Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
“I don’t think any software based protection will be able to shut off the triac in time. The short will happen instantly and there won’t be time for the microcontoller to respond. I’ve seen some commercial sprinkler controllers using a huge 10 ohm resistor for short protection. It works, but it’s not going to allow users to open multiple valves at the same time. So in case you don’t open more than 2 valves at a time, you can put a 10 ohm, 25 watt resistor in line with the common wire to server as short protection.”
Thanks Ray. Unfortunately, i do have a use-case where i do run at least 2 valves at the same time. in the mean time, i’m in the process of rigging a smart switch (Shelly) to be triggered “off” in the event the current draw exceeds 800mA. to your point, this is much slower than the event of the short happening, but at least it doesn’t leave the transformer/controller energized when it does detect high current draw.I’ve experienced a very similar problem – a solenoid fails short and overdrives the 24VAC transformer to the extent that in one case it fried the triac and in 2 cases it killed the 24VAC 1000ma transformer. Is there a way for a current limiter, say 500ma, be applied via software to the zones?
1. Understood. Btw, I did try turning ON the next station 30 seconds after the previous one. But I would still see that a station would not turn ON on the Remote. In this sense, they were staggered 30 seconds. How often is the command refreshed on the Master to sync w/ Remote?
2. Understood. I missed this.Since I’m running the stations thru Home Assistant anyway, I might stop using the Master/Remote feature entirely.
Thanks!
Cool. Yeah, I can vpn to my sites also. But I’m using Home Assistant and controlling thru that. Either way, master/slave configurations work very well.
I’m using 3 controllers – 1 main and 2 remote. I run everything thru the main controller and all works well.
got it. i think the safest bet, electrically, is to use the same 24VAC adapter to power both controllers. depending on the rating of it, you may be able to get away with powering 2 solenoids simultaneously. the other option is to wire the 24vac adapters (transformers) in parallel to deliver the same 24VAC but at higher current capacity. e.g. if both are 24VAC rated @ 1A, and you wire in parallel, then you get 24VAC @ 2A, losses notwithstanding. then use this “big” transformer to power both controllers. but they have to be identical. so, safest is to use 1 adapter to power both. and then keep the commons were they belong; similar wiring as your 1st controller.
hi,
i might not be understanding how you’re implementing the 2 controllers, but it seems that if all 16 solenoid wires are going to the same location, then 1 controller + an extender would work better. This would give you 24 stations. But based on how you described, since you have to power 2 controllers, then the commons are independent for each set of 8 zones.
the virtual part of your question is straight forward. let’s call them controller A and B. you can add virtual stations to controller A that connect via IP to controller B. just add another 8 stations in “station handling” in options in controller A. you will now see 16 stations. so for stations 9-16, configure each one (in advanced configuration of the station) as a remote station type connecting to one of the station in controller B. I would assume you would configure stations 9-16 in controller A to connect to stations 1-8 in controller B.
hope that helps.
Looks good. I used your same approach. I’ve yet to connect the valves though (18).
Attachments:
