Diy cta?

[Earl Weiss]

Have the manual treadle valve style CTA. Thinking of switching to electric. It's a hassle / expense to make it controller activated.

Sonny's sells a CTA control box ($340.00) for the CTA. Guess you need to use that along with a floor tape switch. Control box is 110 Volt and Tape Switch is 24Volt so not sure if it is set up to handle that switch with a 110 volt solenoid or what. Apparently the box allows variable time setting for juice to the solenoid.

Anyway, I was thinking, why not use a vac timer ($80.00)with the tape switch to the coin switch terminals and have the load open the solenoid(s) for whatever length of time?

This is not a good idea because?

Will vac timers handle the duty cycle of a tunnel say 100K cars x 2 axles or 200k cycles a year?

 

[JimmyJaffa]

A Vac timer is for a given length of time. But wheels come in different sizes. do you size it for big wheels or small wheels? What is wrong with the one you have? If it is not beyond repair, I'd fix it. Sounds like you do not have a tire switch or any extra outputs on your controller. A tire switch would be less than $120 plus installation. An extra output... priceless

 

[Earl Weiss]

A Vac timer is for a given length of time. But wheels come in different sizes. do you size it for big wheels or small wheels? What is wrong with the one you have?

The same issue would apply for any system where the tire triggers the switch.

 

[pitzerwm]

Doesn't the tape switch just close a contact? You should be able to take that "closed contact and "trigger" whatever you want. The IBA PLC is what controlls the cycle/time

 

[robert roman]

You might also want to consider a trip in the way-back machine and install the old-style wand on a stand with a micro-switch.

 

[Earl Weiss]

You might also want to consider a trip in the way-back machine and install the old-style wand on a stand with a micro-switch.

This is good to trigger something for the entire car. In that case you could use an loop detector or perhaps an electric eye. In orfer to only piut wheel solution on the wheels to save the costs, this would have to be a wand only the tire triggers and in fact I have thought of some such thing for a high pressure wheel blaster. Perhaps such a wand couild be attached to the conveyor rail.

In fact I keep urging the viper shine guy to adapt his tape switch / plc system to such a thing . In effect it would give you a wheel tracking high pressure wheel blaster without any moving parts. For something like that the expense would be jsustified to get sophisticated.

My real point is do you really need a $340.00 control box advertised in the catalog or could you just substitute a basic vac / bay timer for about $80.00? If not, why not?

 

[DivineSuccess]

the CTA timers are more precise I believe being able to be set in .10's of a second sometimes. I don't know that my vacuum with dip switches is that accurate or would measure in that small of a time. you don't want your CTA's on longer than 5 seconds most the time.

 

[MEP001]

You can do a lot more with a PLC or programmable relay than you can with a simple timer, and they're under $150. The drawback is that you may have to purchase software and a proprietary cable and learn how to use it.

 

[pgrzes]

my CTA uses an air switch. A bell hose treadle into plastic tubing into the control box. inside has a vacuum switch. works great until guy rolls cart or steps on and breaks the tubing.

 

[Earl Weiss]

my CTA uses an air switch. A bell hose treadle into plastic tubing into the control box. inside has a vacuum switch. works great until guy rolls cart or steps on and breaks the tubing.

Been there done that. Seems like every 5000 cars or so we were replacing the hose. PITA.