Adding Timer to Kangaroo Dosing Pump

CaymanLoversII · 05-29-2002, 09:33 PM

Has anyone here added a digital timer to a Kangaroo dowing pump? There is a web site where you can buy such a setup but the prices are pretty high. I would like to know what is done.

Most of the IV doser pumps reset if the power is interrupted so you can't just plug the dosing pump into a timer, the pump won't come on.

I suspect the timer is placed between the pump's internal pump control circuit and the pump and just interrupts the pump's power supply but does not disrupt the controller circuit.

Thanks for any input anyone has.

Steve

CaymanLoversII · 05-30-2002, 11:22 PM

Doug1 · 05-30-2002, 11:36 PM

Dude the Kangeroo sounds like an enteral pump, and those I avoid at work like the plague. Maybe you can disable the internal timer and run it straight on/off ?

JJG · 05-30-2002, 11:52 PM

Steve,
I'm curious why the need for a timer? I"ve been running a Kangaroo dosing pump for over a year and yes...it can be a pain in the ***** but it does do a job. My main complaint has been the optical sensor and the alarm but I live with it.

I thought about the timer when dosing Kalk so I could set it for night time only but gave up. Other than setting the dosing rate to equal make-up levels I just let it run. I moved mine from dosing kalk to just straight make-up water (different tank) and have been pretty much happy with it. What are you using yours for?
JJ

CaymanLoversII · 05-31-2002, 09:16 AM

Thanks JJG -

I was going to use it to feed fresh water to a Nilsen reactor at night. It would be set so the time and rate would approximate the daily makeup water equirement with kalk. Idea was to do it at night when the pH falls rather than all day and night. I am getting .3 swings in pH and want to level that off, plus keep the alkalinity higher.

Let me know what you think.

Steve

erasmu · 06-01-2002, 02:14 PM

I have another enteral pump. It seems to be working very well for me, but I see the same type of pH variation you do when I run it continuously. The pH monitor indicates a peak of 8.40 in the evening, and 8.20 in the morning. It would be nice to even that out, but I think I will end up maintaining the continuous delivery. It works great for make-up water and keeping the Specific Gravity constant.

Doug,

What are your objections to the enteral pumps?

Doug1 · 06-01-2002, 02:48 PM

They are used as feeding pumps via gastric tube in my field(med equip supply) and in that context they are a PITA, most hospice nurses would rather call the on call driver to switch out rather than readjust or fix it them selves

I dont miss being on call but I do miss the $$$$$$$$

If you have pH swings down to 8.2-8.4 over the course of the day, thats great
A common way to add top off thru a Nilsen reactor is using a peristaltic pump, and digital timer, after figuring out the evap rate daily.
I use a float valve to top off, but the mechanism is prone to calc builup failure doing kalk top off

. An actual float valve switching a power head on and off to pump FW into tank or reactor would work well if the valve or sensor is in an area of the sump that is subject to fluctuating levels

CaymanLoversII · 06-01-2002, 07:04 PM

I'll display my ignorance - what is the difference between a peristaltic pump and an enteral pump?

Doug1 · 06-01-2002, 07:17 PM

The pump we looked at getting involved with supplying was a diaphram type as opposes to a peristaltic pump that uses a low rpm cam squessing a length of rubber tubing. This pushes fluid ahead of the cam and creates a vacuum behind it drawing in more material to cake its place. The diaphram pumps had integral variable timers, that seemed to be a pain
Since these are used as feeding pumps, and similar to dosing pumps for meds corporate decided to pass on supplying these
The "Reef Filler" pump is a peristaltic design as I recall, and I have seen several people buy the pumps cheap on Ebay and set them up on digital timers after determining the amount of evap that occurs daily

erasmu · 06-01-2002, 10:13 PM

Many enteral and IV pumps are peristaltic in design, mostly the rotary type, while some are linear. The one I use is the more common rotary type. I think they are good pumps for dosing, as they can be self-priming and require no head height to operate properly. However, there is no native ability to have it start at a certain time, although you can program a dose which will cause it to stop when complete. It seems like I either let it run continuously or start and stop it once a day.