Water level sensing
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Posts: 46,084
Hi All,
I am trying to replicate the water level sensor that Scott Edwards
published in May 1997, and cannot get it working. There were some
related posts that I found but no apparent success stories.
My application is that of monitoring the levels of a water tank which
is totally inaccessable save one end where where I can barely access
the fill, draw and vent connections thru a tiny hatch. The tank is
5/16 or 3/8 thick polypropeline and about 15 inches high. In case
you haven't figured it out, it's the water tank fibreglassed under
the cabin floor of my boat. Scotts application looks mechanically
viable to implement as I can tap the sensor tube into the draw line
at the bottom, and the sensor top into the vent line. Now if only
the circuit would work....
I am using a BS2IC (circa 1997) and a 4x20 serial LCD, have converted
the original article's BS1 code (I thinks). I've made up the sensing
tube using 3/8" DIA pressure tubing (1/16" wall thickness) and have
1/2" copper foil tape running up each side the tube with roughly a
3/32" gap between the foils. Using the CD4060 hooked up as per
article schematic.
Perhaps the wall thickness of the tube is too thick, and my hookup
wire should ideally be coaxial cable so as not to induce stray
capacitance?
Any suggestions or success stories are quite welcome. Actually there
are commercial capacitance based level meters that just require 2
foil tapes to be applied side-by-side to the outside of the plastic
tank, which would be the ultimate solution for me!
Regards,
Mike
I am trying to replicate the water level sensor that Scott Edwards
published in May 1997, and cannot get it working. There were some
related posts that I found but no apparent success stories.
My application is that of monitoring the levels of a water tank which
is totally inaccessable save one end where where I can barely access
the fill, draw and vent connections thru a tiny hatch. The tank is
5/16 or 3/8 thick polypropeline and about 15 inches high. In case
you haven't figured it out, it's the water tank fibreglassed under
the cabin floor of my boat. Scotts application looks mechanically
viable to implement as I can tap the sensor tube into the draw line
at the bottom, and the sensor top into the vent line. Now if only
the circuit would work....
I am using a BS2IC (circa 1997) and a 4x20 serial LCD, have converted
the original article's BS1 code (I thinks). I've made up the sensing
tube using 3/8" DIA pressure tubing (1/16" wall thickness) and have
1/2" copper foil tape running up each side the tube with roughly a
3/32" gap between the foils. Using the CD4060 hooked up as per
article schematic.
Perhaps the wall thickness of the tube is too thick, and my hookup
wire should ideally be coaxial cable so as not to induce stray
capacitance?
Any suggestions or success stories are quite welcome. Actually there
are commercial capacitance based level meters that just require 2
foil tapes to be applied side-by-side to the outside of the plastic
tank, which would be the ultimate solution for me!
Regards,
Mike