Water level controller by monitoring water coming through tap

Thread Starter

aspirea5745

Joined Apr 17, 2019
99
First I apologize for my bad English because English is not my native language so I am trying to explain the problem by making a diagram

In villages, water is supplied only for a short time 1/2 hours, which we have to store in our home tanks. If the water supply is in the morning We have to see whether water is coming from the tap or not

and if we are sleepy and we did not turn on the pump motor, then the water will not available on that day This is a big problem for me

I want an idea when the water comes out from tap, the motor should be ON itself And when the water tank overflows or there is no water coming from the tap, the motor should stop itself

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Dodgydave

Joined Jun 22, 2012
11,284
The best solution is to detect the water level in the Home tank, and put the pump on when it's below that level and turn off when full. A pressure sensor to detect fresh water supply.
 
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MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,706
I suggest using a pressure sensor to detect that you have positive water pressure.
When the pump turns on the pressure will fall. Hence you need to test this by trial and error to ensure that the pump stays on running with the minimum water pressure detected.
 

Thread Starter

aspirea5745

Joined Apr 17, 2019
99
I suggest using a pressure sensor to detect that you have positive water pressure.
When the pump turns on the pressure will fall. Hence you need to test this by trial and error to ensure that the pump stays on running with the minimum water pressure detected.
Thanks, I got an idea of how it can be done What you mean is that the pressure sensor detects the flow of water coming out of the tap. When water will come out from tap Pump will turn on automatically and the pump will turn off when the water level is high in the water tank

As you have seen, the water tap, motor and the water tank are placed at a different place from each other.

As the distance between the sensors and the micro becomes more, will there be some disadvantages to it?
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,706
You need to have a tap open to measure water flow.
Pressure sensor does not measure water flow. Pressure sensor measures water pressure with tap closed.
 

Deleted member 115935

Joined Dec 31, 1969
0
We are so used to having water at any time of day, I know when I lived in northern Africa for a bit, having water turned off during the day was a real shock to the system.

Your problem sounds like one that is solvable, with a bit of technology, and hopefully will make your lifes better.

Some questions as ever I'm afraid.

The pump, runs on "mains" or battery, what sort of voltage current ?
I assume the water is connected to the pump all the time, and the tap left on ?
Is the power available at the pump constantly, or is this intermittent ?

How far is the pump from tank it fills ? do you have access to the pump and the tank it fills ?

I'm thinking we could wire the bits together, or low power radio circuits, but I know batteries can be an expensive option, so we're going to have to be careful.

generally , its going to be easier and more reliable to measure the tank and if it can accept any more water or not, and to measure do we have water pressure at the tap, than measure consumption.


A float switch on the tank that your filling is going to be relatively cheap and reliable, but the water pressure switch or flow switch might be more difficult and expensive.


The idea I'm putting forward is
switch in tank to say , I can accept more water,
detector that water is available,
switch on pump if both the above are true.
 

Thread Starter

aspirea5745

Joined Apr 17, 2019
99
Your problem sounds like one that is solvable, with a bit of technology, and hopefully will make your lifes better.
I leave the tap open, so when the water comes in the tap, (motor pump connected to the main power supply ) I put the motor on
so water goes from tap to tank placed on the roof of the house. I turn off the motor when the tank water starts to overflow

This is the manual process that I have to do daily. I want to use modern technology to solve this problem
 

Externet

Joined Nov 29, 2005
2,200
Your pictorial is missing a cistern; were the 'local water distributor' pours the water for you to be pumped to your 'home water tank'
Then float switches in series on both energize the pump. Your picture shows a typical illegal third world suctioning from mains contraption, probably the mother of your village water troubles.
 

Teljkon

Joined Jan 24, 2019
267
At first just using a few float valves like @andrewmm suggested above seemed like the cheap solution. If I am honest a pressure valve makes more sense. It all depends though what kind of pump can the pump run dry etc. Do you have photos of the equipment you currently have? Like @Externet net said a cistern goes a long way. It turns your problem into a a really simple and gate circuit. If your dipping into the mains illegally and the pressure isn't high enough to fill a cistern you probably need a moisture sensor but not a level sensor or a pressure sensor.
 

