Protect Your Expensive Rig Before a Spill-Damage End Your Experiments
Rig Guardian Spill Detector
The Rig Guardian gives you instant peace of mind. Two sensors watch the vulnerable spots on your setup. The moment conductive solution touches them, an alarm and LED are triggered, and nominated cell phones receive an immediate notification — before damage happens.
The Rig Guardian is a low-cost solution ($320) that serves as an additional insurance policy against damage to your expensive equipment.
How does it work? (see short demo video below)
In a neurophysiology lab, a single unnoticed spill is one of the most expensive “small” problems you can have.
It can corrode ground connections, create persistent electrochemical noise, ruin hours of data, or in the worst cases damage expensive amplifiers and manipulators that take weeks to replace.
The Rig Guardian was built specifically for this reality.
Place one or both of the included sensors wherever your rig is most at risk (under the bath, near the pump, at the base of the manipulator) to detect spills.
The alarm stops automatically once the spill is cleared, or you can silence it with the front-panel switch while you clean up.
Simple. Reliable. Built for real labs.
Key Benefits
- Stop expensive accidents before they happen — protects amplifiers, manipulators, and months of work
- Instant peace of mind — you can step away from the rig without constant worry
- Works with any conductive solution — ACSF, saline, viral vectors, drug solutions
- Two sensors can be included — cover multiple vulnerable zones on a typical rig; Some end-users prefer to manufacture their own sensors.
- Telegram alerts — notifications go straight to your phone (Android & iOS)
- Completely open-source — full schematics and code available if you ever want to modify it
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Setup and Operation
During the initial setup stage, the user is prompted on their cell phone to connect the Rig Guardian to their local WiFi and to designated cell phones. This is the way the Rig Guardian communicates with the outside world. If you prefer to simply have a “local” setup, without Telegram remote messaging, this setup process can be ignored.
- Position the sensors where spills are most likely
- Plug them into the controller
- Power on — it’s ready in seconds
- Go back to your science — the Rig Guardian watches the rig for you
Technical Specifications
- Controller dimensions: 110 × 80 × 35 mm
- Power: 5–24 V DC (USB-C or barrel jack). Power Supply included
- Sensors: Conductive liquid detection, 2 slots on the controller. Sensors can be ordered for $30/sensor
- Alerts: Buzzer + LED + Telegram (custom phone numbers)
- Deactivate switch for safe clean-up
- Fully open-source hardware & firmware
Pricing
Rig Guardian Spill Detector $320
Guarantee 60-day “Lab Rescue” guarantee — if it doesn’t give you real peace of mind, return it for a full refund (we even pay the return shipping).
Rig Guardian Sensors (see description below) $30 Each
Sensor types:
Sensors are two conductive wires positioned in a 3-D printed jig to be in close proximity to each other. When conductive solution spills onto the wires, current is passed from one to the other, the circuit is closed and the alarm is triggered. Some end-users prefer to configure their own sensors, but we offer pre-assembled sensors at $30 a piece.
Choose one of each type below, or two of either:
Chamber Aperture Sensor
3-D printed round frame with + and – terminals, to fit around your recording chamber (custom dimensions available)
Open-Terminals Sensor
3-D printed block with open terminals to position anywhere on your rig.
Features
- Sensitivity to low-conductive solutions can be increased via software
- Connect the device to your local wifi-network via mobile phone app, and select the spill-notification participants
- Sensor activation results in activation of:
- LED warning light on controller
- Buzz alarm (which can be deactivated by user)
- Phone notification (via Telegram app)
- Customizable sensor format (please send your suggestions)
- Includes 5V DC Power Supply
12 months warranty
Why buy the Rig Guardian Spill Detector from NeuroGig?
The Rig Guardian is a small hardware investment, with potentially huge benefits in protecting your setup. Spills are often not easily visible on your setup, which makes this an essential tool on any wet rig.
We test our devices before it leaves our workshop, and offer support and a 12 month warranty on work and parts