Thread: Draco Drum Solum 16 + Standard Bio review

Originally Posted by NickK-UK

The new controller box just arrived:

Attachment 35735

It looks like it has a new override to ensure that washes are triggered after 45mins or 99 mins rather than only waiting for the water level to trigger.

The rest of the switchgear looks identical, so I think based on experience this will need a cover against the elements.

You`ve just answered a question for me , there , Nick . I thought the wash over-ride switch was to stop the wash triggering for the allotted time - so you can fiddle with the float switch , or whatever .

But instead , it triggers the wash after the time has elapsed ?? That makes sense .
I dont think its mentioned in the instructions - so thanks and good luck with your new controller .

So far mine seems to have worked well , without issues - although ideally , I`d have had it set slightly lower , as I`m on the lower limit for the sensor . Only had it since November , so we`ll see how it fares when the weather warms up

Originally Posted by hippo

You`ve just answered a question for me , there , Nick . I thought the wash over-ride switch was to stop the wash triggering for the allotted time - so you can fiddle with the float switch , or whatever .

But instead , it triggers the wash after the time has elapsed ?? That makes sense .
I dont think its mentioned in the instructions - so thanks and good luck with your new controller .

So far mine seems to have worked well , without issues - although ideally , I`d have had it set slightly lower , as I`m on the lower limit for the sensor . Only had it since November , so we`ll see how it fares when the weather warms up

A blocked drum is bad news - the water (assuming no overflow bypass exists in the drum design - in the Draco that's not) will simply overflow the waste chute. This pond being pump fed means it will empty the pond without a level sensor protecting it. Remarkably easy todo (I've done that about 3 times before I installed the float switch).

For this reason it doesn't make sense to stop the drum cleaning - the emergency stop latches and stops (and yes I've had an almost empty pond due to forgetting to unlatch the e-stop). Only thing I wish is that when the drum is e-stopped the controller makes a loud "beep" every 30-60 seconds.

Having a timed override is useful for a number of reasons:

* stops waste from sitting in the drum if your drum isn't regularly needing a clean (winter, understocked etc).
* stops drum waste from drying onto the drum in summer or when drums are not triggering regularly (winter)
* reduces the drum-filter yo-yo of water level (all drums cause this currently) except when the drum will clear.
* it can help the drum prevent from freezing - water drawn through the water pipes, nozzles and over the screen helps keep it defrosted.

For me, sub-zero temps and drums are an interesting problem. If the drum is indoors then typically it will not have issues (the water temps through the lidded drum/bio keep it unfrozen. Outside though - the water piping, drum nozzles, the drum mesh above water and the bio input size mesh are all issues with serious repercussions. Any of these areas will end up with water blockages and overflow scenarios with pump-fed or dry pump if gravity-fed.

I think part of the controller water ingress issues is twofold:
a) The main seal was a problem in the first one - the plastic bolts that hold the front on, if they don't work properly then you have a soggy controller. The top seal is behind clear plastic which sits in direct sunlight all year around so any UV sensitivity is going to cause a problem.
b) I have my controllers outside and on a wood board mounted at a 30deg off vertical angle. So heavy rain pours across the controller and for the manual wash switch sits in the switch. The IP65/8 standard has the standard where a water jet of a known pressure is fired at a defined angle (about 30deg IIRC) to simulate wind-vectored rain. So this should not be a problem.

Personally I still think the switch gear on the front of the box is a weak spot - I would prefer that they're touch/proximity switches set behind the plastic so there is no break in the plastic facia and the water proofing isn't reliant on rubber seals.
The e-stop is always an interesting one - they need to be accessible, and they need to simply break and freeze the current operation - in the case of the Draco controller it breaks the live mains wire to the power supply. Pushing the e-stop, the new controller takes a few seconds to power down (ie the display lights disappear) compared to the old one. I've not checked to see if the 12V drum motor continues to operate based on residual charge (I assume it doesn't have capacitors in the power path - the solenoid either). However I can see that the additional reserve power helps the controller not be affected by brown/dropouts of power - in the event of a power failure, the solenoid, wash pump and drum I assume would simply stop as normal leaving the filter in the correct state.

Don't get me wrong - I like the drum (bypass is a godsend!), I like the controller and the simplicity of 'it just works'. The performance is also first rate.

The only addition I would love is a waterproof buffered I/O port - so that it can be easily connected to external systems to signal it's state. Extra cost, minimal users but would be extremely useful.