WilliamUK
Well-Known Member
Don't get me wrong - I know exactly what unpacking an Airfix is like - love it... but kids these days? I dunno.
Exhaust Alarm
- Thread starter BlueLancer
- Start date
Don't get me wrong - I know exactly what unpacking an Airfix is like - love it... but kids these days? I dunno.
Puggy
Well-Known Member
Put mine together
All seems to work as described. Great fun soldering it together - very satisfying. I actually bought another small box from Maplins and their loudest piezo buzzer and a red LED and put them all in it, as my engine is buried under the saloon floor and I needed to mount the buzzer somewhere I could hear it when on deck. I know it looks a bit amateur but it works and will be out of sight, and I had lots of fun making it..
So will fit the kit next weekend. I will let you know how that goes.
All seems to work as described. Great fun soldering it together - very satisfying. I actually bought another small box from Maplins and their loudest piezo buzzer and a red LED and put them all in it, as my engine is buried under the saloon floor and I needed to mount the buzzer somewhere I could hear it when on deck. I know it looks a bit amateur but it works and will be out of sight, and I had lots of fun making it..
So will fit the kit next weekend. I will let you know how that goes.
BlueLancer
Well-Known Member
Great, my kits have finally arrived, so much soldering and swearing for me. What size wire did you use?
Amulet
Well-Known Member
I haven't seen the article, but a simple method has been described on the forums several times, including by me having shamelessly copied it from a previous poster. Parts in my case cost laughably little. It seems still to work after several years. Every now and again I put the heat gun on it to see if it goes off.
Heat sensitive switch between two jubilee clips and a very loud buzzer. Far and away the most expensive components were the jubilee clips.
You can get different buzzers "beeeeeeee..... " and "beep.. beep.. beep.. ", so if you were seriously keen you could have different alarms for different exhausts. I'd put two sensors in parallel so that either exhaust would set of the alarm and accept the need to check both exhausts if you got an alarm.
Heat sensitive switch between two jubilee clips and a very loud buzzer. Far and away the most expensive components were the jubilee clips.
You can get different buzzers "beeeeeeee..... " and "beep.. beep.. beep.. ", so if you were seriously keen you could have different alarms for different exhausts. I'd put two sensors in parallel so that either exhaust would set of the alarm and accept the need to check both exhausts if you got an alarm.
Puggy
Well-Known Member
Errmm just regular 1.5mm tinned marine cable that I had lying around...
richardabeattie
Well-Known Member
I'm certainly learning about micro soldering but I have a query on the polarity of the red Led. The instructions show the shorter leg - the cathode - going into the hole nearest the legend LD. But on the printed circuit it looks different. Does the short leg go into the hole in the white mark or the hole next to "relay on"?
In any case what is the Led for if the whole thing is to go inside an opaque box?
In any case what is the Led for if the whole thing is to go inside an opaque box?
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Interlude
Well-Known Member
Great idea, I built one recently from scratch, but using the kit makes it a proposition for non electronics types. First I measured the temperature of the elbow using a thermocouple based meter - saw sea temp +3 degrees C. But a word of warning - when you turn the engine off, the elbow temp will increase (the heat in the block has to go somewhere). So I saw 26C when the engine was running (at 69C), but increasing to about 40C after turn off. So if you have it set to 30C and restart before it has had time to cool down (after a short lunch )- you will get a false alarm. I have mine set to about 45C. An additional feature if you calibrate the control is that you can easily check the running temp from time to time by adjusting the control to sound the buzzer - may give early warning of the sea water inlet fouling or the impeller failing. I also wired the output in parallel with the existing temp switch (via a series diode) so it operates the existing alarm - LEDs tell me which is the source of the alarm.
)- you will get a false alarm. I have mine set to about 45C. An additional feature if you calibrate the control is that you can easily check the running temp from time to time by adjusting the control to sound the buzzer - may give early warning of the sea water inlet fouling or the impeller failing. I also wired the output in parallel with the existing temp switch (via a series diode) so it operates the existing alarm - LEDs tell me which is the source of the alarm.