OpenSprinkler Forums Hardware Questions OpenSprinkler operating power antenna Reply To: operating power antenna

#54137

Ray
Keymaster

One thing I am concerned about is the power draw at the output: the spec sheet says the maximum output of the inverter is 2amp at 12VDC. I am not sure how much current the automatic chicken door actually draws from the inverter, but keep in mind that the output of OpenSprinkler is 800mA max per zone. So if the chicken door draws a full 2amp, I doubt a single zone can output the current required. There are actually several options to get around with this:

– since you have an AC-powered OpenSprinkler, you can get a 24VAC relay (we have a blog post about 24VAC relay: https://opensprinkler.com/using-24v-ac-relays-with-opensprinkler/). Have a zone to control the 24VAC relay, then the relay controls 12VDC supplied to the chicken door. This way, the power required by chicken door is directly drawn from the 12VDC power supply (and not through an inverter).

– another option is to return your AC-powered OpenSprinkler in exchange of a DC-powered OpenSprinkler. The DC-powered OpenSprinkler can be directly powered by 12VDC and can operate any 12VDC device up to 2amp. So this way you can directly wire your chicken door to OpenSprinkler, no relay or inverter required. This is under the assumption that your chicken door is powered by 12VDC and no more than 2amp, if I understand correctly from the drawing.