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Running Linux On Your Swimming Pool
Forkenhoppen writes: "Ever considered having a computer look after your swimming pool maintenance? Check out this project by Richard J. Kinch. Mr. Kinch uses a Linux box configured with several shell scripts to control the chlorination levels of his pool."
What next? A device that runs Linux so that their toilet flushes? :-)
Karma whorin' since 1999
Is there anything linux doesnt do!?
I should make up a linux box that uses an Athlon to power my lavalamp!
Hooking crap up to a serial port isn't exactly the same as inserting a Debian CD in your skimmer basket and installing LILO on your pool's boot sector.
Anyway, mine runs NetBSD just fine.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Hmm, is it just me, or does anyone else have that faint voice in the back of their heads screaming something about bathtubs, blowdryers, and toasters that may have adaptable relevance to this situation...?
:)
Er, i'm sure it wasn't important, otherwise i wouldn't have remembered that much of it.
Hmmm... this really got me thinking, maybe a poll question?
What do you use Linux/*BSD for?
I have a firewall/file/mp3/mail server running Debian Linux (Woody), and a desktop system running Win2K and Debian Linux (dualboot).
Je ne parle pas francais.
www.ishit.ca The internet enabled toilet.. runs on linux. Don't know if the feed is up
How about installing an electronic ozone system? They're supposed to be quite efficient and don't require much maintenance as they're basically just a fancy neon tube that the water passes by. I understand they've been required in many european countries since the seventies.
As much as I am a fan of putting Linux where ever it is possible but lets be honest, this is overkill for the application. There is considerably more mundane technology and none-tech devices that can perform this job, just as effeciently.
Or some chemist hacker figures out a way to add "pee" to your pool by modifying what chemicals the program puts out.
Just food for thought. ;)
-- Dan
My family in The Sims could so use that. a free cookie to the first person to make that an item :)
Oh, and it has a section showing how it works =)
This is the app that will finally bring Linux into the mainstream. I had previously thought that the linux powered christmas tree would win over the masses, but it turned out to just be a computer running linux, that sat in a christmas tree.
This looks like the real deal however. Watch out Microsoft.
... and Tripwire to turn it purple if someone pees in it.
HAHAHHA
I want one lol
But its still VERY cool.
;)
I'd think there would be more decent home automation tools/devices around.
Unfortunately there isn't that much out there, and what there is mostly identical to what my 55 year old EE neighbor had from the 80's when he played with home automation on his vic 20.
Happily this article has some links and such that provide practical examples....
Still the best example home automation is the Coffee howto
You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.
while the use of calculated sunrise and sunset times are pretty neat, a simple photosensor might be an idea too. (Of course, the photosensor might get dirty and give faulty data.)
And what happens if the server hangs (which is possible if not likely)? The pool might get much more clorination than he hoped for.
Parallel backup safety systems is probably a good idea here - perhaps just a 555 variant (cascaded?) circuit with a long, if not accurate, delay time that shuts down the system if it ever stays on too long.
I'm willing to bet it's Aqua.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
I realize the parent post isn't politically correct, but it is funny none the less.
Untill something goes terroibly wrong....
;) Like say, and infinite loop exit error while adding the stuff...
"Mr. Kinch uses a Linux box configured with several shell scripts to control the chlorination levels of his pool.""
Imagine what would happen if there was a big bug
Mvh:
- Knut S.
Something like this would be a prime candidate for Embedded Linux running on a smaller, weathertight, dedicated device instead of a full blown PC tho.
The headline remined me of what I used to say to the people (several years ago) in the office when I had to re-boot a NetWare server:
"Everybody out of the memory pool!!"
Soko
"Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
I am thinking about doing something similar with a reef tank that I am going to build. Hook a cheap 486 or pentium up to all of the monitors and dosers that I need to run the tank. I would also like to hook it up to the light ballasts and pumps and have them controlled by some sort of software that mimics the sun and moonlight in the corals natural habitat. What would be really cool is some sort of random cloud generation, as well as random storms in the winter. Even some water temperature variations would be nice.
