Since we have to visit the chickens every day anyway I simply use an electro magnet to hold the door closed via a time clock and a cheap screen door spring that is always pulling the door open...fairly fool proof so long as the clock setting are close to right ...I also put a light in the coop so when we go down to manually close the door every night we can clean the coop at the same time even in the dark.....works really well for years now! No more having to run down there at the crack of dawn EVERY MORNING! LOL that gets so damn old! BTW electric door magnets and also clocks come in either 120v or 12dc etc. SO simple to set up! A few screws is all of you have an outlet handy to plug the time clock in....the outlet and light was the only thing that took any real effort ....but we needed those anyway....so nice to have power in the coop! Lots of options ...shop vac, electric fence, alarm system CCTV and lots more I have not even thought of I am sure
Clint Fisher! I have no idea how I have missed your video for all these years! I can't tell you how much I LOVE IT when someone takes a simple problem like making a hen door and then creating an overly complex solution that actually works! :) the joys of mechanical engineering, you are my new coop door design hero. :) THANK YOU
I am an aircraft engineer and can appreciate this is a great design - we dont have racoons here but my son is ever forgetful to lock our chickens up :( - not so much for predators here just they make a mess in the morning and steal the cats food - thanks for you effort to post to you tube - you tube teaches us so much!
People who say this is overly complicated have never met a raccoon. Well done. Will you run your coop ventilation louvers off of the same Arduino? You mentioned temperature in the video, that would be a neat subroutine....
one could argue you have too much time on your hands but it's awesome and the other but...people like you are responsible ultimately for all those gadgets in my life that do things for me. So Good For You!!!!
Kudos for going all out. I was browsing for some ideas before I started my project and came upon your vid. Always great to see someone go above and beyond.
This is such a great design, You could build it out of cut up nylon chopping boards for more durability :) the mechanism might operate with better reliability as well
This is really cool man, i am going to put one of these in my coop. That what i was looking for here some coop designs. I Think i will put my door on a light sensor with a delay, to open around sunrise and close at sunset. easy and raccoon proof :D
Love this. Am working on similar design using a hospital bed motor. 1/8 HP and 75 rpm. 2 inch pulley gives it about a 2 sec opening time. The problem I'm having is that the motor bleeds down due to the weight of the door. Can use counter weight but prefer not to. Any ingenious ideas on a camlock style design to hold the door open and release upon close cycle? Love what you did! Thanks for the inspiration.
@akwila3737 thanks, that's a very valid concern - especially here in the great Northwest. I'll be sealing it and finishing it with killz paint before the final install.
@edvais: No worries at all - we had also considered a garage door opener at one point in time too, along with a whole host of other options. The built-in remote with the garage-door opener is definitely a strong point. No matter which way you go, may the bock be with you!
I had to find the guy you were were replying to. Left this as a reply to them. ""yard-sale salvaged garage door opener." what? that is more complicated than this video. First. "Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Project" is a good title. It never says anything about how complicated or made any claims of it being easy to do. "Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Project" perfectly described the video. What's you problem? Second. Your "solution" is way worse. you have to have a opener that will work you have to mount it the size of it is just stupid huge for a chicken door unless you actually have chickens in a garage sized coop running power to coop you have to disable the sensors and many other things you have to work around. You say you were "able" to do this. Well show proof and all that you had to do to get it to work. Normally I don't require proof if the idea sounds easy and plausible, but since you are so arrogant and rude, I think you should. Put up a video of it working. " Now this is my response to you. No. "The built-in remote with the garage-door opener is definitely a strong point." the remote is not a strong point at all. There are many other devices that have remote capabilities without all the drawback. Now and 13 years ago.
