relay off on display and actually on in relay box
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bryan
Jan 13, 2011, 12:26:57 AM1/13/11
to Reef Angel Controller
Hey all,
I've been tinkering with the PWM and light relay code and the relay
was turning off as I wanted at StandardLights Stop and then the relay
would turn back on at StandardLights Start. Today, I continued to
tweak and had everything working. Then at the end of the day, the
relay light on the LCD turned off, but the relay did NOT turn off.
Ever seen this? I did not tinker with the LCD code OR the relay code
to the best of my knowledge. The rest of the relay displays on the
LCD are accurate as far as which relays are hot.
-Bryan
I've been tinkering with the PWM and light relay code and the relay
was turning off as I wanted at StandardLights Stop and then the relay
would turn back on at StandardLights Start. Today, I continued to
tweak and had everything working. Then at the end of the day, the
relay light on the LCD turned off, but the relay did NOT turn off.
Ever seen this? I did not tinker with the LCD code OR the relay code
to the best of my knowledge. The rest of the relay displays on the
LCD are accurate as far as which relays are hot.
-Bryan
Roberto Imai
Jan 13, 2011, 12:42:12 AM1/13/11
to reef...@googlegroups.com
I'm not sure if this is related, but I'm debugging a problem with the relaymask that is affecting relay 3.
You may want to try going back to v0.8.3.7 and see if it makes any difference.
www.reefangel.com/files/Arduino_Libraries_0.8.3.7.zip
I'll have more details tomorrow.
You may want to try going back to v0.8.3.7 and see if it makes any difference.
www.reefangel.com/files/Arduino_Libraries_0.8.3.7.zip
I'll have more details tomorrow.
Roberto.
bryan
Jan 13, 2011, 12:46:20 AM1/13/11
to Reef Angel Controller
Uh oh. I just changed the code such that I moved the StandardHeater
to the relay in question and confirmed that the light on the screen
will toggle with temperature change and that the relay in the relay
box does not toggle with temperature change. My fear of the relay
setup may be coming to fruition. Any other suggestions? I have only
had the box up for less than a month, using this port to power my LED
array over my 180g tank. I have a current meter in line, so I know
the thing has never operated at over ~2 Amps of current (~250 Watts).
I expected the relays to hold up much better than this. Is this too
much current? At least it's stuck ON instead of OFF.
-Bryan
to the relay in question and confirmed that the light on the screen
will toggle with temperature change and that the relay in the relay
box does not toggle with temperature change. My fear of the relay
setup may be coming to fruition. Any other suggestions? I have only
had the box up for less than a month, using this port to power my LED
array over my 180g tank. I have a current meter in line, so I know
the thing has never operated at over ~2 Amps of current (~250 Watts).
I expected the relays to hold up much better than this. Is this too
much current? At least it's stuck ON instead of OFF.
-Bryan
bryan
Jan 13, 2011, 12:56:54 AM1/13/11
to Reef Angel Controller
Mine is relay 7 and I am on the dev software from Curt. It worked on
the same rev of software yesterday and since, I have not tweaked
anything related as far as I can tell - possibly by accident I
suppose. I just moved my lights to another port and they work. I
can't seem to ever turn off port 7 now even by init'ing it to off.
Signs are pointing to a bad relay or something obscure in the
codebase. I can try the code rev you suggested tomorrow.
the same rev of software yesterday and since, I have not tweaked
anything related as far as I can tell - possibly by accident I
suppose. I just moved my lights to another port and they work. I
can't seem to ever turn off port 7 now even by init'ing it to off.
Signs are pointing to a bad relay or something obscure in the
codebase. I can try the code rev you suggested tomorrow.
Ali
Jan 13, 2011, 7:08:33 AM1/13/11
to reef...@googlegroups.com, Reef Angel Controller
I had a similar issue. Are you using an expansion module? Some of the
relays are on although I never initialized them anywhere in my code.
relays are on although I never initialized them anywhere in my code.
