Chicken Coop door opener.. Almost clueless...

[toadstool]

Hi there,
I'd be very grateful if anyone could give this topic a look. I apologise for my lack of knowledge/terms of reference..

We have a chicken coop. Egloo classic. 'Topic search' yields below which is wayyyy over my head and I think for a vertical opening door...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1523&p=3681&hilit=chicken+coop#

Coop door swings like a house door (vertical axis) and needs to turn 90 degrees- open/closed. I need to do this on a timer. Coop is around 20 metres from house so could get mains there safely if needed.

I am though thinking of using a cheap cordless screwdriver to turn the door. I have a 12v solar security lighting system that should power the screwdriver, though driver is only 3.7v...

I just (?!) need something that will at midnight close the door; a brief burst of current for about 2 seconds, then at 8 a.m. another burst but polarity reversed. I took apart my old 18v circular saw, but even with12v the motor goes really fast and seemed to eat up the 12 battery very quick while I was tinkering with it...

Query ? Name of component that will deliver a current for adjustable time???

I expect a timer is called a timer...?

I will look at online parts sites etc

Many thanks for any input...

Coop door.jpg (71.86 KiB) Viewed 5954 times

[David]

I like fresh eggs as well!

This project could be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. My suggestion is that you could use two timers, one as midnight and the other at 8:00 am. These (assuming the outputs were sufficiently isolated from each other) could supply the screwdriver - or any other motor - with different polarities of supply. As long as each on period did not overlap the other, you could arrange microswitches to turn off the current when the door was fully opened or closed. Further extensions would be to detect if the door had stopped in mid movement from debris build up, or blown shut in the wind ... Go to work on an egg!

[magpie]

This is a list of what I would use,and then get into my thinking.
1. main supply to shed.
2. two socket outlets.
3. two mains plug-in timers.
4. mains operated drill,with something in the chuck,acting as a windlass.
5. door magnet.
6. switch to cut out the travel of the door,and stop the drill operating.
7. length of cord fixed to door with weight attached for tension around the windlass.
8. spring for door to close when magnet isolated.
The timer activates and runs the drill to pull the door open, then the switch operates at the limit of the door and the
magnet takes over to hold.
Later the magnet is shut off and the door closes under the pressure of the spring.

I like fresh eggs as well.

[David]

A bit different from the original plan. If you are intending to use an electromagnet to hold the door open, and have a timer which will switch on at 8:00am and off at midnight then you can get away with using that one timer. Arrange it so that the timer switches both the magnet (and a relay to give mains isolation - unless you use a low voltage motor somehow) and the drill on. The door switch can then turn the drill/motor off, but leave the power to the magnet until the timer switches off at midnight. I think you will need a fair bit of experimentation to get everything just right.