PaintDog1
Member
Hi Garage Journal devotes. This is my very first posting...I needed a small project to figure out the IT side of this posting thing. My wireless conversion of the fertilizer spreader was the perfect first post. I promise I'll post my garage build next once I organize my photos and figure out a snappy tittle for it. Well here goes...
It was a Father’s Day gift from three years ago, a fertilizer spreader built to be pulled behind a small garden tractor. I have a little less than an acre of grass that I care for, and it sure beat walking the yard pushing the old one. It’s gotten its fair share of use over the years, but it suffered from one major design flaw. The control lever was mounted on an upright tube that was located just within my reach. Thus, turning the damn thing on and off was literally a pain in the back! I decided I'd had enough. It was time to automate the fertilizer spreader!
My inspiration came after helping my neighbor upgrade his door locks on his ’52 Ford pickup. A quick search on Amazon, $50 and two days later, my wireless door lock kit arrived. It consisted of a wireless receiver/controller, two lock actuators, and two wireless key fobs.
After too much trial and error, I found that the included connector rods just wouldn't do. They didn't have any "give" in them to account for when the actuator solenoids pulled back slightly from their extreme positions. To work properly, the outlets had to be completely open or closed, not half open. Once light cables wires with a little play were substituted for the rods, and a little adjustment, my “dream” spreader was now a reality! The trailer wiring harness and connector provided a convenient way to quickly disconnect the wiring when the spreader isn't in use. Here're some photos:
It was a Father’s Day gift from three years ago, a fertilizer spreader built to be pulled behind a small garden tractor. I have a little less than an acre of grass that I care for, and it sure beat walking the yard pushing the old one. It’s gotten its fair share of use over the years, but it suffered from one major design flaw. The control lever was mounted on an upright tube that was located just within my reach. Thus, turning the damn thing on and off was literally a pain in the back! I decided I'd had enough. It was time to automate the fertilizer spreader!
My inspiration came after helping my neighbor upgrade his door locks on his ’52 Ford pickup. A quick search on Amazon, $50 and two days later, my wireless door lock kit arrived. It consisted of a wireless receiver/controller, two lock actuators, and two wireless key fobs.
After too much trial and error, I found that the included connector rods just wouldn't do. They didn't have any "give" in them to account for when the actuator solenoids pulled back slightly from their extreme positions. To work properly, the outlets had to be completely open or closed, not half open. Once light cables wires with a little play were substituted for the rods, and a little adjustment, my “dream” spreader was now a reality! The trailer wiring harness and connector provided a convenient way to quickly disconnect the wiring when the spreader isn't in use. Here're some photos:
