The Poultry Keeper

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

I'm just about to order one but wondered if its really necessary to get the sliding door and runners (extra £20) as I have perfectly good strong wooden runners and wooden door.

The doors about 14" high and 12" wide, made of 1/2" timber with a 1"x1" batten up the middle which my lock is fixed to at the moment.

The VSB unit and timer will have to be mounted above and to the side of the pophole, as there's not enough headroom above it to allow the door to slide up fully, so I'll have to put a couple of pulleys on to run the cable round.

What I'm wondering is, can I fix the cable to my wooden door or will the wooden door be too heavy considering the cable's got to go round 2 pulleys on its way to the unit.

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2671 Location: South Cumbria

mine only runs on batteries 4 aa and the door is aluminuim so very light the 'cable ' on mine is fishing line at a guess I would say you would have trouble with perhaps a wooden door jamming if it got wet + the weight, mine was a gift from a lovely man so I have no idea if the cable has been changed I wouldn't be without it now and am planning on buying another after my hoilday Wink

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

Hmmm thanks Gilly, looks like I'm gonna have to fork out the extra £20 quid then. I had thought about the door sticking, but it's got quite a bit of 'play' between the wooden runners. Was just the weight of it I was worried about lol

Don't want the cable breaking and the door decapitating one of my prize pekins lol

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2671 Location: South Cumbria

I could go take a pic and you could see if making your own door would be cheaper ?

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

Thanks Gilly I did some research on the openers and evidently they'll lift a door weighing 3kilos thats some door lol

Mines only about 1/2 kilo in weight if that so I'm risking not getting the metal door. If I find it's struggling I'll get some aluminium and use that as a door instead.

Thanks for your help.

Dusty · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 1042 Location: St. Asaph

Hi my door is a wooden one and i've had no problem with the automatic opener.

I read a query somewhere about there not being enough room for the door to open if the opener is above and the answer was to mount the opener on a batton and attach the cord to the bottom of the door so when it opens it rises behind the baton.

Don't know if this helps.

Try and contact the people who I got my opener from - member of this forum HelenC at www.wiltshirechickens.co.uk she may be able to advise.

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

Thats where i've got mine from, they're away til 9th August on holiday. Thanks for the tips about the batten, that makes sense.

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

I'm confused.

I fitted the automatic door opener today with the timer. From the scanty instructions it says:

To control the opener with the timer, bridge pins 5 and 6 with the 2" wire supplied.

Which I've done.

I want it to open at 8am and close at 9pm, so I've altered the timer to operate at that time.

BUT, when I tried to test it by covering the sensor nothing happened, it didnt close. The VSB unit is directly over the door and the timers to the side of it, so not using any pulleys or anything, just a straight connection to the door using the cable thats supplied.

Can anyone tell me if I've connected it properly?

The brown and white terminals on the VSB are connected via the cable to the brown and white terminals on the timer, and the pins 5 and 6 on the VSB are joined by the red wire with 2 clips each end.

So why dont it close? I'll be out there at 9pm tonight to see if it closes. Rolling Eyes

Woodburner · Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 7:30 pm Post subject:

Not sure as the only 'automatic door' system I've seen working was a simple switch operated one my dad rigged up to operate from a switch in the kitchen, but it sounds as though you have wired it to be worked by the timer when you really want it to work off the sensor.

Edit: It sounds like it should work at the right time with the timer but I'd check anyway Wink

Gilly C · Joined: 22 Jun 2006 Posts: 2671 Location: South Cumbria

mine works fine off the sensor but more like 5am and 10pm wait and see if the timer works, got my fingers crossed for you Smile

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

Thanks

Got another hour til dark lol

It should close at 9pm, thats when the timers set to close it, and open at 8.

What confuses me is, why you have to bridge terminals 5 and 6 to operate it on timer only.

If it doesnt work I'll take the timer off it so it opens n the morning but trouble is it'll open at 4am instead of 8am then, and mr fox and mr badger are around then. eeep

Woodburner · Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:43 pm Post subject:

The wire is probably simply bypassing the sensor part of the circuit, so that it will close/open at the set time whatever the light conditions.

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

Think you're right WB.

I changed the closing time from 9pm to 8.30pm cos it's almost dark and the chooks had all gone to bed anyway.

And there I was crouched outside the chook house (the run's only 3ft high) piddling down with rain, although I was under the run roof waiting for the door to close lmao

I am pleased to announce it works! Gotta get out there for 8am in the morning to check it opens it ok

I need to get out more lol

Dusty · Joined: 07 Jan 2008 Posts: 1042 Location: St. Asaph

Oh Pekinout just had a vision of you crouched in the rain in your pen Laughing

Gave me a laugh, hope you didn't get too wet though Smile

Pekinout · Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 1219 Location: Cornwall

lol no I was ok Dusty.

Its opening the wooden door and closing it perfectly, but the chooks now put themselves to bed at 8.15pm so had to alter the timer from 9 to 8.30pm. I'm worried now that the door will stick, not that it has yet, but I'm just an old worrier. Rolling Eyes

It's worked perfectly everytime so far. Daft to worry really.