DIY auto topoff

I did the same. Sadly I don;t have room for a freshwater reserve LOL.

 

Nothing like having a cut extension cord running 110 volts around a bunch of corrosive and very conductive saltwater, just remember in this hobby you always get what you pay for.

For the record you can get autotop off's for $40 plus shipping.

 

I would say it depends on where it is cut and soldered to make that judgment. The way I did mine, the tank would basically have to 100% dump out to even get any of the line wet... I think I would have more problems aside from just corrosion at that point /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/wink.gif You do make a valid point though, it can be done unsafely very easily, but throwing a bunch of money at something also doesn't necessarily make it better.

 

That was my point exactly, shaun made it sound like he just cut off the extension cord and twisted the wires together to a switch and hung it on his sump.  These kind of DIY projects can save you money but to me time IS money, I can imagine it took at least an hour to put together, add that up along with the parts and shipping you paid on a little float switch from ebay....well you get the point. 
All I am saying is you can get one prebuilt for $40, they are grounded and well built, if you don't have a soldering gun, heat wrap and a resonable amount of electrical knowledge it isn't all that much of an expense.

 

I put all the soldered/heatshrinked connections  in a radio shack project box and sealed it, then attached it above the sump where no water could possibly reach it(my sump/fuge sits outsite the stand ). Mine is run off 12V DC too, only thing that runs off AC is the pump.
You don't really save a great amount of money but some people just like tinkering

 

I agree, but when most of my free time is spent playing wow anyway, I didn't find it too hard to put the game down and tinker with some wires, LOL /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/biggrin.gif

 

Way to go Jeremy, rain on their parade. I think DIY is good, nothing wrong with saving a few bucks as long as you are going to do it safely.


How about posting some pictures of your DIY top-offs?

 

Shaun -
If you have a photobucket account (or if not you should get one, they are free), you are going to want to upload your pics to photobucket *you can also use another website, I just like PB myself). From there, PB provides links for you to embed your pics in posts. You are just going to copy those links, paste them into a reply post, and you are set. As long as the PB servers are up we will see your pics every time we open the page.
Hope that helped