Jump to content

  • GUESTS

    If you want access to members only forums on HSO, you will gain access only when you Sign-in or Sign-Up .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member. ?

Got tired of burning batteries with the frabill aerator...

shnelson

By shnelson
in Ice Fishing

 Share

Recommended Posts

shnelson Proficient

shnelson

Posted
Posted

So now I plug it in overnight:

IMG_4464_w.jpg

A simple $10 fix to this dilemma would be to pick up a fish tank aerator from a local retailer, but I wanted to see what I could do with some scraps I had laying around.

IMG_4468_w.jpg

My aerator normally takes 2 D cell batteries, run in series for 3 volts total output. I found an old motorola cell phone charger with a 5 pin usb mini connection, which gave me 5vdc to work with. I also had a handful of spare N4001 diodes laying around (running 3 in series gives me ~2.6-3v under load). These guys will only set you back a few pennies a piece and can be found at your local electronics shop (or in my case, the junk drawer).

IMG_4471_w.jpg

I spliced the wire open to find 3 leads: red, black and yellow. Yellow didn't seem to carry anything so I just cut it short, red and black gave the 5v I was looking for. I threw the diodes in line on the positive lead, doctored up some shrink wrap and finished it with some alligator clips.

IMG_4466_w.jpg

If you try this yourself, you will see 5v coming from the leads when you throw a voltmeter up to them until you add a load, you should see it drop down below 3v (it will fluctuate, that's the nature of the diodes as this isn't really their intended purpose).

I've had this setup run for a few nights straight now with no adverse effects. Motor still produces plenty of air and hums along quite nice. The diodes will warm up a little bit, but they should never get too hot to touch. When it comes time to fish, my minnows are full of life and more than happy to go to work for me smile.

Hope someone finds this useful, though I know it is not typical for every ice fisherman to be packing a soldering iron I figured I would share my findings. You can also take a standard USB to 5 pin connector and splice that, giving you a true USB powered aerator smile.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
beer batter Experienced

beer batter

Posted
Posted

Very nice Schnelson. I'm always trying to tinker with things to make them work better for my purpose.

Never knew diodes could be used to drop voltage like what you did. Isn't their main purpose to only allow current to flow in one direction? Is there a certain amount of voltage drop per diode, or how did you calculate what you needed for your purpose?

I assume you can still use the aerator with batteries for when you head out fishing - correct?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
hamms-scooter Veteran

hamms-scooter

Posted
Posted

I have been looking at the frabil aerators and think they are nice... will be getting one for on the ice, but like you i dont want to lose my life savings on d batteries. Wondered if there was a wall plug in for it but now i see there is not. You made a nice mod to that one good job! I dont have the stuff for it so i think I will pick up a 6 dollar one for at home also.Nice pics thanks, shnelson

quick question: I see guys like Brian Brosdahl using these aerators on the ice, does it make much difference to have one in the bucket on the ice when they had it all night? Are they much more active? I will be getting both anyways i was just wondering for those of you that use them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DTro Grand Master

DTro

Posted
Posted

I love these posts, like you say, not your typical solution as you can get a cheap 110v air pump, but....you took what you had and made it work.

The USB option would be killer. You could run a bait tank off your laptop laughlaugh

So, do you now have to option to use either DC or AC?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
McGurk Grand Master

McGurk

Posted
Posted

On second thought, why not stop by your friendly Petsmart and pick up a cheapo 110 volt air pump, and use the hose off of your frabill aerator? Probably save the hassle of fabbing, and not be that expensive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shnelson Proficient

shnelson

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I'm using diodes for this one, each one gives roughly a .7v drop for a combined total of 2.1v. I suppose resistors could aid in the same function, after all that is what they are for. They might run a little warmer than the diodes though, but you've given me something to test now smile.

I rigged it up with alligator clips so I could just connect it to the (+) and (-) terminals where the batteries normally go, when it is time to go mobile the clips come out and the batteries go in. It would be easy enough to wire in a permanent dc jack for the aerator so you can avoid the clips - but you want to be careful not to power it while the batteries are in place as they don't like that very much.

I've had my batch of minnows for the last two weeks, I give them a 50% change of water and put them on the aerator each night. I am able to run without it while I am fishing and they seem to get along just fine. It wasn't until yesterday where I started losing a couple, but I think that is because I let the water get a little dingey.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shnelson Proficient

shnelson

Posted
  • Author
Posted

On second thought, why not stop by your friendly Petsmart and pick up a cheapo 110 volt air pump, and use the hose off of your frabill aerator? Probably save the hassle of fabbing, and not be that expensive.

I think that is the most appropriate solution, only $10 and those puppies are designed to run 24/7 - Yes, I still question the integrity of my setup.. but I haven't started the garage on fire with it yet smile.

