[Vask]

Ive started making my own wheel following some of the 5gal bucket creators before me. I am however working on a quick disconnect system for ez cleaning; just wondering if there would be any interest in a walk through (a how to) for my design. If so, ill document my progress through the build.

 

[Hedgieonboard]

Mine has a carriage bolt that goes through the Cake cover and rollerblade wheel that is attached to it. Then I have a nut that determines how far out from the wall and big washer, I put it through my bars on the cage, another big washer and a wingnut. For me to clean it all I have to do is take the wing nut and one of the washers off and it can come out. Not sure how it would work in other cages but is easy for Ferret Nations since the doors open so wide. The one draw back I have is that since Im not tall I have to have the wheel on one of the sides because I can't reach my arms to attach it onto the back of the cage and it wouldn't be nice to have to ask my husband to set it up for me everyday because of a design choice lol Besides that though it works good

 

[Vask]

^^ I like that design but the issue still lies in the bearings. They are placed ON the wheel, making it easy to get them wet and have them rust. My alteration mounts the bearings to the stand and will have the driveshaft permanently affixed to the wheel, allowing for a single wing nut or quick release tab to be used for removal with no excess parts. This will also allow the bearings to have less of a chance of spinning the shaft on the inner race and a higher likelihood of the relatively light hedgie actually engaging the basket. (this would result in a super smooth, silent ride.)

(possible future mods to wheel: pully to electric motor off the drivefhaft to monitor V+ output of rotation over time. Input data thru adruino, Voltage can be scaled to rpm through labview signal conditioning and viola: hedgehog runspeed, duration, and event occurrence to ensure a healthy friend. (and make some cool graphs) )