Great locking door. Has anyone tried this design with any of the over the counter door motors? I looks like as long as it's a string pull motor, this design will work with them.
hey clint I just love your door set up .anyway I can get details as so I can make one for my chickens using a drill and the way you have it lock itself is brilliant wtg man hope you can help, hate to spend money on some of these other contraptions when I see your idea is worth the effort thanks
Nice, there are some really good ideas in there, I thought it was over complicated at first then I saw all the wifi stuff and monitoring stuff, really love the latch mech. And yes it could have been done with discrete componenets and a long wire, but really, this makes it easy and fast to add extra bits to it. Thanks
@emailharold - thanks! I don't think we're going to need vent louvers where we live and the way the coop is set up. Due to the number of control lines the motor driver requires (it's really low-level), there aren't enough pins in the Arduino. I'd probably go with a simpler setup that could be driven by the wi-fi Arduino (the BlackWidow 1.0). The BlackWidow board will be the "master controller" for the coop as a whole, where the other Arduino (seeeduino) is just for the door.
@clintfisher Sorry, being overly critical, and rattling your cage was not my intention. Now that you've pointed out that your goal was to be Rube Goldbergish, I can fully grasp your method. ;-)
@socrkool21 - I love to invent things. As for idea sources, it has been said: "necessity is the mother of invention". As for my background, I started studying computer hardware when I was in elementary school (in the early '70's no-less), and software in the late 70's onward. As such, I have a pretty good low-level understanding of how things work. I've continued my fascination into college and the many years since. The biggest driving force? Curiosity. Best of luck to you!
Very cool auto latch. I'm impressed. Wish you could update us on what you meant by "Logic" and "bouncback". I guess I'm not understanding how you are controlling the time.
@@fishfreak911 2:19 "debounce logic" I am guessing he means.... Bounce is referring to the effect that electronic waves (caused by almost anything like static in the air to microwaves and RF signals) will affect the microcontroller and give false triggering. Think of it this way. Say you have a switch that is set up outside with a thin piece of metal that makes a connection between two contacts, that is supposed to work/make connection (send signal or power) to power a light bulb inside. A door/window opens and makes contact and the light turns on. HOWEVER the wind keeps blowing a lot or every once and a while. Giving you false triggering so the light will be turning off and on , flickering, Bouncing. In this case it is not wind but the probability that he did not press and hold the button down long enough or clicked it too fast. Debounce logic is either making it Hold positive (Pull Up) or completely disconnected, combined with logic code that will help decide/control whether or not it was an actual press of the button or just electrical interference. Programing wise it can be done by timing how long the button is pressed. Kinda like when the host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire asks if that is the final answer. In the example of the windows/door switch, it is like adding a spring to hold it in the open position or the closed position so slight pushes of the wind won't make the metal make a connection. Most common way to do that in Microcontrollers is to stabilize the switch by making it go HIGH (pull up) (the logic part). By making it have a solid constant power/high/positive voltage, those erratic and fluctuating electronic waves (the wind) have no effect on it because it is already has power/high/positive voltage. There are many articles on how this works. CZcams won't let me link them here. I am not the best at explaining and I am not an expert with microcontrollers so I how I did not make it more confusing. " I guess I'm not understanding how you are controlling the time." Do you mean the time it takes to open and close and how to stop the motor, in time. As in how does the controller know how long does the door take to open and close. OR Are you wanting to know how he controls what time the door is to open and close? As in what time of day to open and close.
would it be possible for you to design me an, automatic coop opener, using a car/truck window actuator, that is controlled by a photo sensor? Possible chime to warn the chickens the door will be closing, a little like Pavlov's Salivating Dogs, only different.
You should re-title this video, "Simple Solutions - Made Complicated." I was able to apply the same function with a yard-sale salvaged garage door opener. The difference was that everything was self-contained (motor, circuit board which included limit controls and signal receiver.
"yard-sale salvaged garage door opener." what? that is more complicated than this video. First. "Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Project" is a good title. It never says anything about how complicated or made any claims of it being easy to do. "Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Project" perfectly described the video. What's you problem? Second. Your "solution" is way worse. you have to have a opener that will work you have to mount it the size of it is just stupid huge for a chicken door unless you actually have chickens in a garage sized coop running power to coop you have to disable the sensors and many other things you have to work around. You say you were "able" to do this. Well show proof and all that you had to do to get it to work. Normally I don't require proof if the idea sounds easy and plausible, but since you are so arrogant and rude, I think you should. Put up a video of it working.
um yeah its all well and good until some poor hen loses her head in the door...lol. Most kidding but I think it will work better in the opening procedure than in the closing procedure. my own chickens are not very precise about when to tuck in...just a thought
triumphmanful Go with a powered car antenna or a ram arm actuator. For the lock, you can make what I call a teeter-toter "L" shaped arm (there are some youtube vids out there for reference).
