Gunner Quinn
We live up in the Arctic. Water is not always easily available in this area, various events can cause power to go out for weeks at time … what could possibly go wrong?
The following design is for a fuel or water level sensor circuit. It uses a 66F002 MCU (Microprocessor Control Unit) with a built-in Analog to Digital flash storage read-only memory (A/D Flash EEPROM) using a sensor that has a prism built into a lens in the form of a sealed IR (Infrared) detector. When the sensor is bare (dry) the logic input to the MCU is logic high and this signal turns off an LED (Light Emitting Diode) indicating a level state as determined according to the amount of fluid in a tank. When the sensor is submerged in a fluid of fuel or water the logic level goes low and the corresponding LED lights up indicating a fluid level in the tank.
Some important data and component sources:
The sensor for fuel appears to be a bit different than the one for water levels but the MCU board and its associated components are the same. Each kit came with three sensors each using anywhere from 3.5 to 5.0 VDC at just 15 to 20 mA (milli-amps) of power. This should make for many hours, possibly days, of operation using a battery supply, possibly a solar panel power arrangement, or indefinitely using a standard 5 VDC USB type power source. The boards as far as I have been able to determine can only support one sensor at a time, though the sensors could be paired with another MCU such as the Arduino board and since the Arduino has many more input pins than the board that is supplied with the kit it would make sense to use something as that to drive the output LEDs. Using the Arduino or a similar process such as the ESP32 platform you could have up to dozens of sensors all being driven by one processor.
The MCU as delivered has already been flashed with a program compatible with the EEPROM and you do not need to do any programming … however, if you are a tinkerer like me, and want to play around with this device that is extremely inexpensive then the datasheet has 140 pages of information including all the programming information to use. It is possible to use the logic output of the MCU to drive a pump circuit on or off …. As needed.
This entire system will be housed in an ammo can in my basement located under my house; and my concern for EMP would be low …. Considering I live between three major military bases and as such most likely somewhere close to ground zero … hmmmm …. Like I said earlier, what could possibly go wrong? I’m a 75-year-old retired Ranger … I ain’t bugging out anywhere …. If I am not vaporized into eternity, then let the story of a secret state continue.
For my project, the boards come with one Molex connector mounted on the board (PCB) that fits any of the three sensors in the kit, but the other connectors on the board are of a different type so they have no use for my needs. I did modify one board to attempt to connect all three sensors but to no avail so the board can only support one sensor which is not a major concern for me. I just restored it to its original setup and since I only intend to feed one sensor on each board that’s ok. I may change the indicator LEDs to different colors for level assessments; red for empty or minimum level, yellow for say less than half full, and green for full.
The sensors have a female type of connector, and the board has the male end connectors. Just beware that these are Surface Mount Technology (SMT) type Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) so if you aren’t familiar with SMT operations or you’re not set up for SMT-type soldering, then please take this into consideration. If all you need is one sensor, say to indicate a minimum or a maximum level of fuel or water, then this is not an issue for your needs. If you want to have more than one sensor in your project, then be aware of this situation.
Each sensor is molded in a sealed container and has a screw-on type arrangement; a hole of the appropriate size is drilled into the container and the lens side of the sensor is inserted from inside the tank. The retainer nut and seal are attached from the outside and thus seals the hole from leakage. The unit I bought is for the water sensor and the datasheet I have been able to find for it indicates the same part number for both the fuel sensor and the water sensor with the only discernable difference I can see is the color of the lens & prism of the fuel sensor being an amber color and the water sensor being a clear lens. I am going to contact the company and order sensors for fuel as well. I am not certain if this will work for gasoline (Benzene product fuel) or diesel type fuels, or if it even matters?
FIGURE 1 THE SENSOR IS SUBMERGED IN WATER AND THE WET LED IS LIT (RED LED AT TOP CENTER OF BOARD)
FIGURE 2 THE SENSOR IS DRY AND THE LEVEL (RED) LED ON THE UPPER CENTER OF THE PCB IS OUT THE RED / BLUE LEDS ARE A READY STATE INDICATOR.
