Re: Re: Water Tank Installation [long post]

["Frank Mc Alinden" <frankmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Paul

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

I read somewhere where they recommend at least a 6000l tank...I,ll need all
the water i get get in the summer months........

> I like the use of the jubilee clips for sensor reference points

Yes it seems to work quite well ....and easy to make

>I am still
> considering the Maxbotix Ultrasound sensors especially now they have
> a very narrow beam version.

I have a few of the Maxbotix sensors and will also put one in at a later
date ,its got an xPL Plugin so i,ll be able to tell from the pc how much
water is in the tank....

> Thanks for sharing your project

No problem

Frank


----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Bendall" <paul@xxxxxxx>
To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 10:52 PM
Subject: [ukha_d] Re: Water Tank Installation [long post]


> 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
>>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> **** Sponsored By http://www.Berble.com ****
> ****       Computers You Carry          ****
>
>
>
>
>


------------------------------------