Tank Monitor Project at ECR

[VegasFlyer]

David,

 

Are you planning on attending the West Coast Rally?

[NeverEasy]

Ok, David, after doing a lot of reading,I put a whole bunch of parts on order. I wanted to end up with a display I could mount so I ordered a serial graphic backpack and a small graphic display along with the OLED panel you recommended. My head hurts!

 

If anyone is interested in the code used to show tank levels on LEDs (only eight), they are welcome to it. I am absolutely certain it can be improved on but it works. There are two sections: one that lights one LED to indicate percent full (less power needed). Another that lights LEDs in sequence from bottom to top, Just comment out or delete the section you don't want.

 

Chet

[Ronbo]

MsChrissi thanks for the encouragement. I admire you for taking up programming in your advanced teens. I finally started sleeping good at night. The radiation has decreased the pain. I am installing my 600ah of LiFeP04 batteries tomorrow. I go slow due to leg pain and restricted movement. My BIL is coming over for the heavy lifting.

[Nuke-E]

David,

 

Are you planning on attending the West Coast Rally?

I wasn't planning on it, but anyone who knows me well knows that doesn't mean anything this far in advance.

 

Ok, David, after doing a lot of reading,I put a whole bunch of parts on order. I wanted to end up with a display I could mount so I ordered a serial graphic backpack and a small graphic display along with the OLED panel you recommended. My head hurts!

 

If anyone is interested in the code used to show tank levels on LEDs (only eight), they are welcome to it. I am absolutely certain it can be improved on but it works. There are two sections: one that lights one LED to indicate percent full (less power needed). Another that lights LEDs in sequence from bottom to top, Just comment out or delete the section you don't want.

 

Chet

Chet--If you want, send it my way and I'll post it on the ECR website in the event anyone else wants to look at it.

 

MsChrissi thanks for the encouragement. I admire you for taking up programming in your advanced teens. I finally started sleeping good at night. The radiation has decreased the pain. I am installing my 600ah of LiFeP04 batteries tomorrow. I go slow due to leg pain and restricted movement. My BIL is coming over for the heavy lifting.

Ron--Don't overdo it, but I'm sure staying busy and active will help make it less of a burden. Hang in there!

[Ronbo]

David, I am sore today but different than the cancer pain. My goal is to get better and make the HDT rally in Hutch. I want to talk charging issues with you. I believe I have it set up good. I only want to charge my cells to about 95% so they will last longer without degradation. I won't notice the loss of the 5%. Resting the next few day since I start chemo on Tuesday. We will see how that goes.

[Nuke-E]

David, I am sore today but different than the cancer pain. My goal is to get better and make the HDT rally in Hutch. I want to talk charging issues with you. I believe I have it set up good. I only want to charge my cells to about 95% so they will last longer without degradation. I won't notice the loss of the 5%. Resting the next few day since I start chemo on Tuesday. We will see how that goes.

Sure thing! Feel free to send me an e-mail or call too.

[NeverEasy]

 

I gave up on using a 10 segment LED bar to display tank levels and went the direction David Dixon recommended, a LCD display. The 16 x 2 was easy enough to set up but I did not like the lack of room to display what I wanted. The 128 x 64-pixel LCD from SparkFun worked but it took a lot of effort to work out code that would make it do everything I wanted and look decent. A note on that is that the 128 x 64 displays have different firmware. They must be used with a library that matches that firmware.

 

The two bottom lines on the display show the levels sent to the Photon. These levels are those to be used in "Tank Empty" and "Tank Full" for calibration. Those two lines will be commented out after calibration.

 

It samples the tank levels every 2.5 seconds and updates the display.

 

It also has a tank level alarm. Waste tanks alarm at 85% full. The fresh water tank alarms at 20% remaining and at 95% full to aid in filling the tank.

 

If you are going to do this on your computer, I recommend installing Notepad ++. You can set the language to "C" and it makes an easy to follow display. Then, cutting and pasting is so much easier than using the Particle IDE.

 

Chet

[Ronbo]

Looks sharp

[Jim & Wilma]

Looks sharp

X2

[HERO Maker]

Nice post NeverEasy! Thanks for the info.

[NeverEasy]

Thanks! I emailed the code to Nuke-E. Perhaps he will upload it to the ECR webpage.