I was origionally going to use X10 for the design, but I am going to look closer at his custom designs and possibly use those. I really would like to stay away from X10 because of those damn popup windows that they started. I really dont want to support that sort of company.
I am really glad he did this project, it really gives me some good ground work on which to base my smaller project on.
(B) + (D) + (B) + (D) = (K) + (&)
Funny,Iwas going to ask the exact same question!
Feb 10, 2002- A test script was run to more accurately monitor the chlorine levels. everything seemed alright until a power surge interrupted the script. the box hummed strangely. The water took on an eerie glow. arcs of electricity shot through the water. steam floated over the water. small globs of matter formed and floated to the surface. they began to take shape. the realization struck me like a bat...the machine had created primordial life...it was god. dun, duun, DUUUN!
but .. he's using shell scripts! .. and the kernel isnt realtime.. if that thing fails .. his pool get overchlorinated and cause health issues.
Ah well, I suppose he's not running a life support system on it.
-johan
I had to recompile your kernel to add chlorine support.
Just thinking about a power outtage, or any other thing to cause the box to die, bacteria spawing pool anyone?
i know he would still check it once in a while manually but still
I should make up a linux box that uses an Athlon to power my lavalamp!
Oh wait, the iMacs don't have linux it's OSX, and they aren't Athlons and they are pixar lamps not lava lamps... so close!
Wheeeee
A Linux box to control the porch light! It receives sunrise/sunset times over the internet to decide when to switch the light on and off. It even factors in weather related adjustments!
We can finally throw away those damn photocell controllers!
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
= smart people who can negotiate them. By the time any kind of control for the pool filtering & lighting system reaches it, it's gone through so many physical and electrical insulations, that it should be completely safe. Heck, I could control the Atlantic ocean if my blender ran more than Redhat 4.0 and I had the right kind of seals.
/.'ed), this is a pretty neat idea, as it would elminate all of those stupid manual timers (which generally keep very poor time) and eliminate the need for continuous monitoring of pool chemical levels.
Seriously.... from what I saw on this page (before it got
--- There is a man in a smiling bag.
No. IBM did that job.
--Metrollica
this is cool, but ... I always loved those pool cleaner bots that drive around the pool bottom and pick up debris. Could we get a rediculously complicated computer controlled one? let it be run by perl scripts and have a mysql database to log the ammount leaves picked up and ammount of urine in the pool. This will be served from the pool robot itself running a custom apache rig via an 802.11 underwater access point :)
this would be a proper geek project
Free Techno/Jazz/DNB/MI Music by guys obsessed with monkeys!
You are over the limit for the number of friends and foes you can have. Please remove some from your list before adding any more.
DEATH to the FRENCH!
--Metrollica
Well, that's wonderful. But why is this news? Does he really need Linux to do this? I bet a Sinclair ZX 80 could do the job as well. Don't get me wrong, I like Linux and all, but this story hardly seems a prime example of why Linux is better than anything else. Just my $0.02.
MSN 8: Now Microsoft even has bugs in their ad campaigns.
Sorry. I just had to.
dominionrd.blogspot.com - Restaurants on
Just one doubt - Is this guy talking about the paged pool or the non-paged pool?
I'll guess I can get an adequate Linux box for $300. Then I need power to run it, special hardware to handle the chemicals, and of course about $500 worth of my time (at best) to set it all up.
When I'm done, I can get rid of that $5 timed-release dispenser that has kept my chlorine levels stable for years. The chemical costs will remain about the same, of course, but hey, I can get a geekiness award.
As to the timer, if I were going to waste my time to create elaborate software that knows the daylight schedule, why not just wire up a few SCR switches to a photocell? Or better, run the pump at night when evaporation is lower and never have to change the timer settings?
I figure he'll earn his money back in about 2 decades. By which time the PC will have long since rotted.
OK, this kind of project can be fun for its own sake. But let's not pretend it makes economic sense.
"Thanks for inviting me to the pool party!"
"No problem, Ed."
Ed enters the water.
"Ahhh! It burns!"
