Re: Capacitive water level sensor

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 11:55:01 +1000, "John" <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Aquagauge low-cost capacitance water level sensor at

http://www.electrosense.com.au


"Electric dabbler" <no.spam@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:F8Gdnb_WQcxWdhDZRVnyjA@xxxxxxxxx
Hi,



Is it feasible to sense water level in a plastic container with capacitive
sensors on the OUTSIDE of the container? The container concerned will be a
heavy gague plastic water storage vessel - perhaps 2 - 3mm thick walls.



I'm thinking of using some strips of 1" copper tape glued to the outside
and attempting to sense the change in capacitance caused by the presence
of water at that level in the container. I suspect the problem here is tha
the change would be too small to reliably detect?



Alternatively I could immerse just one long stainless steel rod in the
container as one capacitor 'plate' and using single copper strips on the
outside at various levels. Here could energise the external electrodes
squentially and measure what comes back on the stainless steel rod relying
on the conductivity of the water to form the other 'plate'



I need to sense multiple levels and drilling holes in the container is not
really an option.



I'm not after a commercial solution, just a quick and dirty DIY approach.



Your thoughts gratefully appreciated.



Philip




I made a probe by driving a copper pipe (tight fit) inside a PVC pipe,
capped on the wet end.

A wire cage around the outside of the PVC (about an inch away) made
connection to the water (ground).

Worked just fine.

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
.

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