Alec_t

Joined Sep 17, 2013
14,280
Is the tap a communal village one, or on your own property?
Is the pump permanently connected to the tap?
Is there a non-return valve fitted between the tap and your tank fill pipe?
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,852
Never-mind the pump and sensors. Just put a float valve in the tank. When the water is low the valve will open. When water is present it will refill the tank. If the tank doesn't need all the water supplied the float valve will shut itself off and no water will be wasted.

[edit] Here's what I mean: When "Community Water" is ON the Residential tank will fill until full. The float valve will shut off any further flow of water and prevent wasting of water. Day or night, whenever community water is available the residential tank will fill. If there's a need for a booster pump - that's a different story.

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ElectricSpidey

Joined Dec 2, 2017
2,757
I think what you need to do is install a "pre tank" when water is detected in that tank the pump turns on and fills the house tank, when the house tank is full a float switch turns off the pump.

I see problems with detecting the level only in the house tank causing the pump to operate without any water available.

And detecting flow in the tap is problematic, due to it being open all of the time.

So…two conditions must be met for the pump to run.
  1. There must be x amount of water in the pre tank.
  2. There must be demand for water in the house tank.
Also the pre tank can store some of the water.
 
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Thread Starter

aspirea5745

Joined Apr 17, 2019
99
Is the tap a communal village one, or on your own property?
Is the pump permanently connected to the tap?
Is there a non-return valve fitted between the tap and your tank fill pipe?
1. tap is inside in my property
2. I connect the pump pipe to the tank with my hand daily
3. No

The problem I have is that water can come in tap at any time during the day for 1/2 hours then I have to detect the flow of water through the tap. when water is detected in that tap the pump turns on and fills the house tank, when the house tank is full a turns off the pump.
 

Thread Starter

aspirea5745

Joined Apr 17, 2019
99
I think what you need to do is install a "pre tank" when water is detected in that tank the pump turns on and fills the house tank, when the house tank is full a float switch turns off the pump.

I see problems with detecting the level only in the house tank causing the pump to operate without any water available.

And detecting flow in the tap is problematic, due to it being open all of the time.

So…two conditions must be met for the pump to run.
  1. There must be x amount of water in the pre tank.
  2. There must be demand for water in the house tank.
Also the pre tank can store some of the water.
Note : Pre tank can supply water up to 400 houses in the village. Government's people fill the pre tank first, After that, water release through pipes for every single colony This water comes to the tap of the house

Edit :
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Externet

Joined Nov 29, 2005
2,200
Typical situation is 0.1 psi at every house tap; if that much. And no inlet cisterns.
Because lack of enough municipal supply turns the village in a money contest of who can buy the most powerful pump that can force-bring some water to the raised tanks, then everyone sucks. Sucks the water mains and only the powerful fill their tanks. When filled, then they shut-off and someone else will suck for another while.

It is a escalating diarrhea of behavior from the residents. Witnessed that in person. Solved when the big shots of the water company are made to suffer with no water, getting their own medicine. But usually they live somewhere else without the problem and nothing improves for the village.

2. I connect the pump pipe to the tank with my hand daily
If the pump is left installed can be detected and owner fined or have it stolen.

The problem is not technical for managing a pump or a house reservoir level. It is political. The village got pipes, now they think they do not have to walk to a source carrying buckets or lifting from wells and believed the pipes would solve the lack of water. :(
 

Tonyr1084

Joined Sep 24, 2015
7,852
The problem I'm looking at with a "Pre-Tank" or a sump is that if the residential tank and the sump are both below their shut-off points the pump would continuously run with no water to pump. In the drawing below, the sump pump switch would activate both the solenoid and the pump. But again, what happens when both tanks are not at max? The pump will run all day and all night. I'm sure we'll come up with something. Perhaps a moisture sensor (two wires in a tub of water). If there's sufficient water present the pump can pump it into the tank. And if the tank is full the pump can't run. But then we have wasted water if the community supply continues to flow into the pre-tank.

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