EmmienLightFan Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 As a small project, I want to put a fountain in a kiddie pool and control it with LOR and put RGB lights in and stuff. I have read about the different pumps, and that most cannot be controlled by varying the voltage. Does an LOR CTB16PC use PWM or lower the voltage to dim? And what type of pump do I need, and how much will it cost? I have seen a few people on here who do it, and it looks amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 Did LOR produce a "Fountain control card"? http://laminar.forumotion.com/t13-light-o-rama-fountain-controller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOR Staff Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 You can not use our controllers to turn on/off pumps due to the risk of killing the triacs. Motors on startup draw many times their operating amperage which can very easily exceed the rating of the triac. Motors are also very noisy electrically speaking and can 'feedback' into the circuit. Triacs are for purely resistive loads only. You can use our controllers to turn on/off motors, but only if you put a relay between the controller and the motor. Dimming is right out of the question with a relay.FYI: the Fountain controler never made it out of development since the components were too expensive. There are no plans for one now or in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 You can use a Dio 32 board with the DIO8Relay daughter card to control motors. I haven't used it for fountain motors, but have used it to turn the power on for motorized heads, snow machines, video projectors, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 That wouldn't dim, so I could not control the fountain heights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobschm Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Try atlanticfountains.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Constantino Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 (edited) Back in 08 there was talk from LOR about releasing a controller for controlling water pumps and LED's. Take a look at # 4 below. Found the link. http://www.lightorama.com/Documents/MLC-100.pdf Friday, 22 August 2008 12:58 Here are the products to be delivered in August & September: 1) DIO32 32-channel digital controller with daughter boards. The DIO32 has four 8-port headers. Each 8-port header (8 channel group) is individually configurable as digital output(32 channels max), digital input(8 channels max), relay control(32 channels max), low power AC dimming(32 channels max), high power AC dimming (32 channels max). The daughter boards are: 8 channel SPDT relay, each relay 16 amps @120 vac; 16 channel dimming, 40 amps total @ 12/24/120/240 vac; 8 channel dimming, 60 amps total @ 120/240 vac; 16 channel connection daughter board for custom projects. DIO32 has headers on it allowing 16 servos to be controlled by two of the 8-channel ports. 2) An isolated USB adapter. Completely isolates the PC from the network. Can be used for added protection but was developed for large scale installations with multiple LOR networks. 3) Network Repeater. Used to extend the network beyond 4,000' or to create network topologies other than a daisy chain. (Star networks, 'Y', ...) 4) 9 channel fountain controller. Controls up to 3 PMSM pumps and 6 channels of LED lighting. Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor pumps are the type most commonly used in fountains and ponds. Both pumps and lights controlled from barely on to full power. LOR plans to offer both submersible pumps and submersible LED lighting. 5)Chime-O-Matic. A 25 note catherdral chime system with 5 volume levels with full LOR control and 6 inputs. The inputs are two digital, two phone ring sense and two doorbell sense. We have not yet gotten quantity price points for these products so I can't provide prices here. We will put each device on sale for the first week when it is introduced because we don't have the prices for a pre-order during the June sale. Steve Edited May 16, 2015 by Steve Constantino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premier Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Wouldn't try to run a pump....but you could run a solenoid valve, and leave the pump run constant. Most irrigation control valves are 24 v DC, so getting a board to control them would be realitively easy, the draw back is that most irrigation valves are not "instant " On or Off, so you most likely would have some lag in your programming the sequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 I will find a solenoid and see if it would work. Does anybody know of a pre built pan/tilt nozzle with servos that could be controlled with the LOR IO board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Would a solenoid allow me to control the ammount of water? I found these: And which would be best? 12v, 24v or 230vac? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 I will find a solenoid and see if it would work. Does anybody know of a pre built pan/tilt nozzle with servos that could be controlled with the LOR IO board?If you go to You Tube and do a search for "laminar flow water fountain," there are several "How To" videos showing how people have used solenoids to move the fountain head (pan/tilt), make a mechanical cut off device, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) I read on another forum that a normal DMX dimmer for stage lighting will be able to control pumps. Apparently as they are resistive they will "dim anything". Also, would 12v or 24v pumps still deliver enough power? I could run those off the CMB24D or another similar RGB dimmer. http://www.eachbuyer.com/12v-dc-submersible-water-pump-for-aquarium-tank-fountain-pond-garden-watering-p35687.html?currency=GBP&utm_source=google&utm_medium=CSE&utm_campaign=%5BPLA%5DEngland(EN)&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4fCqBRDM1ZKhk5jfo6IBEiQAZQ97ONSZzmffWeFAIhf_iWgLGSupt-d2D-F7m0U3G1EeyK4aAsyV8P8HAQ http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/131326550495?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&chn=ps&device=c&rlsatarget=&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/24V-DC-Submersible-Brushless-Water-Pump-for-Garden-Fountain-Pond-Aquarium-Tank/161241140120?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20141212152715%26meid%3D57146a0fa7c34865878632c8ec09b5fb%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D30%26sd%3D131326550495 Edited May 20, 2015 by EmmienLightFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viennaxmas Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I have just done some testing with 12V bilge pumps connected to a DMX controller (8Amps per channel). The control worked fine and I am testing different pumps. The ones I originally bought only have a 3ft head, so they have almost no power. Will try some stronger ones next. But overall - worked just fine ;-) still need to go play with fast on/off - I am a bit worried that there will be some ramp before the water sprays. That is where pressure and a solenoid valve are better.. Too bad LOR abandoned the plans for fountain control.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 I would love to hear your findings testing bilge pumps. Maybe fountain pumps would be better than bilge pumps though. One above states it has a 3meter spray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 This one looks goodhttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mini-DC12V-Brushless-Water-Pump-Submersible-Fountain-240L-H-5W-3M-0-60-UK-/291372761233?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43d72b8091 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Are low voltage pumps any different to 240v ones? Can pumps mentioned in the two posts above be used with a CMB24D or other RGB dimmer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 The biggest thing you will have to be careful using a Low Voltage pump is to watch the current. To get much power at a low voltage, the current could VERY easily be too high for a CMB to handle. Remember to check startup current - which will be higher than running current. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Ok. I will get one and hook it up to a bench power supply to measure current on start up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmmienLightFan Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 I am about to order. Shall I go with 12 or 24 volts? I have power supplies for both, and two 5-24v dimmers, but I need one for the lights (Although I could run the RGB lights and a 12v pump of the same controller, couldn't I?) Will there be any significant amperage difference and will 24v produce more height? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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