Thread: Fogger Timer/Prop Timer Hack

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Originally Posted by mdawson8931

The device will draw only the amps that it requires. So say the device is 4.5v and .5 amps, the power supply needs to have 4.5v output but can be rated at say, 2 amps.

Very nice to know, thanks!

I just got one of the cheep $20 400 foggers from party city
It comes with a basic lit on / off switch

after the unit warms up the light come on and you can hit the button for fog or just leave the button on and get fog every few min's

I want to hook this up to my electric chair so that when i hit the button to power the sander the unit will automatically send a burst of fog

do you think the above setup might get me the effect i'm looking for????

what are you using to control the orbital sander?

all you probably need is a 8.00 relay from radio shack
12VDC/10A DPDT Plug-in Relay - RadioShack.com

open up the switch that came with your fogger (remove screws/cover) there "should" be 3 wires going to the switch, one of the wires is a ground, one is "hot" and the other is the common wire.

find out which wire is ground and just cut it off, you dont need it.

take the other two wires and wire them to the relay in the Normally Open positions (the first two pins on either side, they sit horizontal over the bottom (vertical) pins) now, take a cheap extension cord (I use a 3-6' interior cord), cut off the female end and solder it to the two pins on the very bottom of the relay (you can see in the picture, the bottom pins sit vertical where the other sets of pins sit horizontal)

now, when power is applied to the bottom (vertical) pins, the connection will close on the normally open pins that sit above it, closing the connection on your fogger switch (just like if you had pressed it) producing fog.

now, hook your relay up to the same power source that will control your sander, so when power is applied to your sander, there will also be power applied to your relay causing a fog blast..

its really really super easy.. if you need any help hooking it up, reply to this thread and I can walk you through it.. ill even talk to you over the phone if you need.

I use relays for the exact same thing you are using them for (for fog) but I also hook one of my hacked screamer toys to the other set of pins, so when my prop is triggered, you will hear the amplified scream and a blast of fog.. its super simple and very effective.

if you really want to do it right, get a tripple or quad relay (3 or 4 sets of pins, instead of just 2) that way you can wire other stuff up to your prop to activate as well.. ever wanted to activate a "try me" button on a prop to get flashing eyes? well, you can with a relay.

wow thanks for the info and link
I'll hit you up when i run into problems LOL


as for the chair




the lights on the chair will all go into a surge and then to a remote on / off

and the sander , fogger, and strobes the same way off a sep remote

I picked up a timer at Target yesterday for $2.50. (75% 0ff)
Anyway, it's a Heshan Lide Electronic Enterprise Company Ltd. brand. (how's that for a Chinese company? ). Anyway, model: FWC-4. Looks like the timers here. I'll give it a hack and see what happens. Great info in this thread. Thanks!

vonroll, any luck with that hack? That is the exact model timer I have. I am trying to figure out how to hack it to control a 120v water pump.

My goal it to just make an independent timer unit to use on 120v props, like a water pump or a 120v solenoid.

Any thoughts out there? I will post some pics later of the timers I have.

Thanks

Jeff

Hey Jeff... haven't tested it yet. Was going to use this same wiring that Diabolik recommended on the first page of this thread. However, I'm not following the diagram in my head right. Where is the hot (white) to the outlet in that pic? Or is it enough that the black goes to hot? I'm confused.

Ok, here we go:

1st picture is the type of timer I am using. 2nd picture is the mother board.




3rd picture is the set up using the wiring diagram from post #1 by Diabolik. The light is just for testing the timing.



Now to the fun: it did not blow up! Yea, but the only time it will work, and ONLY ONCE is when the timer and power buttons are down and the manual button is pressed for 5 or more seconds. Only the manual light is lit on the timer unit with timer and power buttons up or down.

My guess is that the unit needs to be fully powered so that all the lights of the timer are lit. Help? I am tying to configure the wires so that all the lights are lit.

Next try will be with this unit, wired like post #1.



Jeff

Sorry about the picture size, I will fix it.

BUT- I have tried the two different wiring diagrams and both do not work with the 'walmart' fog timer.

Help, please. I have tried several other configurations based on my limited experience with relays and electrical wiring. Nothing seems to work.

Has anyone been able to get #2 walmart diagram to work?

Jeff

Just to show how I am wiring, here is my working diagram. It shows both #1 and #2 layouts.

[IMG][/IMG]

Again, has anyone produced working models off the diagrams.

Thanks,

Jeff