Sent from my iPhone
bryan
Jan 22, 2011, 4:52:20 PM1/22/11
to Reef Angel Controller
I thought I should follow up on this and explain why my relay is dead
so everyone can learn from my secret smoke! I am running LEDs over a
180gal aquarium - so something like 142 LEDs. This many LEDs requires
multiple current drivers unless you do something fancy. I'm not
really a fancy guy - so I took the safe route --> 142 LEDs/ 12 LEDs
per driver = 10 Mean Well 60-48P PWM drivers. I even tuned them down
to minimum drive strength because I have lenses, and probably 20-40%
more lights than I really need for an SPS setup. I figured I would be
ahead in the long run because my lights would run super cool and
efficient and have nice long lives. Unfortunately, I did not take
into account inrush current. This seems to be a dirty little secret
of Meanwell drivers. To be fair, it IS something that is listed on a
datasheet, but nobody in DIY talks about it with much frequency. In
the months of time I spent gathering data on DIY LEDs, I only came
across a discussion once - and obviously did not follow up. Here is a
great article explaining the technical details:
http://www.opamp-electronics.com/tutorials/inrush_current_2_09_12.htm
If you aren't technical, I'll just say that the current draw on one of
these MeanWell drivers is about 30x average for a split second at
startup (assuming 120V). This means that the relays have to handle
30A of current in order to properly work with a single driver (only 12
LEDs!). On my system, 10 drivers would sink up to 300A!!! A typical
circuit in your house will have a 15A breaker. Not good. So this is
a warning to you - don't ignore inrush current, because you will
likely damage your reef angel relays if you have a tank larger than a
nano :) I recommend looking into some DIY thermistor and relay
handiwork - or possibly buying one of the relay expansion modules so
you have a single driver per socket or so...
-Bryan
On Jan 13, 5:08 am, Ali <ali3...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I had a similar issue. Are you using anexpansionmodule? Some of the
so everyone can learn from my secret smoke! I am running LEDs over a
180gal aquarium - so something like 142 LEDs. This many LEDs requires
multiple current drivers unless you do something fancy. I'm not
really a fancy guy - so I took the safe route --> 142 LEDs/ 12 LEDs
per driver = 10 Mean Well 60-48P PWM drivers. I even tuned them down
to minimum drive strength because I have lenses, and probably 20-40%
more lights than I really need for an SPS setup. I figured I would be
ahead in the long run because my lights would run super cool and
efficient and have nice long lives. Unfortunately, I did not take
into account inrush current. This seems to be a dirty little secret
of Meanwell drivers. To be fair, it IS something that is listed on a
datasheet, but nobody in DIY talks about it with much frequency. In
the months of time I spent gathering data on DIY LEDs, I only came
across a discussion once - and obviously did not follow up. Here is a
great article explaining the technical details:
http://www.opamp-electronics.com/tutorials/inrush_current_2_09_12.htm
If you aren't technical, I'll just say that the current draw on one of
these MeanWell drivers is about 30x average for a split second at
startup (assuming 120V). This means that the relays have to handle
30A of current in order to properly work with a single driver (only 12
LEDs!). On my system, 10 drivers would sink up to 300A!!! A typical
circuit in your house will have a 15A breaker. Not good. So this is
a warning to you - don't ignore inrush current, because you will
likely damage your reef angel relays if you have a tank larger than a
nano :) I recommend looking into some DIY thermistor and relay
handiwork - or possibly buying one of the relay expansion modules so
you have a single driver per socket or so...
-Bryan
On Jan 13, 5:08 am, Ali <ali3...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I had a similar issue. Are you using anexpansionmodule? Some of the
> relays are on although I never initialized them anywhere in my code.
