Automatic Litterbox Central

Hmmm...I know how I got my pinout now.

On the reset device...the pins contact 1, 4, 8, 11 of the cartridge! So in order to make sure it works while the cartridge is inserted, I have to move wires # 3 and #4 from the 8 and 11 position to 7 and 10. Makes sense to me now...

Okay...got it all wired up and in place. I noticed after I pulled the battery and pluged in my cable...I get the red flashing light. However, if I unplug power to the Cat Genie with the reset device cabled in, it will perform the duty that the switch is set to. So in some way...this might be easier to work with.

So the process would be:

Refill container with solution.
Plug in cable to reset device
Set reset device switch to "Reset"
Unplug/plug power to Cat Genie
After LED goes out, set the reset device switch to "Read"
Unplug/plug power to Cat Genie
Confirm the number of flashes to what the reset device is set to. Mine is set to 252.
Unplug cable to reset device
Done!

Just experimented some more...I can leave my battery in! That way I can still check/reset cartridges in the stand alone mode.

Got some half gallon Gatorade containers. They look nice but it's hard to squeeze when you need to prime the hose. If the hose is already primed...then it's no big deal to use them.

Thought about 2 liter soda bottles (3 liter out here in Texas) but they can be a little more difficult to fill since the opening is smaller. If there is anyone who wants me to make them some 2 liter soda bottle caps that are drilled out with the 33/64" drill bit...let me know. So far I haven't had any takers on the spare caps I've made so far. There's no cost to you. I'll suck up the cost to mail them out...unless you want to donate fer postage.

Do you have any information on where to get a program reset device for the 120? I am buying mine right now and really enjoyed reading about your setup. It looks like the kind of thing I would have ended up doing (or already do) after getting something that needs to have some tweaks. I work for GE and and find myself flying all over the world, so I modified my electric water filtering bowl so that it will fill the small side compartment with water for 2 weeks. Right now I'm using the litermaid elite and the 2 problems they have (which from reading this forum are issues others are having with the rake type devices) is that it needs to hold more and the self clumping litter is not filled deep enough. The cats dig to the bottom, go to the bathroom and the litter sticks to the bottom not to mention that after covering its piled higher than the machine can rake through. The solution is easy for this particular device. The need to install either an ultrasonic device to the prongs of the rake or a cell phone like vibrator (just a small motor with part of a circle cut off so that it is no longer properly weighted). When the rake starts moving to pick up the waste material with the small vibration running through the prongs it wouldn't have any problem with getting stuck. Actually if the box itself had something like that on a larger scale and turned after the animal is out it would help level the litter and loosen any material that might be stuck to the bottom. The latter would not be as much of a problem since you could have much more litter in the box. Well, didnt mean for this to turn into a story...If you have any info. or know of a person I might be able to contact about the reset tool I would really appreciate that.

Thanks, Nick

The 120 has no reset device! Only the 60 did, and that was only till CG went after them legally to stop the production.
Sorry!

Had a crazy idea to sort of improve on my bulk dispenser and eliminate the original cartridge nipple with a more durable setup.

Thinking about inserting the poly tubing directly on the needle with some rubber wrap to make up fer the diameter difference. I'll have to experiment to find the right diameter and depth. Priming the cartridge tube would be a whole lot easier then...

I'm also thinking about removing the circuit board from a cartridge and making a insertable holder fer the board on top of the Cat Genie itself. The dummy cartridge would only have contacts that line up to the contacts on the processor unit. Maybe a rubber seal to seal up the space around the contacts so they don't git oxidized or corroded. This way I don't have to remove the entire cartridge just to reset it. I would only have to remove the board, reset, and replace.

Whatcha think?

New news on my bulk bottle setup!

You don't have to git the connector, O ring, and a special drilled cap anymore! I figured out that since I went with the siphon method, a simple ¼" hole would work. All you have to do is push the poly tubing all the way through the lid so the end of the tube is sitting on the very bottom of the bottle. Besides the Gatorade/juice bottle lids, you can use a milk jug lid/container (screw or snap system) as well.

Might be able to eliminate the shutoff valve with a check valve instead...I'll find out later today. Less mess, less engineering, less cost. Almost sounds like a commercial...

Unless you drill the hole all crooked, the tubing is in tight enough where it still seals against the hole...so you can still prime the tubing by closing off the cap and squeezing the bottle. Just make sure you unscrew the lid just enough to break the vacuum and prevent it from building up.

Whatcha think now?

Just had a situation with the poly tubing that BamZipPow's suggestion would avoid. My setup has run for almost a year with no problems at all. Just recently doing a complete clean I bumped the tubing and it fell out of the coupling. It appears the poly tubing has shrunk and hardened a bit causing the quick connect to fail. If I manually pull the compression part of the quick connect down it will hold, but the slightest bump can cause the tubing to pull out and then I am standing there like the "Little Dutch Boy" with my finger plugging the hole. I plan to buy another container and replace the tubing so there are no connectors to fail in the run. Trying to find an easy way to prime the line or keep it primed when I have to do a complete clean. I thought about trying to find the silicone tubing mentioned in another post. I thought the solution might be causing the shrinkage.

I thought you used the clear PVC tubing...I'm using the polyethylene tubing. It's the same stuff you would use fer yer ice maker lines.



Give the polyethylene tubing a try. I've never had those lines ever git brittle or shrink on me.

I did notice that the new 60 cartridges have only 4 big tabs now instead of the 11 tabs...and the reset device works on those, too!

Gitting ready to bypass the needle spike and plumb the bulk dispenser directly to the pump. Gitting tired of the nipples cracking and draining out all my bulk solution.

In my setup...the only thing the cartridge will do now is just provide a counter of 252 counts fer the processor unit.

I only have 5 more months left in my 4 year warranty. It will be easy to reverse if I need to...