This little project is an indication that I have too much time on my hands...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
FrontenacPike Proficient

FrontenacPike

Posted
Posted

quick question: I see guys like Brian Brosdahl using these aerators on the ice, does it make much difference to have one in the bucket on the ice when they had it all night? Are they much more active? I will be getting both anyways i was just wondering for those of you that use them.

Big difference in minnow life and activity. Fish need o2 and when they have a good supply of it they stay much more active. Thus this transfers to once you hook a minnow on and use him as bait. When I'm on the lake and I see my minnows start sufacing and gasping for air, i turn my bubbler on for a few minutes. Once I get home I use a chepo bubbler from walmart that runs off electricity. You will notice a big difference in activity and die off.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now ↓↓↓ or ask your question and then register. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • smurfy
      Just Food and Drink

      By smurfy · Posted

      By The way that didn't work either!! Screw it I'll just use the cellular. 
    • Wanderer
      Just Food and Drink

      By Wanderer · Posted

      It’s done automatically.  You might need an actual person to clear that log in stuff up.   Trash your laptop history if you haven’t tried that already.
    • smurfy
      Just Food and Drink

      By smurfy · Posted

      😂 yea pretty amazing how b o o b i e s gets flagged, but they can't respond or tell me why I  can't get logged in here on my laptop but I can on my cellular  😪
    • Mike89
      Just Food and Drink

      By Mike89 · Posted

      I grilled some brats yesterday, maybe next weekend will the next round...  
    • Wanderer
      Just Food and Drink

      By Wanderer · Posted

      You got word censored cuz you said        B o o b ies….. haha.   Yeah, no… grilling is on hiatus for a bit.
    • smurfy
      Just Food and Drink

      By smurfy · Posted

      Chicken mine,  melded in Mccormick poultry seasoning for 24 hours.  Grill will get a break till the frigid temps go away!
    • Mike89
      Problems with Yetti

      By Mike89 · Posted

      good luck!!!   
    • rundrave
      Problems with Yetti

      By rundrave · Posted

      we had some nice weather yesterday and this conundrum was driving me crazy  so I drove up to the house to take another look. I got a bunch of goodies via ups yesterday (cables,  winch ratchet parts, handles, leaf springs etc).   I wanted to make sure the new leaf springs I got fit. I got everything laid out and ready to go. Will be busy this weekend with kids stuff and too cold to fish anyway, but I will try to get back up there again next weekend and get it done. I don't think it will be bad once I get it lifted up.    For anyone in the google verse, the leaf springs are 4 leafs and measure 25 1/4" eye  to eye per Yetti. I didnt want to pay their markup so just got something else comparable rated for the same weight.   I am a first time wheel house owner, this is all new to me. My house didn't come with any handles for the rear cables? I was told this week by someone in the industry that cordless drills do not have enough brake to lower it slow enough and it can damage the cables and the ratchets in the winches.  I put on a handle last night and it is 100% better than using a drill, unfortatenly I found out the hard way lol and will only use the ICNutz to raise the house now.
    • Wanderer
      Problems with Yetti

      By Wanderer · Posted

      I haven’t done any leaf springs for a long time and I can’t completely see the connections in your pics BUT I I’d be rounding up: PB Blaster, torch, 3 lb hammer, chisel, cut off tool, breaker bar, Jack stands or blocks.   This kind of stuff usually isn’t the easiest.   I would think you would be able to get at what you need by keeping the house up with Jack stands and getting the pressure off that suspension, then attack the hardware.  But again, I don’t feel like I can see everything going on there.
    • rundrave
      Problems with Yetti

      By rundrave · Posted

      reviving an old thread due to running into the same issue with the same year of house. not expecting anything from yetti and I already have replacement parts ordered and on the way.   I am looking for some input or feedback on how to replace the leaf springs themselves.    If I jack the house up and remove the tire, is it possible to pivot the axel assembly low enough to get to the other end of the leaf spring and remove that one bolt?   Or do I have to remove the entire pivot arm to get to it? Then I also have to factor in brake wire as well then. What a mess   My house is currently an hour away from my home at a relatives, going to go back up and look it over again and try to figure out a game plan.           Above pic is with house lowered on ice, the other end of that leaf is what I need to get to.   above pic is side that middle bolt broke and bottom 2 leafs fell out here is other side that didnt break but you can see bottom half of leaf already did but atleast bolt is still in there here is hub assembly in my garage with house lowered and tires off when I put new tires on it a couple months ago. hopefully I can raise house high enough that it can drop down far enough and not snap brake cable there so I can get to that other end of the leaf spring.

  • Topics

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

  I accept