Sump Pump Monitor

TomW

Need some assistance from the group...
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My latest project is a Sump Pump Monitor.··I want to monitor how often and when the sump pump runs.· Figured I would use a BS2E for the microprocessor but looking for a safe and reliable way to figure out if the pump is running.·
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Was thinking about·using a·current to voltage transformer on one of the 120vac legs and then monitor the voltage.·The float switch is integral to the pump and don’t want to void the warranty by rewiring it.
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Looking forward to your ideas.··
Thanks.
/Tom

steve_b

TomW:

if you check one of the other threads in the BS2 forum (I think it's high voltage/current monitoring...or something like that)...you'll see that Bean hooked up a Neon bulb to one of his 120Vac systems and just used an opto on the other side to measure the light (I believe he made it isolated from outside light with a box!).



anyhow, this is the least intrusive way to directly measure the pump operation.·

You CAN get more fancy and use vibration sensors or Hall effect sensors on the motor....

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Steve
http://members.rogers.com/steve.brady
http://www.geocities.com/paulsopenstage

"Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."

Lee Harker

Tom,
Sounds interesting. While you've got the horsepower of the Stamp there you could step it up a notch. You could hook up a cheap pressure sensor and hook it to a tube submerged in the sump. By monitoring the pressure readings, you could determine how fast the sump fills and when it empties. You may even want to correlate the info to rainy days and dry days. Just a thought.
Lee

OTC Instructor

My sump pump pumps the water up out of the basement via plastic drain pipe. In my classes I sometimes have my students sense water in plastic tubing by making "plates" outside the tubing using adhesive copper foil. This becomes a capacitor that can be used with an RCtime circuit. When water is present the cap's dielectric constant changes and this can be sensed fairly easily. I imagine I'd try this approach if I wanted to do what you are trying to do.

Just a thought...

Bruce

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Bruce Clemens, CET Sr.

Instructor, Electronics and Computer Repair Technology
Ozarks Technical Community College
www.otc.edu

Orion

You may want to look into AC current switches if all you need is an ON or OFF status. Take a look at the http://www.greystoneenergy.com/english/products/power/products_power_switch.html. I have used these for 3 or 4 years now and had great luck with them. If the trip point is setup correctly they will not be fooled by a pump running with a broke coupler or impeller.

Shawn Lowe

Thats pretty clever OTC Instructor!