 

Chet

[Nuke-E]

Chet--I've posted the code and your wiring description on the seminar page here.

 

I'm working on an update of my own (incorporating the logic for filling a tank to a certain level, and shutting off the water pump when the tank runs dry), and will merge that with the version that was just posted with a few compiler directives so that the solenoid code and display code can be switched on/off easily.

 

Thanks Chet!

[Jack Mayer]

Thanks for doing that....

 

I'm about to start on a project for my RO system. As David knows....

 

I want to (of course) monitor the system status. But I also want to be able to control on/off manually as well as automatically (make/stop making water).

 

I have auto control valves (float valves) in there now.

 

I want to be able to read pressure at several points in the system (I use plumbed in pressure gauges now: before and after the filters, and the boost pressure).

 

I need performance of the membrane: I have a before/after parts per million meter now. And I also want to know how much water is being made - in gallons/liters per hour. All this speaks to the performance of the membranes.

 

And I need tank levels - which currently show on my whole house automation system - they are read from the SeeLevel system. I'll likely use a transducer for that like you guys do, and the existing system will continue in parallel.

[brunsje]

David,

 

Any updates on this project?

 

JohnnyB

[NeverEasy]

I have been working on mine as time permits. It is travel time and we have been gone more than home. Leaving again tomorrow for northern IL.

 

3 of 4 tanks have a pressure transducer installed. Kitchen Gray is a pita to get to. Wiring is ran to all 4 tanks. Unit is hooked up to the 3 installed transducers and calibrated. They seem to be working fine.

 

I have gone away from the Photon in favor of the Adruino. The advantage is that it does not require an internet connection (WIFI) to work. It compiles on a local laptop and uploads. I don't own a smart phone am not interested in being able to read things remotely. There is no requirement to "claim your device" and then to work with setting the Photon up to a different WIFI system each time is a problem since I will not always have WIFI. The Adruino does have a shield to give it WIFI or network capability if you want it.

 

Now I am replacing the Arduino with a Ruggedruino which is a ruggedized version of the Arduino. The Arduino specs say it can handle a 5-12VDC input but the 14.2VDC battery voltage toasted the 5V regulator. The Reggedruino will handle 5-30VDC and all the I/O pins are protected from over voltage and over current. Costs more than double the Arduino but blowing one and having to add an 12VDC-5VDC regulator makes the cost reasonable. I will still use the SMAKN 5V automotive regulator David recommended to drive all the transducers. The display works best at 6-7 VDC so I am using a 6.5 Volt zener diode with a 68 ohm resistor off the house battery power to turn the display on when the TEST switch is pushed.

 

Actual draw on the house battery is just over .5 amps for the whole setup (Arduino, display, and transducers) so the SMAKN 5V (3 amp output) would drive the whole thing but I like overkill and safety. Don't want anything getting hot.

 

The code is the same for the Arduino and Photon but I found adding the Libraries and getting them to work is easier in the Arduino.

 

Currently the display is hanging in the closet on the backside of the place it will be installed. The R-Arduino will be mounted in the closet wall so I can plug in a USB cable.

 

I ran out and took a picture of the display but it was so hot and humid in the 5er that the lens fogged but you might get the drift. I put the blank 4 x 4 electrical box cover in a mill and cut out holes for the display, switch, voltmeter, sonic alarm, and LED indicator.

-the switch is there to silence the sonic alarm (LED still flashes). Alarm sounds when the waste tanks get to 95% and fresh gets to 20% empty or 95%. to monitor filling.

-the display only turns on when the normal TEST switch is pushed on the original display panel but the R-Arduino will run all the time while in use so the alarms will work.

-the voltmeter only comes on when the TEST button is mashed to monitor the house 12VDC system just because I could.

 

The bottom two lines that are now in use to read the input into the 4 analog pins from the tank for calibration will go away and be replaced with indoor and outdoor temperature reading when I get to it.

 

[JPL]

Chet Still working with the adjuster IRT the 5er fix. They found more damage when they removed the bottom skirting. It should be back on wheels by fri. then off to RV Solutions for a quote. it appears the factory will likely be the end repair shop. Reading over your post it sure sounds ET to me! As well as way over my head! Take care and we'll get together for chow again soon. Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

[Nuke-E]

John,

 

I've been off having too much fun with lithium batteries to spend too much on this, beyond the logic to control the fill valves and to shut off the pump when the tank is empty.

