# Fertilizer Dosing pump



## ruben (Aug 11, 2004)

This is a very simple project that I developed, Eheim products are horribly expensive in Mexico, It was improved by Ruud and now published (in Dutch) in his pages.
All you need is a timer, syringes, 2 check valves, a "T", small screws, pieces of sheet metal, some spare time.
I didn´t use the aluminum Ruud used as a base for the syringe but instead used a piece of PVC tubing (A Dremel tool help me carved it). A small screw works as a pivot (placed where "Rotate" is) I use a piece of sheet metal instead of that strange beige thing
A check valve in one side allows the fertilizer to go into the syringe, another one allows the fertilizer to go to the aquarium
Terumo syringes work better than BD, I tried all sizes from 60 ml to 1 ml, only 1 and 3 ml worked fine, bigger ones stuck, the injection cycle lasts 12 hours

Here's a photo (from Ruud pages)


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

This is beautiful! Great for dosing small amounts and most important of all doesn't need to be refilled as often as the Eheim liquidoser seeing you can feed it from any size container. Further it should be able to provide plenty of head so it can all be hidden under the tank. If you get one of those larger exterior timers the turning mechanism may be stronger, allowing you to use larger syringes. This is one I have to try 

Thanks
Giancarlo Podio


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## ruben (Aug 11, 2004)

I tried a bigger timer but to my surprise the electric motor is the same as in the small ones


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

In that case for larger doses you would be best to use a timing motor, I've salvaged a few from old dishwashers but they can be purchased cheap at surplus stores:

http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm?subsection=18

There's models from 2rpm to 2rpd (revs per day for hour hand movement). They are usually very strong due to the large gear ratio used. I always wanted to make my own pumps with these but I didn't want to bother with the control circuit to change the speed in order to change the dose. This design on the other hand can accomodate various dosing volumes by changing syringe size and off-center position of the plunger without having to change the motor speed. Much easier to realize and adjust IMO.

Thanks
Giancarlo Podio


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## ruben (Aug 11, 2004)

That's a good idea, I just have to find one


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Ingenious idea! But how do you attach the screw to the base of the syringe? Just say you need to dose 8mls per day, would you need an 8ml syringe? And when you say the "injection cycle lasts 12 hours", does that mean you have to reprogram the timer everyday?


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

The way I see it.... the timer just keeps turning, one revolution per day, meaning that for 12 hours the plunger is being pulled up (sucking ferts into the syringe) and the following 12 hours it's pushed down (sending the ferts into the tank). You can adjust the amount the plunger moves up and down by sliding the position where the plunger is connected to the rotating bar, the closer to the center the less vertical movement per revolution. But unless the motor is strong enough you likely won't be able to adjust it far enough off center to use the entire length of the syringe, so you may be better using a larger syringe and adjusting it to only use a small part of it. This would be a lighter load on the motor.

Giancarlo


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## ruben (Aug 11, 2004)

You're right it only fertilizes half of the day, no reprograming is necesary the timer just keep going 
As I tried to explain in the original post, I made a sleeve with a piece of PVC pipe, this is where you place the screws and attach the syringe, I forgot my camera today but I'll add some photos tomorrow.
With this kind of timer you can't dose 8 ml, the logical way was to use a 10 ml syringe which I tried (also tried 5, 20, and 60 ml), but is not reliable, it gets stuck frequently due to the lack of power from the small timer motor, if you can find a bigger one (like gpodio suggests it may work), this small timer can work with 1 and 3 ml syringes, they can deliver 0.1 to 0.7 ml (1 ml syringe) and 0.5 to 2.4 ml (3 ml syringe)
You should try with different sizes and brand names, not all of them work, some stuck quite easy (BD), for me Terumo worked, but I don't know if we have the same products
Another idea, if you find a bigger motor, why not 2 opposing syringes? (Like a BMW motorcycle engine) it may work and you have all day dosing, or dosing 2 different fertilizers

As you have already noticed, English is not my mother tongue, so feel free to edit the post, saludos desde Guadalajara
By the way I haven't seen yet an American (U.S.) posting in Spanish, why don't you try ? http://www.drpez.net/panel/showthread.php?t=68288


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

I can just see a V8 unit around the corner allowing you to dose everything individually 

Regarding the syringes getting stuck, you will find that syringes are not made for long term use. The rubber plunger will loose it's lubricant rather quickly and will tend to get stiffer with time, meaning the likelyhood of it jamming up. I would suggest lubricating the plunger with silicon based lubricant, the same you use for O-Rings and pump impellers. Once a month should keep everything moving freely. It may even help get a larger syringe to work for you with the existing motor.

Giancarlo


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## ruben (Aug 11, 2004)

A V8 sounds nice, but looking at my car (V12 Jaguar) I see a better option :lol:


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

I just use an Aqua medic dosing pump, they run 88$ but work great to the ml. They can have any sized reservior so I only refill once every month or so. 

You can adjust the solution concentration to match your desired levels in the tank/dosing etc and use a number of DIY devices I've seen. 
Timer based ideas work well, there are many designs that will pinch a silicone tubing line and allow on/off from 15 min up to 12 hours etc.



Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## SCMurphy (Jan 28, 2004)

Interesting idea for autodosing for less than $20. I'm not sure I understand the timing motor recommendation Giancarlo, could you please elaborate on that a little more for us non engineering types?



plantbrain said:


> I just use an Aqua medic dosing pump, they run 88$ but work great to the ml. They can have any sized reservior so I only refill once every month or so.


Congratulations :?:


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

Timing motors or clock motors... they are used in washing machines, large clocks and just about anything else that needs a mechanical timer. Clock motors have a set speed and 1, 2 or 3 shafts for each hand of the clock, single hour hand motors would be perfect, many old train station style clocks used a single hour hand without a minute hand. Timing motors on the other hand come in various speed ratios, but they are all rather slow and very powerful as they often need to turn a large number of mechanical pieces. AC motors are best, they are cheap and the timing is kept accurate by the 110v frequency rather than having to use control circuits. The rest is just a lot of reduction gears.

Giancarlo


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

Ruben, I would also suggest moving the pivot point of the syringe to the tip rather than half way up the syringe body. This will reduce the swinging of the tip where the hoses are connected to meaning less strain for the motor.

Giancarlo


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

Are you going to build this Gian? If you do, please post pics on your improved version.


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## ruben (Aug 11, 2004)

Yes in my own dispenser the pivot point is very close to the tip of the syringe (as I told you before I use PVC pipes to make a sleeve for the syringe, it's easier to work with), today I found a 2 rpm motor,and like plant brain said I just have to add more water to my fert mixture, and diminish the quantity of fertilizer per cycle going into the tank.
All improvements are welcomed (and wanted) so far is a Mexican/Spain/Dutch/US project :shock: , the original project was very crude but it has been really improved =D> , I hope it works for you too


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