@@deasttn Not build for outdoor use It is built for in-car use. Designed only to hold itself up, not move a door. So what if it is "self contained motor and switches" , mounting the thing is a hassle. " you can make what I call a teeter-toter "L" shaped arm " Pain in the ass to get it to swing not "teeter totter" . And you either have to have a jigsaw or bend metal. So again I say, they say too complicated and you give them too complicated LOL.
@@AztecWarrior69_69 I guess u only drive your car indoors? I only drive mine outdoors. And now that I think about it, my door antenna is indoors (inside my coop)
Would you consider open source-ing the design? I am thinking of making and selling doors with an open source design so that anyone could build them if they want, or pay me to make it. I think all you have to do is say this is copyleft and that's it. I'll look up the details if you're interested.
Constructing a chicken coops on your own is simple and interesting task. I've made a simple to follow help guide to building your very own back yard chicken coop. It's created for that total beginner, and you don't require any carpentry skills.
acrylic is nice but it might warp with the heat. So depending on where you live it might not be a good idea. Now if you put strips of cutting board as part of the track or bothe track and door, then yeah it makes it way better.
@edvais Good for you! Post your solution! There are simpler solutions. This is not one of them. This is designed to be unabashed overkill that would allow me to get some hands-on with some very cool technologies.
Walt Lars Not sure exactly what Clint did, but you can use an H-bridge circuit for this sort of thing. These can either be bought as is, or constructed from several electrical relay switches. I've done this myself for the very same purpose here.
It's simpler than it sounds. H-bridges are just made of relays (which you'll find in your car; they're not just techy things). A relay just opens/closes electrical circuits. You apply a small electrical current, and it activates an electromagnet which pulls on a regular old magnet that opens/close an electrical circuit as it moves. Using 4 simple relays, you can set things up so that in one configuration of magnet positions, the current flows one way through the drill, and in another configuration, the current flows the other way. That's all an H-bridge is. Clint is using an Arduino to control the drill. This is basically just a very simple computer with the ability to turn on/off very small currents programmatically. These small currents are what he's likely using to trigger the relays in an H-bridge circuit in order to switch between forward and reverse.
Since we have to visit the chickens every day anyway I simply use an electro magnet to hold the door closed via a time clock and a cheap screen door spring that is always pulling the door open...fairly fool proof so long as the clock setting are close to right ...I also put a light in the coop so when we go down to manually close the door every night we can clean the coop at the same time even in the dark.....works really well for years now! No more having to run down there at the crack of dawn EVERY MORNING! LOL that gets so damn old! BTW electric door magnets and also clocks come in either 120v or 12dc etc. SO simple to set up! A few screws is all of you have an outlet handy to plug the time clock in....the outlet and light was the only thing that took any real effort ....but we needed those anyway....so nice to have power in the coop! Lots of options ...shop vac, electric fence, alarm system CCTV and lots more I have not even thought of I am sure
I see this is 12 years ago, but had to say that is very clever way to lock the door closed when using a string to pull it up. Genius.
Genius does not require this much effort.
Clint Fisher! I have no idea how I have missed your video for all these years! I can't tell you how much I LOVE IT when someone takes a simple problem like making a hen door and then creating an overly complex solution that actually works! :) the joys of mechanical engineering, you are my new coop door design hero. :) THANK YOU
I am an aircraft engineer and can appreciate this is a great design - we dont have racoons here but my son is ever forgetful to lock our chickens up :( - not so much for predators here just they make a mess in the morning and steal the cats food - thanks for you effort to post to you tube - you tube teaches us so much!
People who say this is overly complicated have never met a raccoon. Well done. Will you run your coop ventilation louvers off of the same Arduino? You mentioned temperature in the video, that would be a neat subroutine....
one could argue you have too much time on your hands but it's awesome and the other but...people like you are responsible ultimately for all those gadgets in my life that do things for me. So Good For You!!!!
