That title might be a little deceptive. Let me elaborate. I will work hard on something now anticipating it will allow for laziness in the future. “Laziness in the future” allows time to work hard on something else in the future, so I can be lazy about that in the more distant future… which allows me to be even more lazy about even more things in the even more distant future. I guess I am just doing my best to maximize my laziness.
All of that leads into an update on my first post. It was about a chicken coop and my reluctance to got out and open it every morning and close it every night. It has been in operation for years now, I’ve automated another, and I want to provide an update. Maybe it will help someone else to maximize their laziness.
BACKGROUND
My original coop is a semi-portable “chicken tractor” designed to be moved about the yard on wheels. In theory, I could periodically move the tractor and fertilize different sections of the yard. In practice, it obliterated all plant life anywhere near its presence. While it failed as a fertilizer, it succeeded that much more in my maximization of laziness! I no longer need to move it about the yard.
I bought the chicken tractor on Craigslist, so the coop door (visible here and here) was a 12″ X 12″ piece of plastic that slides horizontally to open and close.
My second coop was built around laziness with a door that opens and closes by sliding vertically. It also has features allowing it to be cleaned in a few minutes, supplying weeks of food and water, and can be shut in if it is cold. However, my FAVORITE feature is the slick ramp out of the door. If I “accidentally” increase the slope by removing the bricks at the bottom, the chickens can’t get enough traction and fall right down it.
Door Automation Hardware:
I am not going to provide details on the watering and feeding system in this post. I decided not to actively control those because mechanical systems were too simple and reliable. I am also not going to go into details due to space, boredom of the reader, and my laziness. Feel free to comment with questions and I will elaborate.
The chicken tractor door was not designed with electric controls in mind, so it required some jackassery. Its motive force is supplied by an electric screwdriver. I removed the guts and wired it directly to a relay that is controlled via an Arduino microcontroller. It has an angle attachment from a drill that rotates the drive axis by 90 degrees. It also has micro switches to detect when the movement of the door has reached its limits.
The chicken coop door uses a universal power antenna mechanism for the automotive industry but controlled by an Arduino microcontroller. Using an antenna was not my idea, there are multiple examples on the internet so I don’t know who to give credit.
The power antenna took some adaptation due to the door’s weight. When winter brought colder temperatures, an internal clutch mechanism would slip rather than lifting the door. I disassembled the antenna and found I could modify the clutch mechanism to increase its torque output. 
Things were great until summer brought warmth and the modified clutch transferred too much torque, stripping the internal gears.
Rather than continually adjusting the clutch mechanism based on the weather forecast (minimizing laziness), I opted to make a counterweight (maximizing laziness). It consisted of a couple clothesline pulleys, an Oxford comma, some string, and couple pieces of 2×4. Notice their odd shape. I cut off pieces off to balance their weight with the door (with the drive mechanism unattached).
After putting all of the work into these coops, I began to wonder if it was worth it. Do the chickens even need a door that closes at night? If they’ve been around for thousand and thousands of years, shouldn’t they be able to fend for themselves? The answer is no, they are unable to fend for themselves. One night there was a glitch and the door didn’t close. When I went out to check on them, I found a headless chicken laying on the floor. I have since remedied the glitch, and the offender has been dispatched to a better (maybe worse) place.
This has gotten longer than intended, so I have provided some information on the control algorithm in this link.
Overall, both of the coop’s door mechanisms have afforded me the opportunity to be quite lazy indeed! So lazy that I can’t even bring myself to finish this senten
A good source of nichrome wire is from the heater elements of an electric dryer, and it seems to be good to about 2000 F. It is important to do your homework on the length. It must have enough resistance to limit the current or it will be annihilated as soon as it is powered up.
Ceramic wool seems to be good to at least a couple thousand degrees Fahrenheit. It is also a good thermal insulator. I had no problem touching the outside when it was 1700 F inside. You can also see that the electrical tape around the flashing didn’t melt or deform after operation.
For some reason, I have been fascinated with KitchenAid mixers since I was a little kid. I think it is because my parents had a large Hobart mixer at their restaurant, and I thought the smaller home edition was novel. Or more likely, they have gears, mechanical attachments, and a motor… three of the things that are dearest to my heart.
The grease they used breaks down over time and becomes a combination of a cakey substance and a fairly thin oil which drips from the case. I disassembled it, replaced the grease with Food Grade Machinery Grease, and all was good. This was about a year ago, and there has not been another drop of oil.
Grand National is getting closer to running correctly in its almost stock form. I put a manual boost controller on today. Before you start complaining about everything being zip tied together, I need to point out a couple of things. First of all, I find the term “zip tie” rather offensive. They are called racing ties. Secondly, this isn’t permanent. Even though they seem to have decent reviews, I don’t trust the boost controller I bought. I will re plumb it in a semi professional manner if it works as advertised.
orifice that releases boost feedback on the waste gate side of a combination orifice/check valve. It seems to me that it will change the ultimate boost if I am at Wide Open Throttle vs accelerating at a moderate pace. I pondered tossing this out when I figured out how it works. Then I noticed the smaller printing. It states “HIGH PERFORMANCE” right on the label, so I decided to give it a try. I hope to report back with good news.