Simple DIY Automatic Chicken Coop Door

[@largearthur1]

Made a chicken door this weekend based on this video and it works perfectly, thanks for the clear and simple instructions. I faced the photocell to the west so the door stays open later in the evening to give the chickens time to all get inside.

[@fatbikejamie]

I made this today and it worked the 1st time! Thanks so much. Here in Canada we no longer have Radio Shack - and the company it morphed into doesn't carry parts. I found the exact same DPDT switch at Princess Auto (kind of like your Harbor Freight) and an equivalent DPDT relay at a commercial electrical supply shop called Gullevin. Princess Auto had the 12v linear actuator and also had a 12V brick in their surplus section and I found a solar switch at Canadian Tire (no direct equivalent of this store in the US that I know of) . Some spare wire, marretts, a sacrificial electrical cord later I have an operational coop door opener/closer. Hopefully this will help any other Canadians source the parts :) Now all I need to do is build the coop...

[@brianmaceachern403]

Jamie Smith do you happen to know any of the part numbers for Gullevin CT or Princess? I am also up here in Ontario and am wanting to build this exact thing. Thanks :)

[@brianspiess7341]

thanks for posting the canadian equivalent

[@chicchoc9]

great video and nice simple diagram. thanks. Just bought a $47 actuator of Ebay but haven't received it yet. I have a question re: continous voltage to the actuator.. does your actuator specifically have some type of limit switch so when it reaches either end of the stroke it knows not to keep trying to move...with voltage to it, so it won't damage it? I am wondering if mine doesn't come with some type of limiters, if i will need reed switches/ contacts (and more relays or something) to tell the system to stop the 12VDC when it reaches the fully closed or fully open state...

[@pappabob29]

Everyone has different ideas on how to control one of these doors. On yours, it appears the relay is "powered on" all night and has no power on the coil all day but the 12V current is going through the contacts either way so there is always power to the override switch. So, there's power going to your actuator all the time. The limit switch just has it interrupted until the polarity changes. The little AC adapter brick needs to be able to support the amp draw of whatever actuator you use. Trying to decide if I want to use the 110 volt control or go with the battery/solar (all 12V) method?? With the 12V system, I can use 2 of those < $10.00 timers and have no power on the relay or actuator once the door is in either position. Thanks for sharing!!

[@molly7871]

Pappa Bob can you explain you way better?

[@mmfine718]

Yes, could you, please? @@molly7871

[@BrandonLedbetter]

Did he say RadioShack?

[@andypcguy1]

For the 12V I just had one laying around. I always save those. I think that one might have been left over from some old flatbed scanner or inkjet printer. The crossed wires are actual wires that I connected to the terminals.

[@JohnDoe-lz5ss]

+andrew michaud Thanks a bunch!

[@JohnDoe-lz5ss]

Hello, I like your design and will probably use your plans. I have a couple questions first: Where did you get the 12v power brick? Also in regards to the DPDT switch; I want to make sure I understand the schematics. So you have +/- coming in from relay to be attached to the center poles. Then the bottom poles feed the actuator. You have lines criss crossed from the top poles to the bottom poles, are these jumpers? Or are you just showing internal wiring in the switch? For reference sake I am referring to the top poles near the words "manual override". Thanks a bunch for all your ideas and any help you can provide. Bill

[@fullytilted4]

Thank you! I just made this for my new coop works great.

[@wrstlngstud82]

Hey partner, I love the video! Thanks for the detailed schematic at the end, it really made the whole thing. Quick question, I’m thinking of putting my solar sensor switch on the east side of my coop for convenience of wiring. Do you think that would cause the door to shut too early as the sun sets in the West? I’m not familiar with these solar sensors.

[@andypcguy1]

Hard to say, you might try it and watch it to see. Worst case you just have to move it if it doesn't work.

[@wrstlngstud82]

@@andypcguy1 Thanks, I went ahead and put it on the West side. Your system works like a charm. The only modification I made was an additional override switch in the system. That override switch is a nice touch!

[@johnruhe9767]

Thanks and great solutionWas confused about the wiring of the override switch. It seems that how it is wired coming over from the relay, that if it is in the "Off" position, that no operation will be performed. Can you explain this or will the switch need to be in the one of the other 2 on positions to work and off is simply to disable the system? PS. I found that the Radio shack part number 38 & 44 were reversed. Thanks Andrew!

[@andypcguy1]

+John Boy That's correct. In the middle it is completely off so the door wont operate. Just put it in the position you want it and it will stay there regardless of what the state of the solar cell is. Then you have the other two positions that are both automatic but opposite of each other. Thank on the update.

[@electromechanicalstuff2602]

Exactly the same circuit i was thinking. But i havnt seen anyone else use the solar switch. Everyone uses timers and that doesnt make sense to me. Sunset changes all year and requires constant timer adj if your going to keep the door closing at sunset. Mine is a swing door but exactly, exactly! what i had in my head to build. So many aduino projects out there are cool but just way over complicated for what its doing.

[@edyta-christinagrzybowska-9585]

This will be my first "electrical" project, so pardon my ignorance of how things operate and lack of proper terminology. What I am wondering is whether it is possible to use a smart plug in lieu of the photo timer? This way you could control the schedule from your phone remotely and even tell your Alexa to open or close the door. Could that work??

[@andypcguy1]

Edyta-Christina Grzybowska-Grant Smart plug can work. The reason I didn't use a timer is because the time of day for sunrise and sunset varies throughout the year. If you can find a timer with a calendar or something that would probably do it. The chickens don't know what time it is, they go off sunlight so that's how I based my system. It also seemed like the cheapest and easiest way to achieve the goal. I did use a smart switch inside the coop to control the extra light in the winter to keep them laying.

[@edyta-christinagrzybowska-9585]

Built it and it works with Alexa! Yayyy! Thank you so much for the great idea and schematics!

[@tdb4297]

@@andypcguy1 can u send me schematics for this? I m going to do something very similar

[@christianarsenault370]

This is great, but somehow I can't find the right part for the relay. The 0038 is for the switch, and the 0044 is for 250 DC at 10A whereas the schematic says 15A @ 125V AC. Would love to do this if I would know what relay to get. Could you recommend another part #?

[@andypcguy1]

Christian Arsenault you can use just about any DPDT relay rated for 125v. The excitation coil doesn't draw much power and the actuator runs on DC and it also only pulls maybe 2-3 amps. I just looked up that specific relay on eBay for $8 with free shipping, so if your local radio shack doesn't carry it you can try that.

[@talpalatnyizold]

What if your chicken stay under the door? The actuator is strong and can kill your chiks.

[@enochfuryan9094]

Thanks for sharing.

[@rosesmith6208]

when you started to explain the electronics you lost me with the cross this cross that. that is okay I will have to look up relays and such stuff.

[@coreysellers4529]

Loved you're video up until it got dark then the audio was all.

[@bibousisi5437]

I'm not sure but ,if anyone else trying to find out plans for outdoor coops try Coop Magic Tactic ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some interesting things about it and my colleague got excellent results with it.