Power Arduino and Liquid flow meter with a battery
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- jschlotzhauer
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2022 6:13 pm
Power Arduino and Liquid flow meter with a battery
I am looking at powering an Arduino ESP8266 and a liquid flow meter with a battery. I am new at IoT and looking to use the Arduino to send flow meter data to an aggregator over WiFi. is it possible to power the liquid flow meter (https://www.adafruit.com/product/828) with a 3.7v 2200mah battery pack or is there a battery robust enough to do the job?
- dastels
- Posts: 15662
- Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 3:22 pm
Re: Power Arduino and Liquid flow meter with a battery
No. It says on the product page that it requires between 5v and 18v.
Which Arduino are you planning to use?
Dave
Which Arduino are you planning to use?
Dave
- jschlotzhauer
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2022 6:13 pm
Re: Power Arduino and Liquid flow meter with a battery
I’m looking at using the ESP8266 NodeMCU CP2102 ESP-12E developer board. I am trying to use the liquid flow meter inside of a large commercial refrigerator where there won’t be any power so I thought about using a battery pack to circumvent that issue.
- dastels
- Posts: 15662
- Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 3:22 pm
Re: Power Arduino and Liquid flow meter with a battery
That's not an Arduino. I didn't think Arduino made an 8266 board.
You could use a PowerBoost1000C https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465 or PowerBoost 500C https://www.adafruit.com/product/1944 (depending on how much current you need) to get 5v from a LiPo battery. You would need to connect USB occasionally to charge it the battery.
You could use a LiPo fuel gauge to monitor the battery and let you know when it need to be charged.
Two possible concerns:
- It's going to be in a refrigerator? How will the low temperature effect the circuit, if at all? The powerboosts run fairly hot. Being in a refrigerator will help cool them nicely :) but will that waste heat create a problem?
- Will being inside a refrigerator cause a problem for the wifi signal?
Dave
You could use a PowerBoost1000C https://www.adafruit.com/product/2465 or PowerBoost 500C https://www.adafruit.com/product/1944 (depending on how much current you need) to get 5v from a LiPo battery. You would need to connect USB occasionally to charge it the battery.
You could use a LiPo fuel gauge to monitor the battery and let you know when it need to be charged.
Two possible concerns:
- It's going to be in a refrigerator? How will the low temperature effect the circuit, if at all? The powerboosts run fairly hot. Being in a refrigerator will help cool them nicely :) but will that waste heat create a problem?
- Will being inside a refrigerator cause a problem for the wifi signal?
Dave
- jschlotzhauer
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2022 6:13 pm
Re: Power Arduino and Liquid flow meter with a battery
This is great info! Thank you! The flow sensors will be inside of a commerical refrigerator monitoring flow to beer taps. Its certainly possible to pentrate to the tap wall to get power but was hoping to avoid having to modify the unit. I I hadn't considered the wifi signal portion. That may be a blocker. I am thinking the waste heat won't be too much of a problem given that its a walk-in refrigeration unit.
- dastels
- Posts: 15662
- Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 3:22 pm
Re: Power Arduino and Liquid flow meter with a battery
A walk-in... I the heat won't be a problem, then. I'd be more concerned about the cold. Although if it's in a bit of an enclosure, probably vented since you don't want heat build up, you should be able to maintain a small warm environment for the circuitry. I might be concern unnecessarily, though. Try and see is always a good approach.
Dave
Dave
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.