excellent. good luck with your build!

@@RedToolHouse Did you know that you don't need the relay at all if you are using two timers already? You Simply wire Positive to the NO (Normally Open) terminals of the relays and wire Negative the to the NC (Normally Closed) terminals of the relays. The Commons of the relays are the wired to Positive and Negative of the Actuator Wires. Day timer turns on in the morning for , lets say five minutes (just long enough for the to open the door fully is all that's needed), then the time shuts off. Do the same for the night timer.

Todd Caskey thanks! Send me pictures of it and some details and I will mention it next time if you want

It is not solar powered. It is solar charged and it is electric in both cases. The only way it can be solar power is if you made something that will make it move when the sun heats up some sort of turbine and that what makes the door go up and down. LOL

Gary Wylie I know! There are just certain things you don't throw away!

John the carpenter it has saved us some time and was a fun project to build. Thanks for watching!

All you need is a timer and a DPDT relay if you have an actuator. Without having an actuator just add two diodes and two limit switches. Way simple.

@@AztecWarrior69 You need two different 5 Pin relay switches, One for Open and one for Close. You could make it more simple by running one switch and leaving the switch On During the day and having the switch Off at night but the relay switches have a power draw and you risk the 10W solar panel not being able to keep up with the power demand. This problem maybe more of an issue during bad weather. Also the relay switches get warm as you run them for hours and I'm in Texas where it gets Hot. So reducing usage hours will make for a more reliable system. You are correct about the limit switches but the Linear Actuator has limit switches build in already making the need for external switches obsolete. Also with the internal limit switches it's less for birds and other animals to mess with and break. An External Limit switch if not careful could be damaged by birds or mice. I have seen my geese tear up wiring just for fun. When it comes to animals simple is better. You could make your own Linear Actuator with some All Thread Rod and an old 12volt drill and some limit switches and could save a lot of money. At the end of the day it isn't worth it should any piece fail you might lose some or all your birds.

We debated to add that feature but decided to stick with the timer. Thanks for watching!

Jim Davis oooh, I will check that out. It is called Brat?

Thanks for watching!

Yea I was wondering why there were two timers, the relay should act as the second timer.

Sarah Mejia no issues at all. All the components are still working. I did realize the other day that I didn’t change the time for day light savings time and the door was closing too soon. Lost a couple chickens due to them not getting inside before it closed. Predators got them. The door closes too slowly to get a chicken caught.

Thanks! (Sorry you lost some of your flock.)

Samuel Barker we are in Lincoln county which is one county south east of cabell. Are you in cabell? Thanks for watching!

Yeah, we're pretty close then. Any recommendations where to buy some laying hen's?

Samuel Barker I either hatch my own chicks or order them from a hatchery. If you are looking for mature hens or pullets, you can sometimes find them on Facebook livestock groups.

The site I reference in the video doesn't have the post anymore. I put the original post in the video description but here it is again. blog.netscraps.com/diy/heavy-duty-automatic-chicken-coop-door-ii.html

The link is in the video description: blog.netscraps.com/diy/heavy-duty-automatic-chicken-coop-door-ii.html

@@RedToolHouse Thank you, this will ensure a safe coop and give us the piece of mind that the door opens and closes on time. I love the do it yourself approach.

Good luck with it!

Thanks

Canadian Egg-Scursions the door closes just after dark. The chickens naturally go in to roost before dark so they are all in by the time it closes

Red Tool House - Homestead yes, Thankyou. I've been watching a few different "door" vids, and gave slowly been figuring that out lol

Canadian Egg-Scursions sure thing!

@@crochetwithapril if your chickens are not used to going in before dark add a light on a timer inside their coop. Chickens can't see very well in the dark so they will go to the light. They will eventually get the hint. LOL

blog.netscraps.com/diy/heavy-duty-automatic-chicken-coop-door-ii.html

I am not trying to belittle the guys work but you shouldn't wire it, like the guy on the site says to. Many reasons not to in fact. I won't bother with the details unless you have interest in why. IF you are going to wire it with these components then use this wiring diagram. Use 18 AWG wire for the power to the motor and 20 AWG or the power to the timers and relays module. Use pigtails and don't daisy chain. drive.google.com/file/d/11yDQuHLeDFcTUEibHIpaznPKbxQv_2vw/view?usp=sharing If you would like to cut down on all the wiring and guess work just use this diagram and these timers. drive.google.com/file/d/1IrP7PmL0gOUuwDSRk41mLLRK87oAbBpf/view?usp=sharing The Timers are so much easier to mount and you don't need to use and terminal connectors.

@@AztecWarrior69 Thank you

If you have a video of that, give me the link and I will share it.

@@RedToolHouse I just now saw this. My system is way too complicated to show in a video and understand it all. LOL. However I will try making a video of the simulation I made and clip that to the setup. Tonight I hope.

@@RedToolHouse I have two videos that show how it can be done with two SPDT timers. One uses an actuator, the other is for setups that don't have built in limit switches. I figure out how to do it without Diodes. So much easier. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/aaiEY5yDyZmue40.html&ab_channel=AztecWarrior kzfaq.info/get/bejne/l7-mZpCSu7epf40.html&ab_channel=AztecWarrior

@@RedToolHouse Was the sharing possible?

One timer works fine if you have adequate power. With limited solar capacity two timers are necessary to conserve power and not have something “on” all the time

It is a 30 Watt. Here is the Amazon link www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W81BZTO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Red Tool House - Homestead. Thanks

Are you happy with the Harbor Freight panels? I have heard several people complain about their quality.