Hi all.
I am wondering if I can use the Sonoff MiniR4 for this application: I want it to trigger the irrigation pump as soon as it receives 24 AC from the irrigation controller.
Currently that 24 ac drives a solenoid valve which opens and a pressure controller activates the pump. I would rather prefer that the MiniR4 activates the pump as long as there is 24 ac from the irrigation controller received on S1 & S2 (rather than keeping the solenoid valve and a sort bit of irrigation line pressurized).
I am using a few of these with normal light switches to control spotlights, but I am not sure that it is suitable for my application.
Would this potentially damage anything?
PIN l in and S1 are connected, so depending on your wiring, if you send 230 to the regulator, it probably won’t survive.
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Thanks for the response.
I have read about L and S1 being linked, but some say it is, and some say not.
I would rather not take the chance then.
Does anyone have another suggestion that could make this work?
What should I consider as an irrigation controller?
I am not sure what needs explaining, perhaps something is lost in translation.
It’s an 8 zone irrigation controller that sends 24v a to each zone solenoid valve at specific times to open the valve and start irrigation.
It also sends 24v to a master valve which is connected to the pump (or water source) which is open for the duration of the entire irrigation programme.
I am not sure if this is what you wanted to know?
and thank you, a lot gets lost in translation, I can think of 3 options 1: using minir2 which uses a small voltage on the contacts in combination with a converter for its adjustment. 2 removing the controller and replacing it with two 4chpro3 pieces to be able to control all 8 valves, it has dry contacts so it can be used on 24v and for the main mini d valve. and the last option is to use 8 sonoff irrigation valves which as a bonus count both water and it is then possible to control how much water each circuit gets.
Thanks for this, I do have an R2 which I can test. The reason why I use the RainPoint irrigation controller is because it also uses data from a rain gauge and temperature & humidity sensor in that ecosystem.
I will do some testing, and hope I don’t burn anything up!
or you can use a 24 V relay which will switch the regulator and you will switch R2 or R4 through its contacts
Thank you, I am going to research that and try.
I will post feedback soon.
May I ask if you can post a Google link to a suitable relay, so that I know what to look for?
Petice
Relé
I don’t know what options you have in the space, but I would use something like this, I would connect the regulator output to contact A1 A2 (the relay has a 24ac coil) and I would connect terminals S1 and S2 to working contacts 11-14, the relay will then function as a button
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Ok basically then the regulator switches the relay with the 24v, and the R4 picks it up as a switch on and off.
I now need to find a suitable relay, it’s not my field of expertise.
Thank you for your replies!
Yes, they are indeed connected in the PCB board. In S1 you have mains live contact. It will fry your irrigation controller if you connect that way. The right way to do that is to put a 24VAC RELAY powered by your irrigation controller, and connect the secondary of that relay to close the Mini R4 S1 / S2 contacts.
You should also consider NOT powering the pump motor directly out of the mini. When you drive a motor, you should consider that on the initial moment any electrical motor requires 5 times the nominal current or power just to break the inertia and start moving. So you have to size the circuits accordingly (5 times nominal consumption).
Thanks for the feedback!
I will be purchasing a relay and base during the week.
The mini will only be to detect ON/OFF from the relay (via the controller). It will trigger the POWR316D that drives the pump to go ON/OFF.
Same applies to POWR316D regarding driving a motor directly. An 1 HP pump consumes 750W, that is 3,5 amps at 220V or 7 amps at 110 volts. So in that case the starting current peak, would be of 17,5 amps or 35 amps respectively. Your THR316D switch could result damaged in any case. It will work, but the relay will be aged / worn out prematurely.
I agree, it would be better to use a mini switched contactor, but if you are looking to measure power, you can use this module, the manufacturer states 63 amps.
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGCBxbo
Interestingly enough, I’ve been running the pump with a BasicR2 for 3 years, and only last month replaced it with the POWR316D. I thought afterwards I should have bought the POWR320D.
I am using the sonoff as irrigation control. you can eliminate the irrigation control from the system and time your irrigation by the minir4 and drive your pump or electric valves
So I have purchased a suitable relay and connected it to the S1 and S2 of a Mini R4.
When the irrigation controller sends 24vac to the relay, it switches on the R4.
A scene then switched on or off the POWR316D according to the state of the R4.
This workw perfectly, a very cheap and effective solution.
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perfect, may it serve you for a long time
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