"That's impossible, Ed. You see, the chlorination levels are controlled by several scripts running under Linux. It's Open Source, so it's stable and it can't help but work."
"For the love of all that's holy, someone help me!"
"You see, with open source any bugs that would have cropped up would have been immediately been fixed by the many independent programmers around the world who check the source code."
"Oh the pain! My skin is being flayed from my body!"
"See the neighbor's kid over there? The one in the Limp Bizkit t-shirt with the baseball cap? He's one of the many open source coders around the world who maintain the system I use to automate my pool. Don't let his age, lack of education, or immaturity fool you; because he's an open source coder he's far superior to any corporate drone with a masters in CS. Now don't you feel better?"
"Oh, the pain! It's like acid!"
"Ed, the chlorine level is precisely monitored, as I've been telling you. Whatever you're feeling is most definitely not the result of chlorine."
Ed finally manages to crawl out of the pool. His skin is an angry red, and his hair has turned white.
"Ohhh...someone...help..."
"Ok, I see how it is, Ed. You're one of those Microsoft supporters, just trying to spread FUD about the open source movement. I think you should leave."
apperently this guy has more.
-THIS SPACE FOR RENT!
Swimming poo
Ick.
pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
Are 11 months not enough?
dude! where were you when fbsd 4.5 was released?!
/.-ing some fool, now he's gonna have a $1000 internet bill. At least, have someone mirror their pages on some service that is /.-resistant. Should we feel guilty? Probably.
Linux flushes a toliet, it cleans your Windows, and it scrubs so you don't have to!
The biggest trick the devil pulled was letting lawyers become politicians so they can write the laws.
Surely Tux will make the pool freezing cold so he can go in for a dip now and again - so be ready for that when you jump in!
1) This guy should learn chemistry first, if he's going to try to write ionic equations.
Hypochlorous acid is HClO.
2) Breaboards are not ideal for switching loads or controlling things as a permanent solution, probably should make a PCB and solder the components on, as breadboards tend to make crappy connections (similar to a cold solder joint).
3) Probably should use optocouplers and protection diodes on *anything* you build and attach to your computer(s).
4) Real men use languages like perl and c, not wussy shell scripts. jk, at least it's not labview or vb script on winbloze or macs.
My two centidollars.
The biggest trick the devil pulled was letting lawyers become politicians so they can write the laws.
I don't meant to belittle this effort, but it's important to notice that this system specifically doesn't (yet) monitor chlorine or other chemical levels. That's a shame, since it seems to me like this could be the most powerful aspect: a continuous feedback system that could, say, adjust the chlorine level when it gets too high or low.
It's hard to fault him for that, since it seems like it would be impractical to do actual monitoring, as the article says: The technology required to sense these chemical parameters requires a delicate probe be inserted into the plumbing, with an amplifier and analog-to-digital converter interface to the computer. These probes are rather expensive at about $100/each, require calibration every month or so, and wear out in about a year. Without some less-expensive, improvised alternative, these costs seem to exceed the possible savings in reduced chemical demand or manual dosing.
But the net result here seems to be not much more than an elaborate scheduling and electrical system -- a glorified timer-box that happens to be running Linux, if you will. It does have a few advantages: more complex configuration possiblities, and the capability to determine daylight hours. But I still have to question whether it would ultimately be less costly -- in terms of time as well as money -- to implement this using more mundane hardware.
(I do note that this page has a lot of detail about the chlorination system, which looks to be well written. The liquid chlorine pump setup sounds like an impressive achievement -- but the Linux part is not quite as special as it's made to appear here.)
Life is far too important to be taken seriously.
Using a linux box to do a job that can be done by some basic electronic circuits deserves praise and applause?- IT -UP-dot.org
slash-WE-LOVE-LINUX-AND-LAP-ANYTHING-RELATED-TO
-Shaunak.
Well, it's apparantly being slashdotted a bit, and when I went there, I saw only the following at first:
:-)
Swimming Poo
I just had to share that with you people
What can't you do with them ?? It's like statistics..... What can't you prove with them ??
Migx
How bout a project for Linux for your Mother's Desktop?
