rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 Following on from my other thread "has it gone out?" I am looking for ideas to automate my squirrel. Current thinking is a Bluetooth controlled air valve and a wifi camera, both controlled by phone. The air valve will allow air into the bottom of the stove to kick start it first thing in the morning without the need for getting out of bed. Thoughts? PS. It is not compulsory for anyone to reply, or follow this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB Lola Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 Onesie and warm slippers, much easier But seriously, interesting idea, not sure about how the mechanics would work, let alone the commands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob-M Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Why not get a long pipe and some bellows, you could then give the bellows a few pumps in the morning to push some air through before getting out of bed. Edited November 2, 2018 by Rob-M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 1 minute ago, Rob-M said: Why not get a long pipe and some bellows, you could then give the bellows a few pumps in the morning to push some air through before getting out of bed. I like that idea kiss! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Dog Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 How about a spring loaded switch with a wind sock attached. Whilst the eco fan is blowing and keeping the wind sock filled, the spring remains compressed and the switch is held open. When the fire dies down the eco fan slows and, after many hours depending on the solid fuel loaded, eventually the wind in the sock will be reduced to the point where the spring will close the switch. Then you simply need an electro-mechanical system which increases the draught and resupplies the fuel. Simple! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Mrs Rusty has just suggested a mechanical pushrod/flap system. Similar to the old squirrel that has a round blanking flap/airwash system at the back. A long push rod would be required to operate from the bed. This would require a new hole /flap in the existing stove, so is a stupid, stupid idea, but i ain't brave enough to tell her. Edited November 2, 2018 by rusty69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nut Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 buy a pet pig and train it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 Just now, Nut said: buy a pet pig and train it To do what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmelly Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 1 hour ago, rusty69 said: Following on from my other thread "has it gone out?" I am looking for ideas to automate my squirrel. Current thinking is a Bluetooth controlled air valve and a wifi camera, both controlled by phone. The air valve will allow air into the bottom of the stove to kick start it first thing in the morning without the need for getting out of bed. Thoughts? PS. It is not compulsory for anyone to reply, or follow this thread Whilst this is one of your insane wheezes my last stove did have automatic control of the lower vent and could be adjusted to keep within a certain temperature range 24/7 whilstever fuel was in the stove. Proper stove but two big for a sewer tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said: Whilst this is one of your insane wheezes my last stove did have automatic control of the lower vent and could be adjusted to keep within a certain temperature range 24/7 whilstever fuel was in the stove. Proper stove but two big for a sewer tube. Do tell more.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmelly Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, rusty69 said: Do tell more.................. It was a large pot belly. Superb stove. I have mentioned them before. It had a ventilation flap at the rear attached to a gadget that moved slightly with temperature change, iirc it was on the bimetal sort of principle. As the temp dropped a couple of degrees the vent was opened etc etc. It was adjustable and we set it up after a bit of fiddling to get the thing adjusted correctly it worked well. You could manualy overide it, in other words unhitch it say on going to bed to drop the temp a little. Proper bit of kit. If I buy another comfy boat I will hunt out another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 1 minute ago, mrsmelly said: It was a large pot belly. Superb stove. I have mentioned them before. It had a ventilation flap at the rear attached to a gadget that moved slightly with temperature change, iirc it was on the bimetal sort of principle. As the temp dropped a couple of degrees the vent was opened etc etc. It was adjustable and we set it up after a bit of fiddling to get the thing adjusted correctly it worked well. You could manualy overide it, in other words unhitch it say on going to bed to drop the temp a little. Proper bit of kit. If I buy another comfy boat I will hunt out another. That sounds brilliant. A bimetalic thermo valve. Now, where can I buy one to fit my squirrel?.....scuttles off to engine room to knock up a prototype Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess-- Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 7 minutes ago, mrsmelly said: It was a large pot belly. Superb stove. I have mentioned them before. It had a ventilation flap at the rear attached to a gadget that moved slightly with temperature change, iirc it was on the bimetal sort of principle. As the temp dropped a couple of degrees the vent was opened etc etc. It was adjustable and we set it up after a bit of fiddling to get the thing adjusted correctly it worked well. You could manualy overide it, in other words unhitch it say on going to bed to drop the temp a little. Proper bit of kit. If I buy another comfy boat I will hunt out another. similar idea runs my boiler (knob & arm on top left), temperature drops - arm lifts up opening air flap, set the desired water temperature with the knob and leave it alone. