ATO Issues

[mginster]

My first time setting anything up on the robotank I got last week and frankly this is not looking good already.

Setup an ATO for sensor 1.  Using an optical I got here and set the jumper to optical. 

- With no sensor module even attached, it turns on the pump till it hits the alert time and then disables ATO. This looks like an oversight in the application.
- Sometimes with no sensor it will turn on for a bit, turn off, repeat.
- With the sensor module connected, pump never turns on.

Setup using a non-contact, moved the jumper to NC.

- Sensor works, light comes on when sensing water and off when away.  Pump never turns on.

I did just set to sensor with a PU and shorting gnd and data does work. 

Should the optical have a prism?  The one I got here is flat on the end. 

Also, the non-contact is XKC-Y25-V but wasnt from here. It says Brown 5-24v, Yellow OUT, Blue GND, Black M. On the connector side from left to right as it plugs into the sensor bar, its Brown Yellow Blue Black.

Is there anywhere I can see logging of sensor status? Nothing in log or errors.

   

[Rob F]

Hi, sorry it's being difficult. It sounds like the sensor is setup backwards. When using the optical or non-contact sensor for ATO you need to invert the logic in reef-pi. If you go to the "configuration" tab, then the "connectors" sub tab find "Sensor 1" port and hit the "edit" button. There you'll see an option "reverse", tick that box and save. Then go to the "admin" subtab and press the "reload" button.

Now things should work as expected. If the pump is on and you unplug the sensor it will shut off, same will happen if you unplug the sensor module.

The Jumper for PD and PU is only needed when using the green universal connector.

They seem to have discontinued the optical sensor with the tip, now it has a flat surface. That's why I had to add the 3 pin port for optical sensors, you may have noticed that's not showing in the pictures on the website.

Your non-contact should be ok as is, wiring sounds correct and as the light on it goes on/off it seems like it's doing what it should.

[mginster]

Yeah sorry I didn't edit this fast enough, was just frustrated.  I read the post below mine and it was the same issue.  After reversing the sensor, it no longer triggers falsely if the sensor module is disconnected....and it works as expected when connected.

[Rob F]

Oh as for a log I don't think there is one but if you go to the ATO tab and expand it there should be a chart at the bottom showing the on time. You can add that chart to the dashboard as well.

[Rob F]

Wonderful and no worries, I know how that can be frustrating, I'll have to do a better job making that known.

[mginster]

Thank you.

Side Question: Is the pump time always the check frequency?  IE frequency is 5s, it will pump for 5s even if the switch changes at 1s?  I noticed that, which im sure causes some concern with over topping off.  I guess easy fix is change the frequency or I could look at the code.

[Rob F]

Actually I misspoke about the port staying off when the sensor module is unplugged. It is possible the port turns on if that's unplugged as at that point the GPIO on the Pi is floating meaning it has no pullup or pulldown resistor attached. In the right conditions the voltage on that pin can get high enough where the Pi thinks it's active. For the most part it will stay off and if/when it comes on it would only be a second or two. So yeah best not to unplug the module all together. The reason it's setup like this is so that port could be configured for another module down the road giving more options and flexibility. Again I should make that better known.

[Rob F]

Yeah the check frequency is how often the sensor is polled by reef-pi. If it reads turn on pump it will stay on a minimum of 5 seconds as it won't know water is touching the sensor until it reads it again. I always leave the frequency at 1 second.

[mginster]

Yeah the check frequency is how often the sensor is polled by reef-pi. If it reads turn on pump it will stay on a minimum of 5 seconds as it won't know water is touching the sensor until it reads it again. I always leave the frequency at 1 second.

Finally getting back to working on adding things.  This is an old thread, but seeing if you had any advice for what seems like a logic issue with how ATO's are setup in Reef-Pi.

I have the ATO working fine, but I noticed the "Alert after" in ATO section is a running total and not just the current topoff session.  IE I have my Alert after 10s and if the topoff goes for 5s one round then 5s another round, it will then alert and disable the process since it hit 10s total.   This is not logical for how normal ATO's function.  It should reset the Alert threshold after it finishes topping off.  I do not want to turn off the alert and risk it never shutting off.

[Rob F]

Hmm don't think I've heard that before, definitely wouldn't make sense to have a running total. If you're sure that's what you're experiencing I would post on reef2reef as there's a lot more experience there.

Are you using a backup float switch port on the controller for a DC port or 1 of 2 AC outlets? This is a good backup as it doesn't rely on software or the Pi but I agree having the timeout is also valuable.

[mginster]

Hmm don't think I've heard that before, definitely wouldn't make sense to have a running total. If you're sure that's what you're experiencing I would post on reef2reef as there's a lot more experience there.

Are you using a backup float switch port on the controller for a DC port or 1 of 2 AC outlets? This is a good backup as it doesn't rely on software or the Pi but I agree having the timeout is also valuable.

Oh I forgot entirely about the backup floats.  I am not using DC at all, ATO's can only be Sensors.  How would I implement a backup float for a Sensor or AC outlet?

[Rob F]

You can't add one to a sensor however if you use a float switch on an actual sensor port it's possible to put them in series or parallel for backups but that can also get you in trouble if one fails. Each DC port has a backup port, if your ATO used a DC pump you could use that but there are 2 backups for AC power bar 1, outlet 1 and 2, the backups are on the main controller. If the outlet is on you can move the float to turn on/off. These are good for bypass switches as well when doing maintenance quicker to flick a switch.

[mginster]

Ah yes, thank you, that all makes sense. I will probably go with a float on AC1. I assume the backup floats for DC/AC ports can only be actual float sensors since its 2 pin (not optical or non-contact)?

[Rob F]

Yeah has to be a float switch or any other switch, it simply cuts the signal to the relay which turns it off.

[mginster]

Awesome works perfectly. Also found out why my AC1 wasnt working (no jumper :))

[Rob F]

Great and yeah you're definitely not the first to question outlet 1 or 2, oops. I keep saying I need to send a single page explaining it but never make something up.