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electric eye solution

D

Dan

Jan 1, 1970
0
I want to incorporate a sensor of some kind for the toilet to control the
exhaust fan (puns welcome). I already have the controller, relays, level
translators, wires, and fan. I just need a cheap and simple solution, say,
an electric eye that can tell when you sit down and then turn the fan on for
a predetermined amount of time. Any ideas would be appreciated. (I just put
tile on the walls and before I do the grout, I thought I would run the wires
in between the tiles and put the grout over it).

Thanks to All,
Dan
 
J

j.b. miller

Jan 1, 1970
0
I've had a Radio Shack PIR unit that mounts like a standard switch. Has
On-Auto-Off functions. Cost me about $20 15 years ago. Still works well
today. Fan comes on when you enter the room, stops about 8 minutes after you
leave. Doubles as a great for 'shower' timer . Fan stops... you should be
done too !

hth

jay
 
A

Active8

Jan 1, 1970
0
I want to incorporate a sensor of some kind for the toilet to control the
exhaust fan (puns welcome). I already have the controller, relays, level
translators, wires, and fan. I just need a cheap and simple solution, say,
an electric eye that can tell when you sit down and then turn the fan on for
a predetermined amount of time. Any ideas would be appreciated. (I just put
tile on the walls

So when *you* go to the can, the paint peels, eh? Wouldn't a
noxious gas detector be more appropriate? :)
and before I do the grout,

You already did the grunt ;)
I thought I would run the wires
in between the tiles and put the grout over it).

What about an ultrasonic deal in the ceiling? It'll either bounce
off the water, the lid, or the end-user, so when the end-user's
butt-end is on the hopper...

The same thing could be done with IR.

There's gotta be some info on the net. I've used urinals that flush
when you step away.

Pressure switch/sensor under the terlet?
 
R

Robert C Monsen

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dan said:
I want to incorporate a sensor of some kind for the toilet to control the
exhaust fan (puns welcome). I already have the controller, relays, level
translators, wires, and fan. I just need a cheap and simple solution, say,
an electric eye that can tell when you sit down and then turn the fan on for
a predetermined amount of time. Any ideas would be appreciated. (I just put
tile on the walls and before I do the grout, I thought I would run the wires
in between the tiles and put the grout over it).

Thanks to All,
Dan

A nice unit is a sharp GP2D12 infrared proximity detector. Arrow carried
them earlier this year for less than $10 USD. Given 5V, they supply a
voltage between .3 and 3 V, depending on how far away the obstruction is.
I'm using one in an automatic light for a dim hallway, and it works
perfectly.

I suspect they were invented for those auto-flush toilets one sees at
airports...

Regards,
Bob Monsen
 
M

Michael

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dan said:
I want to incorporate a sensor of some kind for the toilet to control the
exhaust fan (puns welcome). I already have the controller, relays, level
translators, wires, and fan. I just need a cheap and simple solution, say,
an electric eye that can tell when you sit down and then turn the fan on for
a predetermined amount of time. Any ideas would be appreciated. (I just put
tile on the walls and before I do the grout, I thought I would run the wires
in between the tiles and put the grout over it).

Thanks to All,
Dan

Do you not want it to come on when you take a piss?
If thats the case if you detect somebody sitting down it will come on
when a female pisses.
Maybe you could time the door switch to see how long somebody is in
there pissing doesn't take very long compared to dropping clangers.

when door opens start timer
when timer reaches 2min start fan
if door opens <2min reset
if fan runs for >30min reset (incase somebody opens the door but
doesn't go in)
and so on...
 
T

Tim Auton

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dan said:
I want to incorporate a sensor of some kind for the toilet to control the
exhaust fan (puns welcome). I already have the controller, relays, level
translators, wires, and fan. I just need a cheap and simple solution, say,
an electric eye that can tell when you sit down and then turn the fan on for
a predetermined amount of time. Any ideas would be appreciated. (I just put
tile on the walls and before I do the grout, I thought I would run the wires
in between the tiles and put the grout over it).

PIR would work to detect a person (and is a cheap "electric eye"),
some kind of pressure sensor under the seat would detect s(h?)itting
persons, a (waterproof?) microswitch could detect flushes, or you
could link it to the light switch. The light switch method I've seen
used in hotels and elsewhere - comes on with the light and stays on
for a couple of minutes after it's switched off.


Tim
 
T

Terry Pinnell

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dan said:
for a predetermined amount of time. Any ideas would be appreciated. (I just
put tile on the walls and before I do the grout, I thought I would run the
wires in between the tiles and put the grout over it).

After considering various other options, I took a different approach
with the ceiling fan in our downstairs toilet.

The fan comes on automatically with the light (there are no windows)
and would normally time-out about 12 mins after switching off the
light out. I changed the original design so that if I don't need the
fan to stay on I pull the switch cord again as I leave, *twice*,
within a short period. The circuit and waveforms are shown at
http://www.terrypin.dial.pipex.com/Images/FanTimer.gif
http://www.terrypin.dial.pipex.com/Images/FanTimerWaves.gif

Haven't got around to explaining this system to visitors, so I still
have to tolerate some redundant fan noise <g>.
 
T

Tom

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dan said:
I want to incorporate a sensor of some kind for the toilet to control the
exhaust fan (puns welcome). I already have the controller, relays, level
translators, wires, and fan. I just need a cheap and simple solution, say,
an electric eye that can tell when you sit down and then turn the fan on for
a predetermined amount of time. Any ideas would be appreciated. (I just put
tile on the walls and before I do the grout, I thought I would run the wires
in between the tiles and put the grout over it).

Thanks to All,
Dan

You need an exhaust fan built into the toilet bowl - are you vegetarians?


Tom
 
R

Rob

Jan 1, 1970
0
Do you not want it to come on when you take a piss?
If thats the case if you detect somebody sitting down it will come on
when a female pisses.
Maybe you could time the door switch to see how long somebody is in
there pissing doesn't take very long compared to dropping clangers.

when door opens start timer
when timer reaches 2min start fan
if door opens <2min reset
if fan runs for >30min reset (incase somebody opens the door but
doesn't go in)
and so on...


Wouldn't a 'motion' sensor be the ideal solution?

Maybe you need to 'log' some data to get the optimum times for running the
fan.

regards
Colon
 
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