The masses are the crack whores of religion.
I don't hope he is running the pool program on the same as his webserver....maybe a /. effect could make the program go wild.... "father father the pool is red and green and cold....." ;)
What rimes on recursion What rimes on recursion What rimes on recursion What rimes on recursion
would there be a market for a thing like this?
somebody could probably package this thing a make a decent buck selling these.
keep the instructions on line, but market it for your typical joe.
--john
Slashdot: you'll not find a more wretched collection of villainy and disreputable types...
Always, and I mean *always* use clickable thumbnails as your primary image.
The problem with this system is that its automating something that is more easily handled by cheap mechanical devices. Mechanical autochlorinator technology is cheap and works.
Most people think a pool with too much chlorine will have a "chlorine" smell and will irritate your eyes. This is a fallacy; pools get that funny smell because the available chlorine has been turned to chloramines. The only way to get rid of the chloramines is to add more chlorine. So ironically, a "chlorine" smell in a pool is a sign of poor maintence and NOT ENOUGH CHLORINE! Your eyes will not be irritated, your skin won't turn red, you won't be harmed by too much chlorine in a pool.
Besides this is attacking the wrong problem. Keeping the proper chlorine levels in a pool with the proper chemistry is simple. Combined with the mechnical device I've already mentioned makes checking the chlorine levels a once-a-week chore for a residential pool. Its the least bothersome part of running a pool.
The tricky part is the rest of the chemistry (particularly total alkalinity and pH). It can be done via automation, but there's no particular need to have a computer do it. Again, its a once-a-week check, and then you add small doses of chemicals at that time if it needs to be balanced. But the balance is critical to everything about the pool and the health of the people in it.
The bottom line is that you have to check it once a week yourself anyway, regardless of the automation system. Spend your time swimming, not inventing the equivalent of an electric dog polisher.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
After all, houses with pools generally don't sell for much less than half a million, so if you can afford something like that you can afford to hire a human to do the work of cleaning it for you (hell, you can probably afford to hire an army of topless models to do the cleaning for you!).
When I got to the first part about not using X10, and making his own controller, (despite crud complaints about X10 stuff not being made for high voltages), I gave him the benefit of the doubt. When I got to the next part about not using a basic stamp either, I figured we were at the wheel re-invention stage, and lost interest. Not only that, it doesn't use sensors for chemical level detection ... oh well. However, this kind of stuff always has the potential for interest - folks - you might like homepower magazine too www.homepower.com - especially if you live are being shafted by California power policies right now!
There are lots of programs out there now that remind you when things need to be done in an aquarium -- but this kind of thing (not the one on his site, that's still open loop, it just acts on faith that the chemicals its adding are actually needed) would be very useful in aquarium maintenance, especially marine/reef aquariums. You could set up pH, specific gravity, etc... meters and based on those add chemicals and fresh water. Or you could run all those tests manually and have the system add the appropriate amounts based on the numbers you feed it. I'm sure large public aquariums run systems like this to keep things in check, but it would be cool to do it at home.
OR... you could just run Mister House!!! Any machine with Perl will do! Control everything without having to reinvent the wheel.
I even have my wife's vibrator hooked up to an X-10 module and controlled by Mister House. That way I can zap the bitch when I'm at work, or allow the public telepresence control! Now, who gives a fuck about pools when I can do that?!?
X10 is a protocol, you dont have to buy gear from X10.com. As far as running all your reef stuff off a PC, just make sure a power outtage doesnt screw things up. My tank's calcium reactor got stuck in 'on' for a full week and the doser added so much nitrazorb that all my stoneys died. Make sure the UPS lasts an hour, and that everything goes off when the box powers down. I did this by routing the power of all the pieces through the PC power supply.
Just some food for thought.
I believe his little server croaked.
Well, I got there too late...guess the guy doesn't read slashdot - here's all his site says:
Swimming pool control with Linux
Something happened Saturday, February 9, 2002, resulting in this Web site getting hammered with hits and overloading the server. Why is my site
getting 10,000s of hits this morning?
