i wanna set something up wired if possible no wireless from the water spouts so it knows when it went on and when it goes off. by when it goes on i mean an actual clock that would display in time from on till time it goes off. one clock starts at 0 ends at turn off and returns to 0. I know nothing about electronics so i dont know the names of stuff or devices id need. or maybe an overpriced product already exists?

Id like to finally sink my teeth into an electronics project with soldering i need to learn to solder tiny wires as i wanna get into drones too. would this be a good project to try and do for grandma as she leaves the water on all day sometimes if im not careful.

 

i understand negative and positive if wired up hps balasts cfl ballasts and microwave magnatrons before so im not afraid of electricity but i am afraid i still suck at soldering

 

Inline flow switch to start/stop electrical timer/recorder and indicator lamp if wanted is the simple answer.

 

from the water spouts so it knows when it went on and when it goes off.

What controls the on and off of the spout?

 

There are off-the-shelf units that may do what you are looking for. These include units that can alert you when flow starts and stops and be set to automatically shut off the flow if the total exceeds some amount.

When you say "spout" or you referring to an outdoor water spigot for a garden hose?

If so, look at something like:

YoLink YS4103 Smart Sprinkler Hose Timer with Flow Meter and Auto Shutoff

I don't know if it offers standalone operation. But if you search that at Amazon you will find lots of others that you can look at to see if any of them meet your needs.

If it does, the $50 is probably not a bad price as you will likely have a hard time beating that in parts alone, let alone the value of your time. Now, if you are willing to spend that much or more for parts and consider your time worthless but want to do it as a project for the sake of doing it, that's a different proposition (and one most of us here can readily relate to).

 

A water flow meter?

 

Certainly there are "event recorders" that will log start and stop times, but they are not cheap. There are also in-line flow sensor switches, but they need to be installed in the water line, and that is not a simple task at all. They are useful for monitoring fire-suppression sprinkler systems, to signal when water is flowing. Preventing water damage in an electronics bay can save thousands of dollars by preventing water damage.

 

Inline flow switch to start/stop electrical timer/recorder and indicator lamp if wanted is the simple answer.

Adding an in-line flow sensing switch to existing plumbing is by no means a small task. At least with most plumbing materials.

 

Didn't say it was easy (or cheap) to accomplish and probably a space problem as well... I can find a relatively inexpensive flow switch for <20USD on Amazon but that recorder isn't gonna be cheap even for a used wind-up mechanical clock round 7-day chart one. Digital even more expensive. Possibly some Arduino interface (or simpler switching) to a laptop chart recording application input...

 

To record the running time, an ordinary ELECTRIC, NOT electronic, day/date clock can log the on times. Oreven use a running time clock. Possibly an arduino with the right I/O to inteface with the flow sensor. One alternative to a water flow swnsor is a solenoid operated valve, then justmonitor the on time. Since you want control anyway, that would be the simplest.

 

Not a flow sensor, simply an electrical flow switch. N.O no flow, closed on flow. That's the cheap piece... We had hundreds of them on 7-day mechanical clock round chart recorders that got integrated into the DCS upgrades back in the day... A lot got converted into flow totalizers instead of having to read the times off the clock charts, add them up to totalize on time and then multiplying by a flow factor to manually totalize for production reporting on paper. Then the individual area DCSs sent the production data electronically to the plant's main computer to generate the electronic area and whole plant production reports sent by email or application data to the manager's desktop PC. Ain't automation great! And a lot of those old systems were pneumatic and not even electrical at all. Working at an old plant with ancient control systems and integrating DCSs was a hoot!

 

i wanna set something up wired if possible no wireless from the water spouts so it knows when it went on and when it goes off. by when it goes on i mean an actual clock that would display in time from on till time it goes off. one clock starts at 0 ends at turn off and returns to 0. I know nothing about electronics so i dont know the names of stuff or devices id need. or maybe an overpriced product already exists?

Id like to finally sink my teeth into an electronics project with soldering i need to learn to solder tiny wires as i wanna get into drones too. would this be a good project to try and do for grandma as she leaves the water on all day sometimes if im not careful.

For decades I relied on Gem Flow Switches. Merely an example in the link. Since you are not concerned with flow rate or flow totalizing all you need is a simple flow switch and a simple start/stop timer. Now did you want a totalize function so the total on time is recorded over hours, days or weeks?

As to soldering? Soldering is a skill and practice will result in developing good soldering skills. Find some old scrap printed circuit boards and practice removing and installing components.

Ron

 

Not a flow sensor, simply an electrical flow switch. N.O no flow, closed on flow. That's the cheap piece... We had hundreds of them on 7-day mechanical clock round chart recorders that got integrated into the DCS upgrades back in the day... A lot got converted into flow totalizers instead of having to read the times off the clock charts, add them up to totalize on time and then multiplying by a flow factor to manually totalize for production reporting on paper. Then the individual area DCSs sent the production data electronically to the plant's main computer to generate the electronic area and whole plant production reports sent by email or application data to the manager's desktop PC. Ain't automation great! And a lot of those old systems were pneumatic and not even electrical at all. Working at an old plant with ancient control systems and integrating DCSs was a hoot!

HOW does

For decades I relied on Gem Flow Switches. Merely an example in the link. Since you are not concerned with flow rate or flow totalizing all you need is a simple flow switch and a simple start/stop timer. Now did you want a totalize function so the total on time is recorded over hours, days or weeks?

As to soldering? Soldering is a skill and practice will result in developing good soldering skills. Find some old scrap printed circuit boards and practice removing and installing components.

Ron

HOW does "simply an electrical flow switch" sense water flow out of a faucet without a lot of plumbing effort?? OR, is it actually sensing the stream of water coming out?? THAT is what I am wondering. An actual flow switch that senses the flow inside a pipe is seldom simple to install in piping. In fact, that type of installation is beyond most folks capabilities.