Re: Water Tank Installation Update (long post)

["Rob Iles" <rob.iles@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'm a little behind in ukha reading - but just wanted to say thanks
for an
interesting post - sounds like a really nice and useful project!

R.


2008/9/27 Frank Mc Alinden <frankmc@xxxxxxx>

>   Hi Guys
>
> Thought some might be interested in how my system has been working and
some
> enhancements i have made to it....Also one thing i forgot to mention
in my
> original post was that i incoporated an overflow pipe into my drain
system
> in case the pump failed ...This consisted of 3 tee pieces and 1
> elbow....This was easy to add as i had dug quite a large hole as i was
> initially going to install a pit....
>
> Its been approx 6 weeks since it was fully operational and on the
whole it
> has worked quite well....One issue i was having was that the Drain
Float
> switch would occasionly stick and not operate the pump when
> required....During winter here thats not a problem as we get enough
rain to
> fill my tank several times....I installed a Mimic Panel so i could see
from
> my Sunroom when the pump was running....If it was raining and the pump
> indicator wasnt lit i would go out to the drain and shake the suction
pipe
> (the float switch was cabled tied to this) and this
> would usually activate the drain switch.....
>
> We havent had rain here in Melbourne for about 3 weeks and i could see
my
> tank water level was starting to drop ..then last week we had one day
were
> it rained all day and when i got home my Tank level hadnt changed ,
checked
> the drain and sure enough the float switch had stuck again
...grrrrr..... so
> i decided that today i would remove the float switch and use my spare
Water
> Board to monitor the drain level....
>
> I remove the float switch wiring and installed a 2 pair cable for the
drain
> sensors but i had to relocate the water board closer (on the valve
stand) to
> the drain as it appears that cable length to the sensors must be
reasonably
> short (less than 4 metres) for it to work properly...
> This meant i had to run a multicore to power the Water board and also
get
> feedback to the plc from the Waterboard....I used the 2 pair cable for
the
> Gate valve Sensor (see below)
>
> I modified the Plunger to incorporate the low level and high sensors
...see
> pic...This worked out quite well....but i had to put a plastic sleeve
around
> the foot valve (check valve) on the suction hose as it was quite close
to
> the low level jubilee clip...
>
> Mimic Panel
> I have added a small mimic panel to show me the status of the pump ,
Tank
> full level, Tank Low level ,system Fault/Fault Reset....System Fault
is just
> some basic checking of the water level probes....Theres also a Button
called
> Manual Mode...
>
> Manual Mode
>
> Currently theres no irrigation to our small vegie Patch so i decided
to add
> a button which turns the pump on so we can water the vegie garden as
well as
> wash the cars ...I installed a Gate valve which a garden hose could be
> connected to....When the Manual push button is pressed it starts the
pump
> and energises one of the irrigation valves....I have incorporated a
timer
> which stops manual mode after 10 minutes......This works quite well as
it
> ensures that if for some reason the nozzle comes off the garden hose
we wont
> loose a full tank of water if no one is around to shut it off.....
>
> Gate Valve Sensor
>
> Several times i have watered the vegie patch and forgot to turn off
the
> gate valve when finished...and to date it hasnt been a problem as the
garden
> hose has has a nozzle on at all times ,but if the nozzle had of been
removed
> i would have lost a lot of water during normal irrigation as the Gate
valve
> is connected to the manifold that goes to the irrigation system...
>
> I had a couple of used industrial prox switches so i used one to
monitor
> the status of the gate valve and works like this....
>
> To now start Manual Mode the plc must not sense the Gate Valve closed
> sensor (meaning the gate valve must be open)....When the Gate valve is
> opened a 30 minute timer is started...if it times out( ie gate valve
left
> opened) it flashes the system fault lamp...This lets me know to turn
the
> gate valve off.....If the gate vale is closed before the 10 minute
Manual
> timer expires it will automatically shut down the pump and irrigation
> valve....The gate valve must also be closed to allow Irrigation Mode
to
> work.....
> Hopefully these changes will make my system a little more bullet
proof....
> Heres a link to some pics of the changes...
>
> http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z38/frankmc_2007/Water%20Tank%202/
>
> Frank
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>



--
Rob Iles

RMIDevelopment

Web: http://www.rob-iles.co.uk/rmidevelopment
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rob_Iles
Skype: rob_iles
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