut out acrylic?

Aluminum is very easy to machine.

hahnmeister · 07/31/2006, 10:22 AM

I was just mounting a chipset cooler from an old PC on the shroud of the motor with thermal paste and a zip-tie. The hot part of the motor is the motor itself...not the gears and shaft that are on the side that attach to the acrylic. So you can still mount the bugger on acrylic, and just attach the cooling mechanism to the shroud of the motor itself.

Im got an idea though.... if you use a resistor/capacitor relay in conjunction with a small DC motor (a motor that is faster than say, 2rpm), you could run the motor on 12v or less (battery). If you size the cap right, you could make the motor rotate very fast in a timed (Im thinking 1.5 second bursts here on a 9+ rpm DC motor) second burst of electricity until the cap fills and the circuit is broken (then the resistor burns off the cap at a slow rate... Im thinking 20 seconds).

This way you could have a DC motor (more torque) at a higher speed, running on nothing but a couple D cells, that turns for 1.5 seconds resulting in a rotation of the drive disk of only 90 degrees at a time, then rests for 20, so it can easily stay cool.

The idea is to eliminate constant motion here in favor of timed bursts of movement. This would eliminate the 'constantly moving powerhead' in the tank as well as reduce heat. Any other ideas? I was thinking of trying to do caps + resistors on an AC control circuit as well for an 4rpm AC motor so it only runs 1/4 of the time..resulting in less heat as well.

Anyone else come up with something like this?

06/13/2006, 07:32 AM	#302
Rainer Feyer Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Johnstown, NY, USA Posts: 1,054	Actually, just finished my own swirl stein this weekend and it works fantastic! I used a different gray/ sqaure electrical box which had posts to screw in the top plate. With it, I simply cut the posts half way and used them to screw the motor mount plate in place. I will do pictures while making the second one ( I need 4 all together). I only get about 80 degrees of rotation and will have to change the cams; will try to make the cams so they are adjustable. Pictures forthcoming with the second version. Thank you VERY Much to all who have actively participated in this threat; most likely one of the most enjoyable and helpful threats I have read! __________________ Rainer ____________________________________________________________________ Yes, Mr. Trainer, that was very loud! But, I said I wanted to hear your HEART! _ Current Tank Info: 75 Gal w/ 55g sump, 218W T5's, 55g Prop tank with PC's, 20g Aiptasia tank

06/13/2006, 12:14 PM	#304
grochmal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 647	Hey guys, just got forwarded to this thread. I made my own version of this to rotate my Tunze stream. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=864697 I'm using the 3/4 rpm surplus motor that others discussed here. http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.as...tname=electric To attach an arm to the motor shaft, I epoxied a piece of hollow threaded rod to the shaft - the kind that is used to install ceiling light fixtures. See the "threaded pipe" in this diagram: http://www.rd.com/images/tfhimport/2...e004img002.jpg This allowed me to use a couple of nuts on the shaft to lock the arm in place. I also noticed that the motor gets warm as heck, so I'm curious how long they'll last. This motor is quite loud but it runs much quieter when the shaft is pointing down instead of up, which is luckily how I needed to mount mine anyway. __________________ Jeff Current Tank Info: 125 gallon bare-bottom reef, 6' Maristar light, Tunze streams, 55 gallon sump, ASM G3 skimmer, RDSB

06/18/2006, 02:19 PM	#305
exoticaquatix Registered Member. Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: baltimore, MD Posts: 536	just tagging this thread, no time to read it today. great job guys. -nick __________________ This dude either has two glass eyes or he's wearing his patch on the wrong sa-sa-sa-side. -Aesop Current Tank Info: 120gal 500w MH 10K XMs 30g sump, MSX-200 skimmer, vortech MP40w and Tunze nanostreams; 9 gal, 29gal FW planted tanks

07/14/2006, 07:05 AM	#310
Chrisrush Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,754	A buddy of mine on DFWMAS made one of these swirler-steins and I asked him about hooking up a tunze to it instead of a modded mj and he thought that it would be no problem. Has anyone actually tried a tunze? Thanks, Chris __________________ Thanks, Chris Current Tank Info: 2015 Reef Savvy Dream Tank Winner

07/14/2006, 07:16 AM	#311
grochmal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 647	Here is mine: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=864697 __________________ Jeff Current Tank Info: 125 gallon bare-bottom reef, 6' Maristar light, Tunze streams, 55 gallon sump, ASM G3 skimmer, RDSB

06/21/2006, 04:50 PM	#308
shelburn61 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Charlotte Posts: 2,094	so I guess no one has been able to find an alternate source for the motors used in Sea Swirls?

