Powering my catbox -- not a joke!

The seller claims he has used it for almost 2 years with the 24V adapter. If I got that much usage out if it, I would be happy. While taking your warning into consideration, could I get your professional opinion on those 2 questions?

Thanks,

-Mike

No.

Considering how cheap most motors are these days it's VERY likely you'll burn out the motor, especially if something were to get "stuck". TTYL

Hi, thanks for the response. This fellow claims the 24V has been working for almost two years w/o burning out the motor. Is the 18V any MORE likely to burn it out then the 24V?

That fellow has been "lucky". Chances are the motor is speced for 12V operation at full load. If he's been running it at 24V then he has likely never hit a "full load" situation, and the first time he does (i.e. something gets stuck, the cat is in the way) he'll burn out the motor or wiring.

Also remember, just because you have the same product does NOT mean you've got the same parts. As a product goes through it's cycle improvements and cost savings are made to the design, it is possible the motor you have is less tolerant of the over voltage. Frankly I don't even see why it's an issue, if you're willing to take the risk take it, if not don't.

No, but's it far more likely to burn the motor out then the rated 12V. TTYL

Mike,

I designed the electronics for three different self cleaning litter pans representing two different companies. One is on the top of the market, one is only just now emerging onto the market, and the other will be on the market next year. There are no other self cleaning litter pans so its a very safe bet that I know yours intimately.

I don't know which pan you have, but here's the scoop......

One uses a Voltage regulator for the entire circuit including the motor drive with plenty of heatsink in case the customer uses a different wall adapter than provided. Increasing the DC power input to this circuit will not change anything.

The second draws its motor power directly from the rectified AC input, using an AC wall adapter rather than a DC one, so increasing the power input will make the motor move the rake faster (higher rectified voltage), but with less torque due to "power limiting" designed to guarantee the same power rate to the motor regardless of higher VAC input and a safety threshold that does not permit the motor to work harder than a defined rate to prevent overheating. This was to ensure UL/CSA/VDE compliance.

The third is not yet on the market so you don't have it.

Just to clarify, I'm using a Littermaid. There is a DEFINITE boost when using a higher powered adapter. I'm just trying to figure out if I use an 18V adapter my chances of burning out the motor are less than or equal to the 24V adapter. Here's another little ditty I'm baffeled by. I have the 24V 500ma adapter I bought from that guy on ebay and it works. I use the RadioShack 18V/24V (its switchable) 1000ma adapter on the 18V setting and it works, but the unit won't run using the 24V. The 24V I bought from eBay actually came from a 3com, and after doing a little UL research, I found its a propitery adapter.

As I said, it will move faster, but not with any greater torque, in fact the torque will be less. You will only notice this when the rake encounters a blockage. The danger in this is that the "back off and try again" feature is dependant on a voltage being developed across a load resistor as the motor current increases. Due to the safety feature, a higher voltage produces lower motor current so while it will move faster, it will likely not reach the appropriate motor current to trip the feature. You can test this by stopping the rake with your hand. Be aware that it takes 25 pounds of rake pressure to build up the torque necessary to trip the "back off" circuit. With a higher DC voltage on the motor, the current may not be permitted to build up to 25lbs of pressure. In any event, providing a higher than nominal DC voltage will void your warranty.

Right. You're putting the motor regulator into thermal shutoff. Stop it.

That's odd, because while the rake moves *marginally* faster, it DEFINITELY has more torque.

With the standard adapter, I can put my hand on the rake and give it an old college stiff-arm and the rack will stop and then back up to the start position and start again.

When I use the "overclocked" solution, I notice a LOT more pressure.

The danger in this is that the "back off and

Sorry, don't buy it. I think you're trolling.

Why the hell someone would troll with this topic is beyond me. If you don't believe me, why don't you go to RadioShack and grab the 18/24V adapter and plug it in yourself and see since it appears you have access to these devices. I was just asking a question, not trying to question your expertise.

One thing I do know however, is that the box doesn't get stuck anymore on crap (literally) that the rake can't push through.

Saturday evening, the 6th of December.

Hello, I saw your posting, and I was wondering: could you offer any guidance for repair of the Littermaid Mega?

I have been given the task of maintaining this machine (by my wife). Unfortunatly, it appears to have responded badly to my attempts at cleaning. After removing the used litter (Everclean), and washing out the pan/rake area, I reloaded with new litter. After engaging the power supply (it's the original AC variety), the indicator lamp began flashing, at about the rate of slightly more that once per second. Note: no user manual was available to me.

I left the machine, and returned after about 20 minutes (purchase of additional litter). Meanwhile the Rake had moved to the end of the machine with the container. The lamp was no longer flashing. After reseating the power supply (20 minutes, cooling time, not excessivly warm), the rake returned to its starting position. Since that time it/the machine will only move the Rake a short distance {is this a reset?} after applying power. After an additional 2 hour wait time, the Lamp will flash 3-5 times, {rake runs for a few seconds and stops}, and then hold steady{the Lamp}.

Is this related to the possible excess humidity from cleaning?

Thank you, David R. Lewellen leworks AT yahoo DOT com

Quoting from an earlier UseNet posting. ... I designed the electronics for three different self cleaning litter pans representing two different companies. One is on the top of the market, one is only just now emerging onto the market, and the other will be on the market next year. There are no other self cleaning litter pans so its a very safe bet that I know yours intimately. I don't know which pan you have, but here's the scoop...... One uses a Voltage regulator for the entire circuit including the motor drive with plenty of heatsink in case the customer uses a different wall adapter than provided. Increasing the DC power input to this circuit will not change anything. The second draws its motor power directly from the rectified AC input, using an AC wall adapter rather than a DC one, so increasing the power input will make the motor move the rake faster (higher rectified voltage), but with less torque due to "power limiting" designed to guarantee the same power rate to the motor regardless of higher VAC input and a safety threshold that does not permit the motor to work harder than a defined rate to prevent overheating. This was to ensure UL/CSA/VDE compliance. ...

I have a simpler solution. My cat used to pee on the rug instead of the litter box. I ran wires under the rug and put 240 volts on the wires. When the cat peed on the rug the next time it acted as a conductor and the cat never peed on the rug again. Of course she never peed any wheres again. It taught her a good lesson. I will not be replacing her. I hate the smell of cat pee. . . I DO NOT FOLLOW MANY OF THESE NEWS GROUPS To answere me address mail to snipped-for-privacy@aol.com

What?s the nominal voltage of the catbox?You should use an adapter of that voltage.

-- Dimitris Tzortzakakis,Greece

Nah , 240 volts was plenty to do the job. . . I DO NOT FOLLOW MANY OF THESE NEWS GROUPS To answere me address mail to snipped-for-privacy@aol.com

I have just one question within this fascinating subject. What the hell are you feeding your cat that needs so much torque to remove it?!