 

Chet--the Photon is capable of working without WiFi/internet, and can be flashed via USB like the Arduino. If you just want it to run the code without a network connection, you need

SYSTEM_MODE(SEMI_AUTOMATIC);

in your code. Then your code starts right away, and you can control when the network connection is attempted or turn the WiFi off altogether. If you want to communicate directly with the Photon, it can be set up to run a small TCP service, or you can run the cloud software within your own network. I've been working with some of this recently trying to put together the datalogging I want for the HVAC, power, and battery monitoring systems.

 

When I first started messing with some of this stuff, the Arduino was basically the only (cheap enough) game in town. I had a number of projects that moved a lot slower than they should have because it was a hassle to dig the board out and re-flash--that was what the Photon offered. My biggest complaint with the online interface for the Photon is that I can't lock a particular project's code to a particular device--I feel like it's inevitable that at some point I'll flash the tank monitor with code for the thermostat, and have the AC run whenever the tanks fill up.

 

As far as the lithium batteries go, I've finally decommissioned the old lead acid batteries. They were really only powering some lights, water pump, furnace (though that doesn't get used much when it's over 100 outside), but taking them out meant rearranging things so that the truck batteries were still maintained, the generator could start, and a few other things. I had to move a few battery cables, put in a new power supply, and try to decipher what all was going on. Tons of ground connections, seemingly al interconnected elsewhere, and lots of cables that had seen better days had to go. I've been amazed how much corrosion has occurred in the last 2 years in the battery bay, but hopefully that's in the past now. All 6 golf cart batteries physically came out a week ago, and with everything working as it should for a while now, they'll be headed to the recycler later this week. That's 400 lbs out--time to buy more tools!

[brunsje]

Nuke-E

 

I arrive at Showhauler on 7 August.

 

I'll talk to Chad about eventually replacing my 4 Golf Cart Batteries with a Lithium Battery Pack. If the battery could be 12VDC, I may be able to continue using my Outback 2800W Inverter and just buy a separate charger and monitoring system.

 

Hope to see ya there!

 

John Bruns

[Nuke-E]

The trip has already been set in motion--in Knoxville for a bit today, then headed north.

 

One of my missions on this trip is picking up another lithium battery pack--one that connects each of the individual cells with bus bars hels on with nuts. It's a little bit more expensive in terms of the cells, but if it can be reconfigured for 12V more easily it may be the way to go.

[NeverEasy]

I don't know whether to open a new post or continue with this one but here goes.  We bought a newer 5th wheel and I am in the process of making a bunch of mods to this one.  One of those is adding the tank level indicators to this one as I did to the old one.  I dropped the bottom pan and found the black and bathroom gray really easy to get to but there is not a good place to put the transducers.  The black PVC coming out of the tank goes straight to the dump valve (whereas the old one had a drop in the pipe before getting to the dump valve). Therefore, the bottom of the tanks are at the same level as the bottom of the piping.  If I put the transducer in the bottom of the pipe it is sure to get full of waste and plug up.  If I put it mid-way up the pipe, if would not get a true "empty" reading.

So here is what I want to bounce on Nuke-E: David would it make sense to put a Flair-it fitting into the bottom of the black PVC and pipe it up to a higher level.  At the top end, mount a 3-way valve and on one of the ports, put the transducer.  One the other port, join them to the same ports on the other waste tanks and add a female garden hose connector with a vacuum breaker for flushing the lines when necessary.  It would also act as a flushing mechanism for the tank where where they usually get plugged, at the outlet.  The transducer would be protected from the high water pressure, too.

The theory would be that the transducer would be on the end of a closed pipe with the valve open only to it.  Added liquid in the tank would show an increase in pressure in the closed tube.  Should it work? 

On edit, I know where my problem would be.  If I flush the line and then close the valve, the pressure differential would be lost when putting the 3-way back to normal. 

[noteven]

Would a See-Level system work?

[Jim Gell]

I would guess that you could install the sensor lower than the tank and just put a little water in it to reach the bottom of the tank, take a reading there and set that to be empty in the software.  You might want to take some measurements and do the math to calculate the volume of the pipe between your gate valve and the bottom of the tank.  Or just guess at how much to water to put in. 

Jim

[Darryl&Rita]

The loop created will be a classic trap. Don't do it.