06/29/2006, 12:46 AM	#309
onehundred20 Moved On Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 826	anyone able to PM me a links to that MJ stream mod....thanks

07/14/2006, 07:24 AM	#312
Chrisrush Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,754	Thanks Jeff, have you had any troubles with your unit? __________________ Thanks, Chris Current Tank Info: 2015 Reef Savvy Dream Tank Winner

07/14/2006, 07:29 AM	#313
grochmal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 647	No, it's still working great. I don't care for the motor though. When you first plug it in it's really loud but does quiet down some after a few minutes. But even then it is quite noticible. I have a second one that I was going to use for my other Tunze but now I'm thinking of trying to find a quieter one. __________________ Jeff Current Tank Info: 125 gallon bare-bottom reef, 6' Maristar light, Tunze streams, 55 gallon sump, ASM G3 skimmer, RDSB

07/30/2006, 02:58 PM	#314
humboldt reefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Post Falls ID Posts: 263	I thought I'd bump this back up to see how everyone else's swirlsteins are working and post a video of mine. These are the absolute coolest contraptions Ive built yet. Thanks for postng it all to begin with http://www.hostdub.com/albums/Unit00..._stuff_097.mpg __________________ Gigas! Its whats for dinner! Current Tank Info: BB 210 mixed reef

07/30/2006, 03:14 PM	#315
dhnguyen Moved On Join Date: May 2004 Location: Kingston, WA Posts: 4,751	Looks like that swirler-stein coupled with a Maxi-stream mod is working out just fine for ya :-) Very nice indeed Tim. D.

07/30/2006, 03:39 PM	#316
humboldt reefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Post Falls ID Posts: 263	Yeah its deffinately rockin. I need to get off my butt and finish the other one now. I think you have me mixed up with zapata41. I got the idea for the shroud from him. And alot of my frags. Cool guy. Well here are a couple pic's of the inards of my stien. The next one I want to build to move up and down as well as rotate. Should be a fun little project. Ryan __________________ Gigas! Its whats for dinner! Current Tank Info: BB 210 mixed reef

07/30/2006, 04:23 PM	#317
dhnguyen Moved On Join Date: May 2004 Location: Kingston, WA Posts: 4,751	Woops yeah I thought you were zapata41 well you know seeing his signature rain gutter shroud and the fact that you're in Humboldt also Keep us posted on the new project. D.

07/30/2006, 10:31 PM	#318
zapata41 Moved On Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Humboldt County, CA Posts: 2,024	those things look nice ryan. glad to see it is working well for ya. think i might build a pair or 3 of those now, since i am gonna 86 the CL pump and try to just run 2 or 3 streams in the tank on timers. also what type of motors are those and where did you get them from. Tim

07/30/2006, 10:54 PM	#319
shookbrad Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Odessa, TX Posts: 411 Blog Entries: 1	I don't know why everyone is having problems with heat. If the motor is getting hot attach a small heat sink to it. That will cool it down a lot. It will extend the life of the motor also. You can probably find a small heatsink on an old computer motherboard that is too old to use but you could not find yourself throwing it out since you paid $100 for it 5 years ago. LOL I have 3 lying around. Anyways if you look hard enough around your house I am sure you will find one. If not you can find lots of them by searching google for small heatsink. Here is a link to one I found with a fan for $5.00 http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProdID=5948

07/31/2006, 12:51 AM	#320
humboldt reefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Post Falls ID Posts: 263	Tim thanks. Yeah they seem to be working great. Havent had a chance to work on the other one yet. I put an inline probe holder in my calcium reactor and the damn thing sprung a leak everywhere so I've been rebuilding that. Anyway I used the 2.5 rpm motors from surplus center https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.a...tname=electric I've got an extra one if you want to try it. __________________ Gigas! Its whats for dinner! Current Tank Info: BB 210 mixed reef

07/31/2006, 01:33 AM	#321
Cody Ray Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 5,101	I think I would want to hook a seio on one __________________ Limit 1 stupid question per day Current Tank Info: Mr. Aqua 7.5g bowfront

07/31/2006, 09:01 AM	#323
impur Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 4,262	Where would you get an aluminum plate that fits as perfect as the cut out acrylic? __________________ Great spirits often encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds. Current Tank Info: 75gal, 20gal sump, 6-54w T5 TEK

07/31/2006, 10:22 AM	#325
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	I was just mounting a chipset cooler from an old PC on the shroud of the motor with thermal paste and a zip-tie. The hot part of the motor is the motor itself...not the gears and shaft that are on the side that attach to the acrylic. So you can still mount the bugger on acrylic, and just attach the cooling mechanism to the shroud of the motor itself. Im got an idea though.... if you use a resistor/capacitor relay in conjunction with a small DC motor (a motor that is faster than say, 2rpm), you could run the motor on 12v or less (battery). If you size the cap right, you could make the motor rotate very fast in a timed (Im thinking 1.5 second bursts here on a 9+ rpm DC motor) second burst of electricity until the cap fills and the circuit is broken (then the resistor burns off the cap at a slow rate... Im thinking 20 seconds). This way you could have a DC motor (more torque) at a higher speed, running on nothing but a couple D cells, that turns for 1.5 seconds resulting in a rotation of the drive disk of only 90 degrees at a time, then rests for 20, so it can easily stay cool. The idea is to eliminate constant motion here in favor of timed bursts of movement. This would eliminate the 'constantly moving powerhead' in the tank as well as reduce heat. Any other ideas? I was thinking of trying to do caps + resistors on an AC control circuit as well for an 4rpm AC motor so it only runs 1/4 of the time..resulting in less heat as well. Anyone else come up with something like this? Last edited by hahnmeister; 07/31/2006 at 10:33 AM.