arduino flow sensor switch controll

zamo27

Is it possible to control a sensor switch like this http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=131070375574
With arduino so as to start the flow of water and stop it when the desired amount of water has flown through the sensor
I

Chet T16

zamo27 wrote: »

Is it possible to control a sensor switch like this http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=131070375574
With arduino so as to start the flow of water and stop it when the desired amount of water has flown through the sensor
I

That is only a flow sensor, you will need a solenoid valve to turn the water on/off

Jimllfixit

Hi Zamo27,

Chet is right.

You'll have to find out how many pulses the flow meter gives out per litre of water. It's quite likely that if you apply 5VDC to power the sensor, that it will send 5V pulses out when the water is flowing, which you can then send to any digital input on the Arduino. (Not pins 1 or 2 though). The Ebay description is a bit vague on this.

Your program will need to have a variable, say "NumberOfPulses" which you count; I usually create a program flow chart to describe the way it needs to work. When the count reaches the number that corresponds to the chosen amount of water, you then turn on Chet's solenoid.

To do this, you probably need a transistor, an external DC supply and the chosen solenoid. Unless it was a tiny 5V solenoid you couldn't turn it on and off using an Arduino digital pin directly as these can only supply about 40mA.

Hope this helps.