"one could argue you have too much time on your hands " make the argument.
I like your Racoon latch design. I built a simple automatic door, fortunately we don't have racoons here.
Kudos for going all out. I was browsing for some ideas before I started my project and came upon your vid. Always great to see someone go above and beyond.
What did you end up going with? Hopefully not a string door.
This is such a great design, You could build it out of cut up nylon chopping boards for more durability :) the mechanism might operate with better reliability as well
Nice work on that door! So cool.
Awesome, you're really talented ! GOD Bless you & yours and your chickens.
pretty neat like the door. I will have to think about that when I work on my door more so it can lock in place nice.
Very nice door
This is really cool man, i am going to put one of these in my coop. That what i was looking for here some coop designs. I Think i will put my door on a light sensor with a delay, to open around sunrise and close at sunset. easy and raccoon proof :D
I love the door mechanism, simple and effective :)
I have made simpler, so simple, not really.
Love this. Am working on similar design using a hospital bed motor. 1/8 HP and 75 rpm. 2 inch pulley gives it about a 2 sec opening time. The problem I'm having is that the motor bleeds down due to the weight of the door. Can use counter weight but prefer not to. Any ingenious ideas on a camlock style design to hold the door open and release upon close cycle? Love what you did! Thanks for the inspiration.
You ever get it to work?
Great idea on raccoon locker!!! I would like to see the blueprints of this device please!
that door it's very nice......i like it
@akwila3737 thanks, that's a very valid concern - especially here in the great Northwest. I'll be sealing it and finishing it with killz paint before the final install.
@edvais: No worries at all - we had also considered a garage door opener at one point in time too, along with a whole host of other options. The built-in remote with the garage-door opener is definitely a strong point. No matter which way you go, may the bock be with you!
I had to find the guy you were were replying to. Left this as a reply to them.
""yard-sale salvaged garage door opener." what? that is more complicated than this video.
First. "Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Project" is a good title. It never says anything about how complicated or made any claims of it being easy to do. "Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Project" perfectly described the video. What's you problem?
Second. Your "solution" is way worse.
you have to have a opener that will work
you have to mount it
the size of it is just stupid huge for a chicken door unless you actually have chickens in a garage sized coop
running power to coop
you have to disable the sensors
and many other things you have to work around.
You say you were "able" to do this. Well show proof and all that you had to do to get it to work. Normally I don't require proof if the idea sounds easy and plausible, but since you are so arrogant and rude, I think you should. Put up a video of it working. "
Now this is my response to you. No. "The built-in remote with the garage-door opener is definitely a strong point." the remote is not a strong point at all. There are many other devices that have remote capabilities without all the drawback. Now and 13 years ago.
Great locking door. Has anyone tried this design with any of the over the counter door motors? I looks like as long as it's a string pull motor, this design will work with them.
The locking mechanism of the door is really ingenious. Nice job
Too much.
hey clint I just love your door set up .anyway I can get details as so I can make one for my chickens using a drill and the way you have it lock itself is brilliant wtg man hope you can help, hate to spend money on some of these other contraptions when I see your idea is worth the effort thanks
Nice, there are some really good ideas in there, I thought it was over complicated at first then I saw all the wifi stuff and monitoring stuff, really love the latch mech.
And yes it could have been done with discrete componenets and a long wire, but really, this makes it easy and fast to add extra bits to it.
Thanks
@emailharold - thanks! I don't think we're going to need vent louvers where we live and the way the coop is set up. Due to the number of control lines the motor driver requires (it's really low-level), there aren't enough pins in the Arduino. I'd probably go with a simpler setup that could be driven by the wi-fi Arduino (the BlackWidow 1.0). The BlackWidow board will be the "master controller" for the coop as a whole, where the other Arduino (seeeduino) is just for the door.
" there aren't enough pins in the Arduino" You could have used a Motor shield.
