Well water sensor

I have a situation where I have a pump in a well. I want the pump to trigger when the water reaches a certain level and to turn off once it gets low enough. That way I can keep the water level between two pre-defined depths.

Is anybody aware of water sensors that can be used with z-wave. I tried water leak sensors but these don't seem to be suited for the task.

If it were me--I'd use an Aquaplumb unit. I tried using a Z-Wave leak sensor probe in my sump well (not submerged) and it corroded over time in that moist environment. Aquaplumb is meant to be submerged by design. The rub is that you'll need another device to read the output, so it's not the cheapest solution out there. There are several methods that could be used to interface it with Indigo including Raspberry Pi, Arduino, 1-Wire, etc.

Essentially you're suggesting the same at this:

https://en.robbshop.nl/water-level-mete ... vegatronix

With the z-wave smartsensor. My only challenge with this is getting electricity to it.

Yep, that's the one. I forgot about the Smart Implant which is another option to get the data.

One option to power the thing would be something like a standard landscape lighting transformer (12VDC). I'm not sure how clean the power needs to be for the Aquaplumb, though, so I'd check with them first.

I have a situation where I have a pump in a well. I want the pump to trigger when the water reaches a certain level and to turn off once it gets low enough. That way I can keep the water level between two pre-defined depths.

Is anybody aware of water sensors that can be used with z-wave. I tried water leak sensors but these don't seem to be suited for the task.

How about this, https://www.sumppumpsdirect.com/HydroCh ... 12358.html. I am using this to control and monitor a sump pump. If you need notification of on/off you can embed something like an Aeotec ZW116 Nano Switch into the system, which is what I have done.


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Is wireless an absolute requirement? If not, I have two suggestions, both of which utilize Berkinet's Phidgets plugin.

1) This option straight up uses a digital input on a Phidgets SBC: HC6000 Hi-Lo Sump Pump Controller (Dual Float Switch) - available on Amazon. daveHawk recommended this too and I like his overall solution. I've had this in place on a project with extremely dirty ground water for a couple of years and it's been working very reliably. Relatively inexpensive solution. I plugged a power supply into the HC6000's power outlet to drive a digital input on the SBC, which in turn (via Indigo triggers) turn turns on/off pumps. You can reliably use this device to drive a pump directly if the amperage isn't too high (completely removes Indigo from the equation). I suppose you could plug a z-wave device into the outlet instead, but you'd need to work out how the device behaves when it's receiving power vs. not (see daveHawk's recommendation for something elegant). If you go the HC6000 route, I'd recommend following the manufacturer's grounding technique. I was having issues until I implemented their suggestion. I've used this device successfully on a few projects, one of which has no computer automation whatsoever.

2) This is a 4-20mA solution (also available in 0-5V configuration) using a Phidget 4-20mA sensor board. This is NOT an inexpensive solution, but it's absolutely rock solid in its performance and has never required any maintenance in the few years I've been using them. It's a pressure transducer that reports back the depth of water in as little a 0.1" increments. Many manufacturers make pressure transducers, but I've had really good luck with Keller America Levelgage transducers. I fire triggers to turn on/off pumps and solenoid valves based on the level reported back to Indigo. This is quality stuff. I have all kinds of uses for the data returned, e.g., historical data on tank levels and volumes, etc., but it works great for the control aspect as well.

I don't want to badmouth any particular brands, but I work with companies that do big water utility stuff. One of them tried the Vegatronix products and they simply weren't up to the task. It might be for your application though.

Don’t sump pumps come w standby battery? When there is bad weather the likelihood that power goes off and then you need to have it running. There should be access to 12 v or so from that.

Karl


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Don’t sump pumps come w standby battery? When there is bad weather the likelihood that power goes off and then you need to have it running. There should be access to 12 v or so from that.

I've not heard of that, but then again, the pumps I'm working with are in the 0.5-3HP range. Requires something more than a standby battery... like a whole-home generator that kicks in when the power goes out. But yes, you're correct otherwise and should always be planned for.

My 2 cents

Had a similiar desire to measure water tank level.

Tried the Vegetronic/Aquaplumb - worked okay for a while before failing. Also had a high jigger than I couldnt stop (readings varied hugely)

Finally move toward Stainless Steel encased pressure sensor on bottom of tank. (as suggested as well)
Standard pressure sensor (got the most sensitive one I could) Sorry forget the actual module (away from computer)
Bought from China/Aliexpress pretty cheap.

Connected to a local 5V Rpi and Karls pibeacon plugin - USB wifi with antenna to get back to Indigo.
Few days to work out readings curve - to give centimeters of water - straight line and pretty accurate.

Working now for a few years without fail.

Glenn

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. I will have to look deeper into them, to see which one would work the best for my situation.

I would be very tempted to separate monitoring water levels from triggering and stopping the pump (unless your pump won't be damaged by running dry). Unless you have a run-dry pump, eventually it will run dry while you're doing a software upgrade...

old-fashioned float switches (one at the bottom level, one at the top are a reliable solution. There's lots of reasons why indigo might not be available to switch things on or off at a critical time.

you could wire a zwave dry contact sensor in line with a float sensor, or use any of the products discussed above to monitor in parallel.

You may be overthinking the problem; if all you want is pump off when tank is full and on when tank is near empty, "dumb" float switches have been used for decades

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Zoeller-Plastic-Float-switch/1000495175

you tether the wire at the center of the tank and when the float hangs down the pump turns on and when the teather comes taut at the top of the tank, it turns off... You can monitor when the pump is drawing power with any one of a number of power detecting Z-wave, WIFI, or insteon products...

Thanks everyone. I have been using a float but unfortunately the well is a little tight and the float has been getting stuck. However I have found a solution where the suppump has a water sensor built in, instead of the float. So this should do the trick.