latazyo
05-21-2007, 05:17 PM
I just thought I'd share the setup Im using on my current tank
I needed a way to suspend my lights and I dont like hanging cables from the ceiling because I hate the look and I wanted to try this tank topless, so with the help of my brother, I came up with the idea of a compressed gas strut light suspension system
this was very simple to assemble, however the first configuration I tested did not work
due to the fact that the strut was very difficult to compress by hand, I thought I needed to design the system with the least amount of torque, so I made the strut nearly vertical...while I accomplished the goal of providing nearly the least amount of torque, this resulted in the strut being too weak to hold my lights up
so I had to improvise and adjust the angle that the strut was positioned
this picture shows the assembly of the top portion of the light stand, the red line indicates the position of the mount after I moved it, the strut in the picture is in its original non-functioning position
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/suspensiontoppart.jpg
this picture shows the bottom part of the assembly...again the red indicates the current position of the strut
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/suspensionbottompart.jpg
this picture shows the assembly from the front...the blue line indicates where I"ll be jigsawing material away to make for a cleaner look...I also might just put some plywood over the gaping holes...IM obviously going to paint the wood black to match the stand...the strut in this picture is shown in its final, and working, position
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/suspensionfront.jpg
and this picture shows the side view of the unit, the yellow line indicates the FORMER and NONWORKING position of the strut...you can see that I basically went from minimum to maximum torque...I guess I underestimated the weight of my light fixture
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/suspensionsideview.jpg
the basic point of making this unit is so that I can lower the lights (with the strut under pressure) and latch them into place...then when I wish to do tank maintenance or raise the lights for any other reason I simply have to unlatch whatever latching mechanism I choose and the lights automatically raise and stay raised up out of my way
a few potential problems I can see
1. rust on the hardware
2. oil from the strut making its way into the tank somehow
3. failure of the strut (highly unlikely since this is intended for use on a car's trunk or hood, which most of the time are closed with the strut under compression)
and the project is finished
here is a side view of the assembly, you can see my latching mechanism
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/strutfinishedside.JPG
this if the final front view with the lights in the down position, this is where they will be when in use (apparently my dog needed to be in every picture)
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/lightsdown.JPG
and here are the lights up and out of my way
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/lightsup.JPG
--------------------------------------------------
the above was copied and pasted from sometime in December, since then I can re-evaluate the concerns I posted
1. rust on the hardware - after 6 months, absolutely no signs of rust...kind of surprising to me
2. oil from the strut making its way into the tank somehow - absolutely no sign of this happening (unless it just happens to be inert)
3. failure of the strut (highly unlikely since this is intended for use on a car's trunk or hood, which most of the time are closed with the strut under compression) - as predicted, absolutely no problems with the performance of the strut (my spelling, on the other hand is another story)
thanks for viewing, any questions/comments are welcome
I needed a way to suspend my lights and I dont like hanging cables from the ceiling because I hate the look and I wanted to try this tank topless, so with the help of my brother, I came up with the idea of a compressed gas strut light suspension system
this was very simple to assemble, however the first configuration I tested did not work
due to the fact that the strut was very difficult to compress by hand, I thought I needed to design the system with the least amount of torque, so I made the strut nearly vertical...while I accomplished the goal of providing nearly the least amount of torque, this resulted in the strut being too weak to hold my lights up
so I had to improvise and adjust the angle that the strut was positioned
this picture shows the assembly of the top portion of the light stand, the red line indicates the position of the mount after I moved it, the strut in the picture is in its original non-functioning position
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/suspensiontoppart.jpg
this picture shows the bottom part of the assembly...again the red indicates the current position of the strut
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/suspensionbottompart.jpg
this picture shows the assembly from the front...the blue line indicates where I"ll be jigsawing material away to make for a cleaner look...I also might just put some plywood over the gaping holes...IM obviously going to paint the wood black to match the stand...the strut in this picture is shown in its final, and working, position
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/suspensionfront.jpg
and this picture shows the side view of the unit, the yellow line indicates the FORMER and NONWORKING position of the strut...you can see that I basically went from minimum to maximum torque...I guess I underestimated the weight of my light fixture
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/suspensionsideview.jpg
the basic point of making this unit is so that I can lower the lights (with the strut under pressure) and latch them into place...then when I wish to do tank maintenance or raise the lights for any other reason I simply have to unlatch whatever latching mechanism I choose and the lights automatically raise and stay raised up out of my way
a few potential problems I can see
1. rust on the hardware
2. oil from the strut making its way into the tank somehow
3. failure of the strut (highly unlikely since this is intended for use on a car's trunk or hood, which most of the time are closed with the strut under compression)
and the project is finished
here is a side view of the assembly, you can see my latching mechanism
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/strutfinishedside.JPG
this if the final front view with the lights in the down position, this is where they will be when in use (apparently my dog needed to be in every picture)
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/lightsdown.JPG
and here are the lights up and out of my way
http://bitz.net/~latazyo/Pics/Aqua/37RR/lightsup.JPG
--------------------------------------------------
the above was copied and pasted from sometime in December, since then I can re-evaluate the concerns I posted
1. rust on the hardware - after 6 months, absolutely no signs of rust...kind of surprising to me
2. oil from the strut making its way into the tank somehow - absolutely no sign of this happening (unless it just happens to be inert)
3. failure of the strut (highly unlikely since this is intended for use on a car's trunk or hood, which most of the time are closed with the strut under compression) - as predicted, absolutely no problems with the performance of the strut (my spelling, on the other hand is another story)
thanks for viewing, any questions/comments are welcome