Re: Water Tank Installation [long post]

["Paul Bendall" <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Frank,

Wow water a project and a great write up as well. Puts my 600L system
to shame!

I like the use of the jubilee clips for sensor reference points. I
still haven't sorted out my depth monitoring in the water butt so
always useful to find how someone else is doing it. I am still
considering the Maxbotix Ultrasound sensors especially now they have
a very narrow beam version.

Thanks for sharing your project

Paul

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "Frank Mc Alinden" <frankmc@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi Guys
>
> Have just completed my Watertank installation which has taken up
all my free
> time over the last 6 weekends....I have a zoned water irrigation
system
> sitting idle for the past 12 months or more due to water
restrictions here
> in Oz...So at long last i can now put it back into action....
>
> When contemplating installing a water tank i initially thought i
would
> design my own pic based controller for it, i then decided to
purchase a
> Splatt Controller for it but ended up using an old TSX17
Telemecanique plc
> since i had a handheld programmer for it and the plcs can be picked
up on
> ebay for approx 50 Euros....Even got some spare units and another
programmer
> cheap..
>
> I didnt want the water tank located near the house so decided to
put a pit
> in near the stormwater drain located at the rear of my
property....While
> doing a google for a suitable inground tank i came across another
solution
> which i thought was better ....what i liked about it was that no
pit was
> required.... and also it captured a lot more water .....Have a look
> here.....
>
> http://www.everydropwaterharvester.itaustralia.org/webpage.html
>
> I contacted Phil the designer and ordered one of his
systems..........I used
> his controller to initally fill my water tank, as i was building my
own plc
> based controller.... I had some issues with his drain plug and
ended up
> using a homebrew one (plunger based see pics)......
>
> My eldest lad Dan got me a 6000L  water tank at a good price which
he and i
> installed on the first weekend...Phils controller was also
installed at this
> point and with a couple of good days of rain the tank was full.....
>
> Meanwhile i built the plc based controller and valve stand......
> I have programmed the plc for two main modes
> Harvesting Mode...
> A float switch in the drain triggers this mode and causes the 2
harvesting
> valves to energise followed by the pump...The harvesting valves
direct the
> water from the drain into the tank...This mode is exited if the
drain water
> drops below the drain float low level or the water tank full
floatswitch is
> activated.......
>
> Irrigation Mode
> This mode is activated by a plc input which is connected to a relay
> connected to one of my HV I/O Expanders....So when Homevision is
ready to
> irrigate it turns on the required zone and sets this "start
irrigation
> relay"....The 2 irrigation valves on the "valve stand"
are turned
on by the
> Water tank plc followed by the pump....This mode is exited by
Homevision
> turning of the "start irrigation relay"...
>
> Theres actually a third mode which i call "Forced
Irrigation"
> Forced Irrigation
> If the Water tank is full and theres water in the drain to be
Harvested the
> water tank plc operates a relay which is connected to Homevision
PortB 1
> ...This is a request "forced irrigation" input....Homevision
will
then
> operate my irrigation zone 3 valve (this zone is mostly under
cover) and
> then Homevision will turn on a relay (Forced Irrigation Ack) which
is
> connected to the Water tank plc allowing it to start Forced
> Irrigation....This mode directs the water from the drain to the
irrigation
> system (using 1 harvesting valve and 1 irrigation valve) and  runs
until
> either the drain float indicates low level or Homevision zone 3
timer
> expires (approx 5 minutes)....The idea is to make use of the access
water
> rather than letting it go down the drain......Theres also a timer
in the plc
> to stop this mode from continually be triggered..........
>
> I also wanted some visual indication of how much water i had in the
tank and
> depending on how much water was left i could make decisions on
wether the
> garden beds get watered or just the vegie garden or both  (vegie
garden
> irrigation yet to be done)....I designed a pcb around a microchip
based
> controller sold by an Oz company here in Melbourne...
> http://www.coolon.com.au/download/DS_CL4L.pdf
>
> I made a mistake with the pcb...i forgot the relay coil was
polarity
> sensitive and got the connection wrong....But instead of cutting
tracks i
> mounted the relays under the board  and all was well...The relay
contacts
> are connected to the Water tank plc inputs so its easy for me to
modify the
> program to suit my needs... I made up my water level probe using
plastic
> conduit and coupling with some jubilee clip (see pics)..........
>
> Have got the system working quite well now and i can control
everything
> using an x10 rf remote (using xPL) or via scheduled events in
Homevision
> ....So hopefully this summer my wifes garden beds wont be as dry as
last
> year......
>
> Things yet to do
> Theres a spare water board mounted in the waterboard panel and im
> considering using two of its inputs as backup for the drain
floatswitch
> ....The other 2 inputs on the spare board im thinking of connected
one to
> the main drain point and the other to the water tank overflow
inspection
> point (see pics)...with these two inputs i can assume the
following........
>
> If i sense water on the main drain sensor and also water on the
overflow
> inspection point this means my full float switch has failed....
>
> If i sense water only on the main drain but not the tank overflow
inspection
> point this means my Plunger (drain plug) is leaking so requires
> checking.........
>
> I also need to put guttering on my pergola and connect it to the
stormwater
> drain....Im getting enough water now of the roof but during summer
we need
> to catch every possible drop.......
> Heres a link to the photos ........
> http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z38/frankmc_2007/
>
> Frank
>
>
> www.armaghelectrical.com.au
>



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