What does a rascal scooter and a 180 gallon aquarium have in common? (lots of pics)

[Sparkss]

Just to comment on the noise. I don't really see it as a big deal, since the noise is ONLY when you need to remove/move the canopy for maintaining the tank. Goodness only knows the noise that can be heard around our tank when I am up to my armpits working in it .

Great design and implementation. Once you get that tank/stand skinned it will be awesome, and something that I personally would love to have in our livingroom.

[goodblasson]

That is awesome. You should be very proud.

[dandy7200]

PLease give link to other thread .

[sidewinder770]

Do you mean a link to my thread? Here is a link to the page that has some pics with the actuator and the video-

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...&pagenumber=25

[aztbs]

Scott's thread is definitely worth checking out the whole thing. This is the link to my pseudo-build thread:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=815505

[Cuby2k]

WOW. I am a mechanical engineer by trade (30 years) and thought I had a decent idea for lifting the hood on my 180.

Suddenly I feel like Mozart's rival Salieri (SIC?), man I am a slouch.

What an incredible system you have built. ANY shortcomings that you might feel are negligible. The toughest part of any product is coming up with the initial design, refinement is for detail helpers.

I am very impressed. Thanks for sharing all of that.

[elliotklinger]

Impressive! I was thinking of similar thing for my canopy except using the drawer rails and have lights attached to wood on the rail- pull them out of canopy when I need to work with lighting or work inside the tank. I've seen some large and think drawer rail that would be perfect for large canopy- someday, I'll do that and maybe add motor so it would come out on its own.

[aztbs]

elliotk - We brainstormed about rails on the ceiling that would allow us to slide the whole canopy over to the side away from the tank. Problem with that was a ceiling fan on one side and not enough room to slide the other way. The other thought was that if the lights stayed above the tank, just lifted up, it would give me light to work on the tank/place new corals. Now that I have been using it, I have to say that is the best thing I ever did.

Cuby2k - Wow, I am flattered! This was an evolving idea and I have a mechanically gifted hubby. We went back and forth with so many plans and much of it was derived from what we had to work with. Shortcomings - mostly the noise. It is chain driven and sounds like it with the grumbling rumble as it lifts. It is certainly no smooth hydraulic or actuated graceful thing like Scott (sidewinder) posted above. But, the noise really is no big deal because it is not running all the time. I don't mind it. It runs off of a DC motor. The batteries will need charging and eventual replacement. The screw lift will need to be oiled up occasionally and debris can be an issue. We intend to put some chain guards/tracks in, do a little more aligning/stabilization.
Besides some tweaking and cosmetic issues, I have been raising and lowering it every single day and it works fantastically. If I lower it too far, it reaches the bottom of the screw and it can stick to the lower stop. That means crawling in to the attic to give it a tug to free it. The motor has a torque sensing protection to keep it from burning out, so if the resistance is too much, it will not turn. That is a good thing in my opinion.

My only other advice is that this kind of thing may not be suitable for a Metal Halide system. It has some vibration (most of which we can eliminate with the tuning/tweaking I mentioned above). If you have very delicate lights I wouldn't do this.
Scotts system moves, but his lights are on pendants so the hanging helps absorb any vibration. Maybe with a pendant, this would work.

Final word is, I love it. Here is another picture of it taken with a much better camera:

[melev]

I really love the original video with the sound track. I vote you put it back online, because it makes it even more impressive.

[xtrstangx]

One man's trash really is one man's treasure.

[Satori]

Originally posted by aztbs
Then Bill remembered that we had a junked out old scooter that had been in the family. The occupant had bought a new one and the guys had salvaged the motor and chassis in the hopes of making themselves a remote control mobile ice chest for camping.

I think you guys should have followed through with the motorized cooler idea.

This is from this year's CES in Vegas:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/01/11/g....ap/index.html

"What's the point of relaxing at the lake or campground if you get sore lugging a packed cooler of drinks? That's where the $499 Cruzin Cooler comes in.

"It's the world's first motorized, rideable ice chest," said Charles Pennington, director of national retail accounts for Cruzin Cooler LLC.

The Cruzin Cooler comes with a padded seat for the rider and an electric or gas motor. It can hold 27 12-ounce cans, but you can pack more in a $149 trailer cooler that hooks onto the motorized lead cooler. You supply your own ice.

An ice chest/scooter looked totally out of place at the electronics show. But Pennington noted that the product actually is ridiculous in any setting -- which is why people want it. The company has sold 40,000, he said.

Two of the coolers' specs caught our attention. One is that the driver can weigh up to 300 pounds. The other is how fast the Cruzin Cooler can cruise.

"Fourteen miles per hour," Pennington said. "Which is haulin' *** on an ice chest."

[melev]

Too bad that article didn't have any pictures.

Originally posted by aztbs
elliotk - We brainstormed about rails on the ceiling that would allow us to slide the whole canopy over to the side away from the tank. Problem with that was a ceiling fan on one side and not enough room to slide the other way. The other thought was that if the lights stayed above the tank, just lifted up, it would give me light to work on the tank/place new corals. Now that I have been using it, I have to say that is the best thing I ever did.

Cuby2k - Wow, I am flattered! This was an evolving idea and I have a mechanically gifted hubby. We went back and forth with so many plans and much of it was derived from what we had to work with. Shortcomings - mostly the noise. It is chain driven and sounds like it with the grumbling rumble as it lifts. It is certainly no smooth hydraulic or actuated graceful thing like Scott (sidewinder) posted above. But, the noise really is no big deal because it is not running all the time. I don't mind it. It runs off of a DC motor. The batteries will need charging and eventual replacement. The screw lift will need to be oiled up occasionally and debris can be an issue. We intend to put some chain guards/tracks in, do a little more aligning/stabilization.
Besides some tweaking and cosmetic issues, I have been raising and lowering it every single day and it works fantastically. If I lower it too far, it reaches the bottom of the screw and it can stick to the lower stop. That means crawling in to the attic to give it a tug to free it. The motor has a torque sensing protection to keep it from burning out, so if the resistance is too much, it will not turn. That is a good thing in my opinion.

My only other advice is that this kind of thing may not be suitable for a Metal Halide system. It has some vibration (most of which we can eliminate with the tuning/tweaking I mentioned above). If you have very delicate lights I wouldn't do this.
Scotts system moves, but his lights are on pendants so the hanging helps absorb any vibration. Maybe with a pendant, this would work.

Final word is, I love it. Here is another picture of it taken with a much better camera:

Any updates on this tank?

[aztbs]

Originally posted by Satori
I think you guys should have followed through with the motorized cooler idea.

Wouldn't you know it!!!! Next time I have a wicked-dumb idea, I am going straight to the patent office! aaarrrrg!

As for the tank update, it is doing fabulously. It still has the "temporary" 21-month old pine canopy, but we have made major progress on the other woodwork. The canopy will get rebuilt in oak to match the stand, the top black trim on the tank will be hidden by some decorative molding and the open side of the end cabinet will get covered. The lift still works great after all this time, I can't imagine how I would ever live without it! Here is the "now and then" picture for ya!

[aztbs]

Oh, and the idea thief's home page, with video for you Marc, is here http://www.cruzincooler.com/

[Satori]

Originally posted by aztbs
Oh, and the idea thief's home page, with video for you Marc, is here http://www.cruzincooler.com/

That's good stuff! I'm going to have to repost that.

[melev]

Originally posted by aztbs
Oh, and the idea thief's home page, with video for you Marc, is here http://www.cruzincooler.com/

That's truly ridiculous but still funny.

How come you've not cornered the market on canopy elevating yet? You need a cool site like that one.