The plug and play solution to filtering out your cats smelly litter box! This was just a quick and simple project that I came up with because I noticed while cleaning out the litter box that the holes in the back didn’t really do a good job letting air flow through. This small parts list will get you on the way to having a motion activated fan for your cats litter box.
- Noctua NF-F12 5V, Premium Quiet Fan with USB Power Adaptor Cable (This 5v version is very important for a no hassle setup due to it already being USB capable)
- DC 5V 2A PIR Motion Activated Mini Body Sensor Switch
- Fan Filter Grill 2PCS 120mm Computer Case Fan Dustproof Filter (For kitty protection and to filter out any hair getting in to the fan)
- A USB power brick (I had one laying around)
- USB extension cable (for the sensor to reach the outlet.)
I started out by using the fan filter as a template for the cut out to mount the fan to the back of my cats litter box. Don’t worry, if yours is different its still the same process.
Once I cut out the hole for the fan I mounted it with the the filter on the inside. Note that while the provided screws did work, for my case I chose to find some longer screws due to the thickness of the material of the litter box. Make sure your fan is blowing the air outside of the box. The filter portion will snap on after. It should look something like this:
The motion sensor is mounted on the top of the box. (BEFORE you mount the sensor please take note that there is a potentiometer that sets a timer on how long the fan will run once there is motion. SET THIS BEFORE YOU MOUNT THE SENSOR! I set mine to about thirty seconds after the motion has stopped.) You could probably change where you place this but I just went this way for ease. I added a sticky cable holder so that the cable wouldn’t droop down and become a interest to the cat.
After routing the cables through the existing holes in the back of the box it was time to start plugging everything in. Your fan plugs in to the sensor and the sensor to the power brick. I did use a USB extension cable because my outlet was too far to reach with the sensor’s cable alone.
The end result is a motion activated fan that blows out all the nasty air from the box. I will be updating this project to include a HEPA filter with a 3d printed fan mount for even more freshness. But for now its been doing its job well.
Cat tax included.
