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Water and Prop's — Parallax Forums

Water and Prop's

Ole Man EarlOle Man Earl Posts: 262
edited 2009-06-07 23:14 in Propeller 1
Usually electronics and water don't mix very well.

Did you ever get in the shower and the water was either too hot or cold ?

How about a prop that senses the water temp, displays it in an LCD, and a few push buttons for control of some water mixing valves ? I have looked for such a device, but they are almost a thousand dollars ! Surely someone can come up with something a prop could do at a much lower price.

Set temp, wait till buzzer or whatever goes off, and enjoy your shower at the temp YOU want.

P.S. unit for safety sake, unit should be mounted OUTSIDE the shower !

Comments

  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2009-06-07 00:08
    Actually if you get deionized distiled water you can run most sealed electronics with no problems(no motors) the problem is if there is any contaminent in the water there will be problems.

    I thought about designing something like this a while back until I found out there are valves for the shower that do this already through mechanical means. they make sure the preasure on hot and cold are kept the same so if someone flushes the toilet you do not get a surprise. can't type in a temperature though.

    The control system could be in the shower(if law permits I know in saunas it is illegal to have the controls on the inside in Canada.) but you would want to use a water tight system to control it. Capacitive sensors would not be a good idea as water often tends to fool them into a false touch. A flexible menbrane like used on remote controls would be your best bet. spark fun sells them with spce for an led.

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  • Toby SeckshundToby Seckshund Posts: 2,027
    edited 2009-06-07 11:22
    Dont do it!!!

    Use something lower down in the food chain of processors. The prop has shown itself capable of much more than was expected, what if it decided to lock you in and raise, and raise the temerature because it senced your were going to dismantle it to build something else!

    HAL lives again?
  • Mike HuseltonMike Huselton Posts: 746
    edited 2009-06-07 15:39
    Acroname is selling a thermopile sensor for remote temperature sensing. This can be placed completely outside of the shower.
    Closed Loop control circuits are a different matter. But passive sensing could do the trick.

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    JMH
  • Ole Man EarlOle Man Earl Posts: 262
    edited 2009-06-07 23:14
    yea, I can stick my hand in the water and see if its the right temp. I want this to be set automatically like on a toaster oven.
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