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 Post subject: So my facet has a new button, for a sprayer
PostPosted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 3:38 am 
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am
Posts: 1322
Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
I started to facet a stone for the first time in a few months, and I could not find the drip tank that I need for roughing out only. GRRRRRRR.

I remembered a project that I had in mind, and went ahead and prototyped the first version.


I now have a new button on my facet machine that sprays a mist. Version 1 is working, but needs some improvements.



Image



(the red button and the white wand)


SO… what is it?

I did all of this from misc parts I had laying around:

The sprayer is pulled from a gallon of Round Up that came with a battery powered sprayer.


The momentary button is from a led I bought for my RV. It is the “Try me now” button.

The sprayer actually had 4 AA Duracell batteries.

The original switch for the sprayer actually uses spring that returns the button as an electrical contact. The button on the original wand also opens a small valve for the feed line. Daaaaaaaaaa I took this out to simify things. I just realized that it not only cut the feed, but it stopped the line from draining.


I hooked the pump up spare 5 volt power supply. I did not want to replace batteries in the middle of a stone.

It used the last slot on the power strip for the facet machine. (Light, humidifier, facet machine, DAD power, and now the sprayer power) If I think if anything else, I may have to get a linger power strip. :)

I rinsed the gallon jug and use it for the water supply.

For initial tests I just held the button, and it was working so well that I went ahead and drilled the hold in the bracket that holds the drip tray and mounted the switch. It is only 5 volts, so there is nothing to worry about.

It is pretty convenient to press the button with my left hand when I am cutting.

I originally planned on a foot switch and was thinking of how I could build one (a lot more time than money). But I do not think that I will bother .


But I do have a few Planned improvements:
1) I am going to try changing out the sprayer tip with one from a hand spray pump. It will create a finer mist
2) I am going to install a check valve at the bottom of the intake. If I do not use the sprayer for a few minutes I have to re-prime the pump. I think I have light plastic ones that I have from another project. They are intended for air lines, but I can at least try them.
3) If the new spray head works out, I will thread it through the remains of a flexible flashlight that I picked up at the charity shop for 10 cents. Then the Mister Head (I forgot what Jon named it) can have a little more dignity (not that it has much to begin with)


Overall, for the total cost of 0.00 (everything was scavenged) and about an hour it is not too bad.

You may ask yourself why not just a drip?

1) I could not find the @#@#$% @#$% drip tank…… #-o

I spent more time looking for it that I did making the prototype. I have NO idea of where it ended up. I probably put it in a box someplace when I was cleaning up. (The memory problems after radiation are really frustrating. But better than the alternative…. At least I am looking at the green side of the grass and not the root. :lol:

2) I like to tinker, it was a distraction. … but there are some real advantages:
3) The drip is going all of the time.
a.If you do an inspection, it is dripping.
b If you have to take a phone call, it is dripping.
c. Not generally a problem, but a pain when you are going a girdle. The spray just keeps on coming.
4) I can hit the button only when I need it
a. During initial rough cutting it is more
b. The final stages of the girdle need less
c. During an inspection, it in not at all\
5 The mist covers a wider area immediately
The drip had to be aligned for the inside and then spread out.
6) I have now have a one gallon jug for the sprayer. This is the same capacity as the gallon milk jug that I have to collect the drain hose.
a. I can probably cut a few days without filling it up. (My home made replacement tank held about 3 cups of water. ) Once in a while, I was concentrating on the stone and missed the drip tank being empty, until the lap was dry.
b. The spray feed tank is now the same capacity as the gallon milk jug I use for the drain. So when I am out of water for the sprayer, I know that I also need to empty the drain tank. Once in a while I had missed the drain jug filling up…….. It was a mess……
7) The drip tank holder got in the way of the humidifier head when polishing. So I loosened it up to swing it out of the way. Once in a while it would rattle…… a sound my wife hates…….
8) The jug can be anywhere, right now it is out of the way on a corner of the table. It could be under the table on the floor by the drain tank….. Mmmmmmm, think I will put it there so I am reminded to empty the drain tank when I am out of water.


Anyhow, I spent 2 hours typing this up and trying to proof read it…. Twice as long as it took me find all of the pieces (45 minutes) and rewire the spray wand (15 minutes).


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 Post subject: Re: So my facet has a new button, for a sprayer
PostPosted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 4:59 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 2:34 am
Posts: 24
Location: San Diego, California
I gotta say that the Raytheon dragon snout you have the wand attached to is awesome... You should run the sprayer though the dragon's nose (one for each nostril of course) and have it spray mist. :D If you wanna get extra fancy you can rig in some red LEDs for fire action.

Jay


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 Post subject: Re: So my facet has a new button, for a sprayer
PostPosted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:29 am 
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am
Posts: 1322
Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
CurazyJ wrote:
I gotta say that the Raytheon dragon snout you have the wand attached to is awesome... You should run the sprayer though the dragon's nose (one for each nostril of course) and have it spray mist. :D If you wanna get extra fancy you can rig in some red LEDs for fire action.

Jay


I like that idea.

I am going to wait to make a change like that until after I have tested a new mist head (which will be a while).

I was going to update this thread with a new post anyhow.


Version 2 of the sprayer is doing pretty good.

(check valve, spray bottle sprayer, replaced switch)

The check valve (from a car vacuum line) is doing well. The sprayer sat unused for 2 days and it worked immediately with no loss of prime.

The original switch did not last long (no real surprise it was only designed to be used for a demo display). I replaced the initial switch with a better switch, and so far it is doing pretty good.

The only real “problem” is that the spray is not as fine of a mist as I would like.

It is still better than a pure drip, but not as good as it could be. Back in Dallas I have some cooling misters, I think I have a few When I get back, I will try switching to a mister head and see if the pump can generate enough pressure to make a mist.


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 Post subject: Re: So my facet has a new button, for a sprayer
PostPosted: Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:59 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:00 am
Posts: 1322
Location: Wylie Texas but in Alaska for a while
This is the quick update on the sprayer that I made for fastening machine

I will describe the finished solution

I started with a empty gallon of round up that came with a little electric sprayer

I rinsed it very well and took the wand apart


I wired up a power supply to replace the batteries and a momentary switch that I mounted on the front of the facet machine

on close i picked up out a mister set for cooling your patio for about $3

I used the very last mister and connected it to the pump i used a coupler i had for joining my oxygen tubes when i could not use cpap


I also took a small vacuum check valve from the auto parts store that wad about a dollar. I put it at the bottom of the feed from the water tank. this solve the problem where the pump would loose prime if it was not used for a few minutes. Now I can go for days and I get the mist as soon as I hit the button

I went to my local charity shop or Goodwill and picked up one of those flashlights that has a flexible been the gooseneck fir a dollar

I was in a screw this to the base of my fast machine and then took off the flashlight head and used some heat shrink tubing them to fix the Mistr head in two places. I now haveflexible head that I could adjust to mister to anywhere on the lap

I get a very fine mist at the touch of a button

Are use the mist when I'm cutting I want to flush the waste

Polishing I normally use an ultrasonic humidifier and the new water based fluid from Geerlings in 90 percent of the time that provides that keeps the polishing lap just damp

Once in a while if I do more cutting during the pre-polish And I need a little extra water to flush out the chips. I can I can use the misting head for this

One last advantage is that I have a large bottle for my overflow tank that holds a little over again the original container for the round up holds a gallon so I now know that if I run out of water in the misting machine it's time to empty the drain tank

And I don't have to worry about overflowing it


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