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Quick disconnects


Bicyclebill

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I just tie a long string to the power plug as I disconnect it from my Apex, pull the device and its cord out of the tank which draws the string through the cabinet past all the other equipment and cables.  Then after cleaning and/or replacing the device, I tie the string back onto the cord and pull the string to lead it back through the cabinet so I can plug it back in.  Without this technique, it would be really difficult to fish the cord through the tightly-packed cabinet amongst all the other cords, plumbing, and devices.

I agree, some sort of waterproof quick-connect plugs would be pretty cool, but I haven't seen anything.

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3 hours ago, TheClark said:

I think Bill was referring to a way to disconnect a power cord closer to the device’s position rather than unplugging it from the power strip or wall outlet.  Not just turning off the power.  Something like this:

786B79E9-5E51-4B7B-BDCE-C5CF04F01A53.jpeg

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5 minutes ago, SuncrestReef said:

I think Bill was referring to a way to disconnect a power cord closer to the device’s position rather than unplugging it from the power strip or wall outlet.  Not just turning off the power.  Something like this:

786B79E9-5E51-4B7B-BDCE-C5CF04F01A53.jpeg

That's exactly what I'm talking about. The tricky part for all our DC pumps and reduced voltage components is that they run a single wire with shield cable, so you have to heat shrink a length of the shield to make it into a "wire".  Other than warranty concerns, imagine how much cleaner and easier maintenance and wire management could be.

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Tracking now, thanks!

I remember some guys were making custom Jebao apex pump controller wiring that involved some wire splicing and custom connectors.  Charles @wanareef made me some many years ago, still in service today. 

Might be possible with a harness that splits from the single wire connector back to multi wire. 

I use these allot for ESP8266 and LEDs to take power off of an adaptor for example:

DC Power Pigtail Female Plug - Monoprice.com

 

Good stuff!

 

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one word of caution about just unplugging stuff from the apex, just have a mental checklist of things that are not supposed to run when you shut an item off via the apex.  You could say... just unplug your main pump because you can't find your phone, then go to the bathroom and come back to find that you spooled through a whole roll of filter floss because the water level was so high due to no pump.

I mean.. that didn't happen to me, I would never do something like that.  I heard about a guy...ummmm, on facebook.  yeah it was this facebook guy. 

 

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2 minutes ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

one word of caution about just unplugging stuff from the apex, just have a mental checklist of things that are not supposed to run when you shut an item off via the apex.  You could say... just unplug your main pump because you can't find your phone, then go to the bathroom and come back to find that you spooled through a whole roll of filter floss because the water level was so high due to no pump.

I mean.. that didn't happen to me, I would never do something like that.  I heard about a guy...ummmm, on facebook.  yeah it was this facebook guy. 

 

Yeah, kinda like turning an outlet OFF or ON instead of auto.  Great feature would be "On for 20 minutes" like the old bathroom fan timers.  Or hey siri, turn on the ATO for 10 minutes.

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3 hours ago, TheClark said:

Yeah, kinda like turning an outlet OFF or ON instead of auto.  Great feature would be "On for 20 minutes" like the old bathroom fan timers.  Or hey siri, turn on the ATO for 10 minutes.

That’s why I use a Maintenance virtual output to turn off multiple devices while I’m working on the sump.

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5 hours ago, SuncrestReef said:

That’s why I use a Maintenance virtual output to turn off multiple devices while I’m working on the sump.

That would require way too much forethought on my part!  You retired people, sheesh!  😉

(PS:  That's a cool way to do it)

 

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3 minutes ago, TheClark said:

That would require way too much forethought on my part!  You retired people, sheesh!  😉

(PS:  That's a cool way to do it)

 

It's pretty simple.  Re-read my tutorial on Virtual Outputs: 

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/neptune-apex-programming-tutorials-part-5-virtual-outputs.703/

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1 minute ago, SuncrestReef said:

It's pretty simple.  Re-read my tutorial on Virtual Outputs: 

https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/neptune-apex-programming-tutorials-part-5-virtual-outputs.703/

My first thought was "Virtual outlets, definitely not a new topic for me"

My second thought was...  This is SuncrestReef I bet its a great article/post, I might pick up something new.

Let's see what you have there...

<Reading>

Looks good, as always so much good info in your posts.

FWIW - I use Feed C and D for similar effect.  I like that it resets itself so I don't get distracted and forget to turn things back on. 

No doubt the same could be done for a virtual outlet.  That might make for a nice how-to post (How to get Feed-E, Feed-F, Feed-G with virtual outlets)

Ten bucks says you already wrote that somewhere 😉

 

 

 

 

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17 minutes ago, TheClark said:

My first thought was "Virtual outlets, definitely not a new topic for me"

My second thought was...  This is SuncrestReef I bet its a great article/post, I might pick up something new.

Let's see what you have there...

<Reading>

Looks good, as always so much good info in your posts.

FWIW - I use Feed C and D for similar effect.  I like that it resets itself so I don't get distracted and forget to turn things back on. 

No doubt the same could be done for a virtual outlet.  That might make for a nice how-to post (How to get Feed-E, Feed-F, Feed-G with virtual outlets)

Ten bucks says you already wrote that somewhere 😉

 

My reason for not using a Feed timer is that there's a chance you run into an unexpected problem during the maintenance causing it to take longer than expected, then all of a sudden the Feed timer expires while you're still elbows deep in your sump with plumbing disconnected and the Apex turns pumps back on when you least expect it, and water sprays all over your face and the floor.  To me, I can't imagine turning on a Maintenance output and then walking away without remembering to turn it back off as the final step.

But yes, it would be easy to set up another virtual output as a reminder if you forgot to turn off the Maintenance virtual output:

[Maint_Timer]
Set OFF
If Output Maintenance = ON Then ON
Defer 120:00 Then ON

[EmailAlm]
Set OFF
If Output Maint_Timer = ON Then ON

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