@clintfisher Sorry, being overly critical, and rattling your cage was not my intention. Now that you've pointed out that your goal was to be Rube Goldbergish, I can fully grasp your method. ;-)
I love it but yes made of wood is out of the question in rainy areas. Do you have plans? I can make it out of plastic in my shop
That's sick dude. I subscribed. Keep it coming.
Made the same door, used poly cutting board material.
Wow so cool. I would not know how to create such a thing because I am not computer tech savy.
very nice! making me one today. thankyou
your idea was very good it totally lock on for any predator
Nice technique, the same is used in lifts but inverted. If the rope is breaking the ribs are pushed out and so the lift cant fall down and crash
not the same.
@socrkool21 - I love to invent things. As for idea sources, it has been said: "necessity is the mother of invention". As for my background, I started studying computer hardware when I was in elementary school (in the early '70's no-less), and software in the late 70's onward. As such, I have a pretty good low-level understanding of how things work. I've continued my fascination into college and the many years since.
The biggest driving force? Curiosity.
Best of luck to you!
Now that's cool
now hackers can control your chicken door... What next? the fridge? oh wait..
Very cool auto latch. I'm impressed. Wish you could update us on what you meant by "Logic" and "bouncback". I guess I'm not understanding how you are controlling the time.
You ever get the answer?
@@AztecWarrior69_69 nope.
@@fishfreak911 2:19 "debounce logic" I am guessing he means....
Bounce is referring to the effect that electronic waves (caused by almost anything like static in the air to microwaves and RF signals) will affect the microcontroller and give false triggering. Think of it this way. Say you have a switch that is set up outside with a thin piece of metal that makes a connection between two contacts, that is supposed to work/make connection (send signal or power) to power a light bulb inside. A door/window opens and makes contact and the light turns on.
HOWEVER the wind keeps blowing a lot or every once and a while. Giving you false triggering so the light will be turning off and on , flickering, Bouncing. In this case it is not wind but the probability that he did not press and hold the button down long enough or clicked it too fast.
Debounce logic is either making it Hold positive (Pull Up) or completely disconnected, combined with logic code that will help decide/control whether or not it was an actual press of the button or just electrical interference. Programing wise it can be done by timing how long the button is pressed. Kinda like when the host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire asks if that is the final answer. In the example of the windows/door switch, it is like adding a spring to hold it in the open position or the closed position so slight pushes of the wind won't make the metal make a connection.
Most common way to do that in Microcontrollers is to stabilize the switch by making it go HIGH (pull up) (the logic part). By making it have a solid constant power/high/positive voltage, those erratic and fluctuating electronic waves (the wind) have no effect on it because it is already has power/high/positive voltage.
There are many articles on how this works. CZcams won't let me link them here. I am not the best at explaining and I am not an expert with microcontrollers so I how I did not make it more confusing.
" I guess I'm not understanding how you are controlling the time."
Do you mean the time it takes to open and close and how to stop the motor, in time. As in how does the controller know how long does the door take to open and close.
OR
Are you wanting to know how he controls what time the door is to open and close? As in what time of day to open and close.
would it be possible for you to design me an, automatic coop opener, using a car/truck window actuator, that is controlled by a photo sensor? Possible chime to warn the chickens the door will be closing, a little like Pavlov's Salivating Dogs, only different.
You should re-title this video, "Simple Solutions - Made Complicated." I was able to apply the same function with a yard-sale salvaged garage door opener. The difference was that everything was self-contained (motor, circuit board which included limit controls and signal receiver.
"yard-sale salvaged garage door opener." what? that is more complicated than this video.
First. "Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Project" is a good title. It never says anything about how complicated or made any claims of it being easy to do. "Automatic Chicken Coop Door Opener Project" perfectly described the video. What's you problem?
Second. Your "solution" is way worse.
you have to have a opener that will work
you have to mount it
the size of it is just stupid huge for a chicken door unless you actually have chickens in a garage sized coop
running power to coop
you have to disable the sensors
and many other things you have to work around.
You say you were "able" to do this. Well show proof and all that you had to do to get it to work. Normally I don't require proof if the idea sounds easy and plausible, but since you are so arrogant and rude, I think you should. Put up a video of it working.
love it. 5 stars.
