Old Lectrasan Timer I Repaired

[sdowney717]

I took apart the timer control to see what was the matter.
Aparently L1-L2 are internally connected by a threaded brass rivet and copper plates.
On mine this internal connection failed between rivet and plate. No visible failure was visible.
An easy fix was to jumper L1 and L2 on the outside of the timer.
This timer is electrically simple with only 2 switch circuits.
The power feeds in on a single terminal T2 (T1)
when handle is rotated all the way on, power is fed to L1 and L2.
L2 feeds power to the small mixer motor in the first chamber of the tank.
When timer handle hits the treatment stage, power is sent on to T3 from L2 and L1 which are internally connected, (but no external attachment wire was originally furnished on the timer for L1.)
T3 simply energizes the large power relay sending power to the ammeter and titanium plate electrolyser (acid maker acidifies both chambers) and the large macerator motor in the second chamber.
when timer is finished connection is severed from T2(T1) and L2 thereby killing power to T3.

An improvement to the fuses in the control unit are to replace the 30 and 40 amp fuses with self resetting 30 and 40 amp inline breakers. These just snap into the spaces a fuse would normally be placed.
Inside the timer, I decided to solder the brass rivets to the copper plates for extra insurance that the electricity will flow.

The timer comes apart easily.
Remove the 2 large long screws on the front the side with handle.
pull covering metal cylinder off black plastic timer base
remove 2 small screws holding mechanical timer to electrical black plastic base.
carefully remove timer mechanism from electrical base. (note position of the mechanical timer in relation to the base)
lift off small spring holding brown phenolic plate and remove that plate
then you can see the mechanical switches and brown phenolic switch arm. That first plate seems to hold no purpose. It does not move, I did not look too close at the function.

When reassembling timer to electric base, the spring loaded brown phenolic switch arm is pushed back slightly by the timer mechanism pin, so there is a tiny amount of tension as you line up the 2 screws.

I know likely few people have this mechanical timer. But the thing is very simple and was easy to fix. Dont want to spend hundreds for the new setup.

[mohamedshaheen]

i have the newer version that has the electrical board and the touch controller on the head
both motors working when hard wired but not when i click the touch button on the head ..that button is connected to the electrical board so my guess is either the touch button is not working or the electrical board is not working

but the question is possible to just hard wire the motors with a timer switch??
or there is more into it?

[model 10]

Oh man, same issue. I run both mixers at the same time on just one 2 minute electric timer. The touch button switch failed and I did not think to try and fix it, it seemed sealed.

[mohamedshaheen]

i think the treatment time is 4 to 5 min .. but the point is that right or it is not really treating the waste ... running the motor is not really treating the waste .
but if any know how it works electronically we can know if it is working or not

[model 10]

You can tell by the amp load if the plates are working. The 2 motors draw less on their own. I've replaced the plates, several hundred bucks. My system did not run for 4 or 5 minutes, it ran for 15 seconds on first motor then 1.5 on the second.

[mohamedshaheen]

the manual says to expect the treatment to last 4 min .. that is based on the touch controler ..
so u say ur system treat the wast in 15 seconds .. !! thats all
or ur timer switch runs for 15 seconds!!
what is the 1.5 !!

[model 10]

It was 15 seconds with the first motor with no power to the plates then 1.5 minutes with the plates going and the motors running. Maybe this is why our S*** stinks. I might turn up the time.

[mohamedshaheen]

i still did not understand why is it 15 sec.. is it u decided to just run it for 15 sec?? or it shuts off after 15 seconds
the way i am thinking of doing it is by connecting to a timer switch so basically i turn the switch on for X number of mins and it will run for that period and then disconnect.
is that the way you have it setup??

[model 10]

I remember the factory timer running as I said, It ran for 15 sec then started the plates and turned on the second motor all automaticly, then stopped after about 2 minutes total run time per cycle. I did not try to find a timer that had 2 cycles so I just run everything all at once. for 2 minutes.

[mohamedshaheen]

ok that makes sense now .. so with the original touch botton and the electrical board ..
when u click the botton it runs the maceraser for 15 sec then the plate starts with the the second motor..
and now u have it setup to run every thing for 2 mins??
and how is it working for u??
did u cal ritran and ask for help .. this is what i am thinking of

[model 10]

You got It. I fugured the rest out on my own. It's pretty simple execpt for the switch/ timer thing. I don't know how to tell if it is working out. Until I heard from you I thought it was running for the correct amount of time and the amp load is correct for the specs given.

[mohamedshaheen]

if this is what it did before with the raitran setup then should be fine .. you have the advantage that you saw how the system working before ,,, i just bought this boat and i dont how it was working before

[model 10]

I had to by 2 different timers from China before I got one that worked. Sometimes only spending $6 for something is not enough, an H3Y-2.

[sdowney717]

Hi,
the timer is independently controlling 3 items.

small macerator motor inside chamber
large macerator motor inside chamber
titanium electrical plates which connect to both chambers. Plates are in the middle of lectrasan, with macerator motors on each side in interconnected water waste filled chambers.

first thing is timer starts smaller motor which mixes for maybe 15 seconds
then the plates come on with the larger motor
runs for couple minutes
then it shuts off

I can re-check the time and order because its been a while since I looked at it working.

The plates by themselves draw about 18 amps when working properly.
If you put an amp meter in the electrode circuit, then you could monitor actual current flow. Too little current not enough salt or bad plates. Too much current= too much salt. Plates will get hotter and wear out sooner.

By the way, these electorde plates don't wear out, it is the number 8 or 10 gauge copper wire to plate connection buried in the black sealant that either corrodes apart or corrodes where it is threaded across the slots in the titanium plates. Threaded as in they cut slots in the plates, then open the slots and pass copper wire the width of the plate. Then plate is pressed back down onto wire. The other end of the wire is brazed or spot welded onto brass electrical studs to which you hook up the wires.

I think if you got some titanium wire or somehow made a better attachment to plates, that it would be a more robust design.