Re: Water Tank Installation Update (long post)

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

Thanks Rob

Its been working quite well..at the moment my tank is only half full (we
havent had any rain here in Melbourne for several weeks).....Im hoping its
going to rain today......
My next project is "vegie patch irrigation" and im waiting on
some solid
state relays so i can complete the controller.........Will be using Gerry
Dupreys irrigation controller with xPL.....
http://www.rgbled.org/sprinkler/index.html

Im using a pcb for the controller itself and  veroboard for the solid state
relays
http://www.futurlec.com/PIC16F877_Controller.shtml

Frank


----- Original Message -----
From: "Rob Iles" <rob.iles@xxxxxxx>
To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 7:01 AM
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Water Tank Installation Update (long post)


> 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
> 12seconds: http://12seconds.tv/channel/rmi
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
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