Was there a provocative link posted somewhere?
Please someone email me about this at:
kinch@truetex.com
Richard J. Kinch
Guess the guy's mailbox is gonna get full now, too...hehe
Swimming pool control with Linux
Something happened Saturday, February 9, 2002, resulting in this Web site getting hammered with hits and overloading the server. Why is my site getting 10,000s of hits this morning?
Was there a provocative link posted somewhere?
Please someone email me about this at:
address deleted
Richard J. Kinch
as I get older and older, I realize how stupid and immature slashdot really is. Who cares if someone can control some trivial thing with a linux box. That's nothing great at all. Report big milestones, not stupid little events like this.
note that with proper attention to biology and chemestry, one can maintain a swimming pool without added chemicals:m in g.html
http://www.permaculture.co.uk/mag/Articles/Swim
Worse yet, the ads are misleading. They imply that the quality of images produced by an X10 camera is adequate.
Fry's had a demonstration of the XCam, and the picture was so fuzzy as to be virtually unusable. Even the voyueristic possibilities inherent in the X10 ads would be destroyed by the awful quality.
You have been warned.
D
Process control technology is actually quite advanced and uses a considerable amount of technology. I guess Linux is OK for a pool, but I would be reluctant to use Linux (or windows for that matter) in a serious industrial control application. There are a few trusted vendors who sell integrated plantwide control systems that rarely fail. Check out www.controls.com for more info.
LOL!
it's called a bathroom porn cam!
I wonder if I can do this with my aquariums? It would be nice to have the pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, Kh and GK automagically measured or easily accessable. Rather than having to use drops for each test.
Only 'flamers' flame!
Pool::Clean
that module has saved me hours of icky pool cleaning. Thank you CPAN!
This
...a Beowulf cluster of swimming pools?
The hydroslide could autoswitch to whichever pool had the fewest people in it
Micro and Mini PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) would be appropriate for an application like this and are very inexpensive with the added benefit of being able to run 24/7 without ever needing reboots or kernel updates, etc.
They can be programmed very easily with ladder-logic programs (basically large chunks of IF a AND b OR c TURN x ON/OFF) and already have built-in timers and counters that make an app like this as easy as pie.
A microPLC like a Mitsubishi Alpha with 4 inputs/2 relay outputs is about $85 and $110 for 6 inputs / 4 relay outputs.
... the gene pool?
;-)
Too bad we cant have a linux box control that
..pcable
I want to see the pictures !!!
----------------------------
Savencu Catalin
Blastcenter.com
Kinda makes those $800 NASA toliet seats look like a sweet deal. Wouldn't a $1.50 PIC do about the same thing and allow the purchase of $998.50 worth of cold, frosty beer?
Was a salt-water pool. The filtration/cleaning system was electrical based, and super simple looking and small to boot. The water was VERY gentle, you could easily open your eyes underwater without any burning, and when you got out, you weren't "sticky".
Now, true - maybe a chlorine pool can be the same way with proper care and attention to everything - I don't know, I have never owned a pool. But I tell you, the cost in savings of chemicals alone for a salt water pool make it seem worth it (basically, you use big bags of salt, and a bit of electricity - cheap).
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
you know the drill, pay some attention...
my gawd, there's like a gazillion X10-trools out there and everyone falls for them. this while they're stupid, childish, and misleading.
ps i work for X10.com of course...
True, I would have to concede that running the pump is the most expensive thing, and you don't get away from that with a salt-water pool. I tend to wonder, though, whether you have to run a salt-water pool pump more or less? Would be something interesting and worthwhile to know, to say the least.
Still, the advantages of simple salt over pool chemicals still make sense, if only for the simple reason that one is safer (overall - storage, transport, use) than the other (chlorine/acid vs salt)...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
- --
July. As in "July! July about dis, 'n July about dat. All you white people lie, lie, lie!"When is white history month, or chinese history month, et al?
;->
-- @rjamestaylor on Ello
Very impressive, but do you run linux IN your swimming pool?
http://www.datawhorehouse.com/defcon9/?slide=7