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB Lola Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 13 minutes ago, rusty69 said: That sounds brilliant. A bimetalic thermo valve. Now, where can I buy one to fit my squirrel?.....scuttles off to engine room to knock up a prototype Use an eco fan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 Remove existing bottom air vent, replace with bluetooth controlled computer fan in a d̶u̶c̶k̶ duct. Top of duct connected to top of flue pipe to feed in warm air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumshie Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 hours ago, rusty69 said: I am looking for ideas to automate my squirrel. I believe Dr Frankenstein had some thoughts on that...... oh no, that was animate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 1 minute ago, Tumshie said: I believe Dr Frankenstein had some thoughts on that...... oh no, that was animate. He had an animated squirrel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacet Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 20 minutes ago, rusty69 said: That sounds brilliant. A bimetalic thermo valve. Now, where can I buy one to fit my squirrel?.....scuttles off to engine room to knock up a prototype £31.50 from https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Thermostat-to-Suit-Various-Parkray-Models-115074/719867747?iid=112608157165&chn=ps You may need to make a few brackets etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumshie Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 3 minutes ago, rusty69 said: He had an animated squirrel? Well, you know how it is - you animate one dead thing and suddenly everybody's got a dead thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 3 minutes ago, Tacet said: £31.50 from https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Thermostat-to-Suit-Various-Parkray-Models-115074/719867747?iid=112608157165&chn=ps You may need to make a few brackets etc. Now were getting somewhere, looks good,although a bit bulky. If only a rotary heatproof temperature controlled valved could be substituted for the bottom air vent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree monkey Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 45 minutes ago, mrsmelly said: Whilst this is one of your insane wheezes my last stove did have automatic control of the lower vent and could be adjusted to keep within a certain temperature range 24/7 whilstever fuel was in the stove. Proper stove but two big for a sewer tube. We had something similar when I was a brat. A rotary control which adjusted a air vent controlled by a bimetalic strip, worked well until a bit of grit got caught behind the vent. Being woken in the small hours by the sound of the hot water tank boiling was not uncommon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tacet Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) 12 minutes ago, rusty69 said: Now were getting somewhere, looks good,although a bit bulky. If only a rotary heatproof temperature controlled valved could be substituted for the bottom air vent It's been a while since I saw one, but I recall that that it was set vertically like a pendulum - with the air flap at the bottom, presumably to ease the load on the actuator. There was a knob to twiddle at the top (probably the brass shaft showing?) to adjust the temperature. I imagine it pushed against the piston. The knob was marked with degrees and made less than one turn from stop to stop . Anyway, if you put some sort of electric twiddller to the shaft (maybe a an actuator from a 3 port plumbing valve?) controlled by your phone, all will be well. When Bizzard arrives, he will provide a simpler solution using only string. Edited November 2, 2018 by Tacet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NB Lola Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 Ok, you need a live squirrel. Put a Harness on the squirrel and tie a string to the harness. Wind the string around the vent, having first wrapped a friction band around the vent. Buy some peanut butter and some automatic dog feeders with remote control. Add peanut butter to each feeder. Every time you want the vent opening more, use the remote control to open a feeder pouch which is a few inches away from the previous one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewbacka Posted November 2, 2018 Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Take the blades off your eco fan and replace with a governor mechanism, the faster the fan spins the more the air valve closes. Edited November 2, 2018 by Chewbacka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty69 Posted November 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2018 18 minutes ago, NB Lola said: Ok, you need a live squirrel. Put a Harness on the squirrel and tie a string to the harness. Wind the string around the vent, having first wrapped a friction band around the vent. Buy some peanut butter and some automatic dog feeders with remote control. Add peanut butter to each feeder. Every time you want the vent opening more, use the remote control to open a feeder pouch which is a few inches away from the previous one. I think our cats would eat the squirrel before it got to the peanut butter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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