Water Automation

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Brianpm
 
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Water Automation

Post by Brianpm »

I live in a caravan and settling up a rain catching system so i don't have to worry about filling the main tanks. To do this i would like to automate the system so that it recognizes when the main tanks have space to fill when the catching tank has reached a certain fill level. Not sure were to start the process.

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Hexen_Wulf
 
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Re: Water Automation

Post by Hexen_Wulf »

Well sir, I can't tell you exactly how to make the full sized version, but for a smaller prototype (Proof of concept) you could use something like this: https://www.adafruit.com/product/4965

This basically can be used like an on/off switch whenever it touches water. If you set it at a certain height, you could have it turn off something like this https://www.adafruit.com/product/997 when it detects water, preventing more water from entering.

I'm sure other people will have better suggestions, but your problem sounded interesting! So that's just my amateur idea.

Edit: I'm sure this is obvious, but you'd need some sort of microcontroller as well. I'd recommend something that supports CircuitPython if you're a beginner like I am. You'll also need a way to supply 12v to the valve.

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adafruit_support_mike
 
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Re: Water Automation

Post by adafruit_support_mike »

Ultrasonic range sensors are good for measuring the level in a tank of liquid:

https://www.adafruit.com/category/686

Devices like the Maxbotics sensors do the signal processing on-board, so you get excellent results at the cost of higher unit price. Different versions are tuned for different ranges and resolutions:

https://www.adafruit.com/?q=Maxbotics&sort=BestMatch

At the other end of the scale are the HC-SR04 and drop-in compatibles, that simply produce a simple pulse from the time a signal goes out to the time the reflection comes back:

https://www.adafruit.com/product/4007

The HC-SR04's reliable working range is about 10cm to 2.5m.

It doesn't sound like your project needs a lot of accuracy or resolution, so an HC-SR04 would be a good initial choice. At worst, you can use it to learn why you want/need a more expensive sensor.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: Water Automation

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

As Mike says, ultrasonics are good for measuring the level in a tank of liquid. But there are a couple of things to look out for in your caravan application:

1. Most ultrasonics have a minimum operating distance. For the Maxbotix, that is around 6". That means you need at least 6" of headroom above the full-level for accurate level measurement.

2. When your caravan is moving, the liquid is likely to slosh round a bit. So you will want a sensor that can tolerate getting wet. Maxbotix does have a selection of weatherproof ultrasonic modules - but they do cost a bit more. https://www.adafruit.com/product/1137

The E-Tape sensors do not need as much headroom to operate. However, they can be damaged if the 'head' of the unit is totally immersed, so sloshing may still be an issue: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2656

If all you need is to know when it is full, there are other options such as this one which is totally wterproof: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3397

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Hexen_Wulf
 
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Re: Water Automation

Post by Hexen_Wulf »

I had an idea, but it would require math (Which I personally am not good at!). You could use a pressure sensor (Something like this maybe? https://www.adafruit.com/product/166) underneath your collector. The one I linked does up to 22 pounds of force, so if you knew how much your collector weighed when it's near full, you could use this to trigger the cutoff.

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