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jan 12, 2011, at 11:26 PM, bryan <teledo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hey all,
>
> > I've been tinkering with the PWM and lightrelaycode and therelay
> > was turning off as I wanted at StandardLights Stop and then therelay
> > would turn back on at StandardLights Start. Today, I continued to
> > tweak and had everything working. Then at the end of the day, the
> >relaylight on the LCD turned off, but therelaydid NOT turn off.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hey all,
>
> > I've been tinkering with the PWM and lightrelaycode and therelay
> > was turning off as I wanted at StandardLights Stop and then therelay
> > would turn back on at StandardLights Start. Today, I continued to
> > tweak and had everything working. Then at the end of the day, the
> > Ever seen this? I did not tinker with the LCD code OR therelaycode
> > to the best of my knowledge. The rest of therelaydisplays on the
bryan
Jan 22, 2011, 4:54:26 PM1/22/11
to Reef Angel Controller
Oh - I forgot the most important part - the key is to stagger the
startup times. Make sure you only have one device turning on at a
time.
On Jan 22, 2:52 pm, bryan <teledo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I thought I should follow up on this and explain why myrelayis dead
startup times. Make sure you only have one device turning on at a
time.
On Jan 22, 2:52 pm, bryan <teledo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I thought I should follow up on this and explain why myrelayis dead
> so everyone can learn from my secret smoke! I am running LEDs over a
> 180gal aquarium - so something like 142 LEDs. This many LEDs requires
> multiple current drivers unless you do something fancy. I'm not
> really a fancy guy - so I took the safe route --> 142 LEDs/ 12 LEDs
> per driver = 10 Mean Well 60-48P PWM drivers. I even tuned them down
> to minimum drive strength because I have lenses, and probably 20-40%
> more lights than I really need for an SPS setup. I figured I would be
> ahead in the long run because my lights would run super cool and
> efficient and have nice long lives. Unfortunately, I did not take
> into account inrush current. This seems to be a dirty little secret
> of Meanwell drivers. To be fair, it IS something that is listed on a
> datasheet, but nobody in DIY talks about it with much frequency. In
> the months of time I spent gathering data on DIY LEDs, I only came
> across a discussion once - and obviously did not follow up. Here is a
> great article explaining the technical details:http://www.opamp-electronics.com/tutorials/inrush_current_2_09_12.htm
> If you aren't technical, I'll just say that the current draw on one of
> these MeanWell drivers is about 30x average for a split second at
> startup (assuming 120V). This means that the relays have to handle
> 30A of current in order to properly work with a single driver (only 12
> LEDs!). On my system, 10 drivers would sink up to 300A!!! A typical
> circuit in your house will have a 15A breaker. Not good. So this is
> a warning to you - don't ignore inrush current, because you will
> likely damage your reef angel relays if you have a tank larger than a
> nano :) I recommend looking into some DIY thermistor andrelay
> handiwork - or possibly buying one of therelayexpansionmodules so
> 180gal aquarium - so something like 142 LEDs. This many LEDs requires
> multiple current drivers unless you do something fancy. I'm not
> really a fancy guy - so I took the safe route --> 142 LEDs/ 12 LEDs
> per driver = 10 Mean Well 60-48P PWM drivers. I even tuned them down
> to minimum drive strength because I have lenses, and probably 20-40%
> more lights than I really need for an SPS setup. I figured I would be
> ahead in the long run because my lights would run super cool and
> efficient and have nice long lives. Unfortunately, I did not take
> into account inrush current. This seems to be a dirty little secret
> of Meanwell drivers. To be fair, it IS something that is listed on a
> datasheet, but nobody in DIY talks about it with much frequency. In
> the months of time I spent gathering data on DIY LEDs, I only came
> across a discussion once - and obviously did not follow up. Here is a
> great article explaining the technical details:http://www.opamp-electronics.com/tutorials/inrush_current_2_09_12.htm
> If you aren't technical, I'll just say that the current draw on one of
> these MeanWell drivers is about 30x average for a split second at
> startup (assuming 120V). This means that the relays have to handle
> 30A of current in order to properly work with a single driver (only 12
> LEDs!). On my system, 10 drivers would sink up to 300A!!! A typical
> circuit in your house will have a 15A breaker. Not good. So this is
> a warning to you - don't ignore inrush current, because you will
> likely damage your reef angel relays if you have a tank larger than a
> nano :) I recommend looking into some DIY thermistor andrelay
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