Arduino Question

[chuck172]

Can a standard circulator pump be transformed into an outdoor reset controlled pump by using an Arduino board?
It would have to vary it's speed signaled by an outdoor sensor.

 

[ewdudley]

Taco, for one, manufactures 'standard' variable speed circs with 0-10VDC or 4-20mA input signals to control speed. They also offer variable speed circs that control themselves according to their own sensor inputs, including an outdoor reset version.

You could roll your own variable speed pump from a standard single speed circ with appropriate voltage and frequency management.

As has been suggested here before, I think it would be worth a try to adjust average flow with a duty-cycle control with a cycle period on the order of tens of seconds as long as there is some form of hydraulic decoupling. Since I have a half bushel of 007s scrounged up I intend to try the duty-cycle approach and then resort to variable speed if it doesn't work out.

It would seem like those small diameter motors ought to spin up with very little inrush, does anyone have any data on how much juice is wasted starting a circ pump?

--ewd

 

[chuck172]

Are the 007's capable of being converted to sensor controlled variable speed?

 

[ewdudley]

Are the 007's capable of being converted to sensor controlled variable speed?

[Please keep in mind motors are not one of my strong suits.]

I would say 007s could only be converted to variable speed if you had a variable-voltage variable-frequency inverter controller to maintain reasonable power factors. It's conceivable that this is what Taco has done for their variable speed drives, I just don't know enough to offer a reasonable speculation.

I would assume that modern variable speed stuff is going with electronically commutated brushless DC type stuff.

You might do a decent job with a multi-winding multi-speed conventional circ and use relays to select a discreet speed. Someone here did a real nice hack on a Taco three-speed circ IIRC.

Speaking of modern variable speed stuff, check out the Fisher Paykel clothes washers for a decidedly superior alternative to the current crop of cantilevered-drum washers that are so popular now.

--ewd