Way cool I wish I had this kind of mind! Have you done anything with needing to supplement light inside the coop w/o electricity?
nice door, have any plans for the wood portion of the door?
Clever mechanism :)
I AM HENHOUSE, HEAR ME BOCK!
love it.
um yeah its all well and good until some poor hen loses her head in the door...lol. Most kidding but I think it will work better in the opening procedure than in the closing procedure. my own chickens are not very precise about when to tuck in...just a thought
Good idea! Greatt! :)
how does it know to change directions cause the drill will have a push button
The drill is gutted and the switch is bypassed. Control comes from the arduino.
epic!!!!!!!
NEED SIMPLE , TOO COMPLICATED FOR US FARM BOYS !
triumphmanful Go with a powered car antenna or a ram arm actuator.
For the lock, you can make what I call a teeter-toter "L" shaped arm (there are some youtube vids out there for reference).
@@deasttn they say too complicated and you give them too complicated LOL
@@AztecWarrior69_69 the car antenna is self contained motor and switches. Its built for outdoor use, too. Mine has been working great for years.
@@deasttn Not build for outdoor use It is built for in-car use. Designed only to hold itself up, not move a door.
So what if it is "self contained motor and switches" , mounting the thing is a hassle.
" you can make what I call a teeter-toter "L" shaped arm " Pain in the ass to get it to swing not "teeter totter" . And you either have to have a jigsaw or bend metal.
So again I say, they say too complicated and you give them too complicated LOL.
@@AztecWarrior69_69 I guess u only drive your car indoors? I only drive mine outdoors. And now that I think about it, my door antenna is indoors (inside my coop)
So with a click on the mouse it opens?
@gonepishing: Thanks!
The good news is you are able to build your own chicken house even you are lack of woodworking skill
Just by using detailed blueprint and build your chicken coop yourself, uncover more here:
www.great7.net/easy-chicken-coop-plan
Would you consider open source-ing the design? I am thinking of making and selling doors with an open source design so that anyone could build them if they want, or pay me to make it.
I think all you have to do is say this is copyleft and that's it. I'll look up the details if you're interested.
Constructing a chicken coops on your own is simple and interesting task. I've made a simple to follow help guide to building your very own back yard chicken coop. It's created for that total beginner, and you don't require any carpentry skills.
Bianca Luker
Like a Bau5!
have you considered an acrylic door - it might slide a bit better than wood?
acrylic is nice but it might warp with the heat. So depending on where you live it might not be a good idea. Now if you put strips of cutting board as part of the track or bothe track and door, then yeah it makes it way better.
@edvais Good for you! Post your solution!
There are simpler solutions. This is not one of them. This is designed to be unabashed overkill that would allow me to get some hands-on with some very cool technologies.
Why are you taking it so hard? Why you getting your feels hurt over someone telling you the truth?
Are you selling the plans to this coop door?
Where is the chicken?
can I get the arduino sketch?
you are awesome!
of course the world will never know, because when it becomes self-aware you are going to be the first victim ;-p
How do You get the drill to reverse directions ?
Walt Lars Not sure exactly what Clint did, but you can use an H-bridge circuit for this sort of thing. These can either be bought as is, or constructed from several electrical relay switches. I've done this myself for the very same purpose here.
It's simpler than it sounds. H-bridges are just made of relays (which you'll find in your car; they're not just techy things). A relay just opens/closes electrical circuits. You apply a small electrical current, and it activates an electromagnet which pulls on a regular old magnet that opens/close an electrical circuit as it moves. Using 4 simple relays, you can set things up so that in one configuration of magnet positions, the current flows one way through the drill, and in another configuration, the current flows the other way. That's all an H-bridge is.
Clint is using an Arduino to control the drill. This is basically just a very simple computer with the ability to turn on/off very small currents programmatically. These small currents are what he's likely using to trigger the relays in an H-bridge circuit in order to switch between forward and reverse.
@@ChristopherSmall-metasoarous FOUR RELAYS? Why? All you need is two.
@coopofhazzard Why? is getting Laid important? Can you afford unplanned children? What happens if she refuses to have an abortion?
WAY....to much time on your hands.....