FIGURE 3: THE SENSOR AND PRISM LENS FOR WATER
For now, my needs are for a water level circuit as I am building up an emergency water supply tank in my basement to have available should we lose power for a substantial amount of time. My well is only 37 feet deep and the combination pressure tank / pump is a brand new 120 VAC type unit and both the well and the pump are located there. We do lose our grid power up here quite often, mostly in the winters when ice and snow cause trees to break off into the power lines, but also occasionally in the summer with storms and such. The longest we’ve lost power was three weeks one winter. We are prepared to live off grid for heating and lighting, but water has always been a different situation for us; particularly when a storm comes along in the nighttime and we don’t know the power is out until we are wakened up by the cold, or just no power to make coffee in the morning …. So now I’m working to cover that water gap.
One logical situation I must resolve is how to get the tank(s) into my basement area. The “crawl space” under my house is deep enough that I can stand up erect between the floor joists, a few more feet down and we would have had a full basement; but for some reason the builder(s) elected only to dig as deep as they did. My well and pump are located down there. So is all the plumbing and our water softener. All water in our area is as hard as a rock since it is full of minerals. For us thankfully not much iron, but lots of minerals so a softener is mandatory.
In the 15 years we’ve lived here the water lines have never frozen except for one time the first winter we were here a cold-water pipe leading up to the kitchen sink somehow got unwrapped and froze up. Thankfully it didn’t burst, and I was able to thaw it out and rewrap it with more than sufficient insulation. I have a digital wireless temperature sensor over the pump and have never seen it go below 45 degrees down there since we put in a good vapor barrier and weatherized our house to Arctic standards. Whenever we burn the wood stove, which happens to be directly over the pump area, it can get up to 60 ~ 70 degrees down there. Using the furnace (oil) it stays around 45 degrees year-round even when it’s -50 or more below zero. Yes, it does make a good root cellar though it is a bit damp in the deep winter months.
The current plan is to attempt to install several 55-gallon drums made for potable water use and fill them with drinking water, which can be purchased up here. Also, we would make sure it is filtered for long-term storage use since most areas in this region don’t have water available, and people are forced to have their water brought in. In that regard we can build a setup where the water truck can come fill the tank(s) and have that water stored for use should we need it.
I plan to use a 12 Vdc water pump like those used for motorhomes and such. This system would provide us with drinking water should we not be able or willing to use the generator to pump water via the normal system. I’m thinking 10 to 20 such drums would give us 550 to 1,100 gallons of potable water off-grid.
We do have a full water filtration system that includes one 20-micron filter for the house use, and a five-filter with IR decontamination capability reverse osmosis type filter at the kitchen sink. My wife also uses a Zero Water type filter on the kitchen counter though I have been wanting to get a Big Berkey ceramic filter to replace that unit.
As for heating, we do have a wonderful Blaze King woodstove (catalytic) that is extremely efficient, not just for heating but also to cook on, as well. We also have two Aladdin lamps, one that is brand new, and one that is well over 100 years old but still functional. Both lamps give off a considerable amount of light as well as heat when burning. We also have several regular wick-type kerosene/oil lamps for lighting. In summer there is no darkness and we must use blackout curtains on our bedroom windows, and in winter we can go for days with no light or very little light … and the winters are far much longer than our summers with not much in between for seasons.
Since a vast amount of our food stores are freeze-dried due to our winter temperatures, and the need for potable water, the need for this type of water storage system is mandatory for long-term use. I am thinking that if we reserve the storage water for drinking and use the pump on the generator occasionally for washing and cleaning needs like dishes, etc. then we should be able to extend what water we would have available. Also, we do get a considerable amount of snow and frozen snow / ice here that can be melted for drinking and such.
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