It happened again today. The buoy valve on my water tank failed and the tank ovefilled. This is the second time on about 3 years, and another reason to automate the tank and pressure pump.
The other reason is that with the proper level sensor (ultrasound or pressure differential) I can convert my 500 gallons tank into a variable size tank. 500 gallons in good to have when you expect an hurricane, but overkill in most situation, specially on Mon-Fri whe we dont use as much water as the weekened for cleaning the house, etc.
The problem with a big tank is that if you dont use all the water in a few days it will loose the clorine and begin to grow bacteria. Another problem is the weight of all that water in the roof of my house (concrete house, flat roof).
So the sensor is easy and not expensive ($25 for the Maxbotic, analog output), and turning off the water pump when water level is too low is easy too with a simple relay. The question is about the electronically controlled water valve. The valve that controls water input to the water tank. The Watercop and other valves that can stay open or close without applying constant power are too expensive. So I was wondering about a simple irrigation valve. The flow specifications seems to be good at up to 15gpm or even 30gpm in some models. The other question is operating power. When I have really low pressure the tank might take the whole night and sometime more than that (the best pressure from the mains is during the night when few people is using water). Do you know how much power do those valves use? I will need that not only to know if I'm better with the expensive OFF/ON valves, but for sizing the power supply too.
What do you suggest? Any other ideas?
The other reason is that with the proper level sensor (ultrasound or pressure differential) I can convert my 500 gallons tank into a variable size tank. 500 gallons in good to have when you expect an hurricane, but overkill in most situation, specially on Mon-Fri whe we dont use as much water as the weekened for cleaning the house, etc.
The problem with a big tank is that if you dont use all the water in a few days it will loose the clorine and begin to grow bacteria. Another problem is the weight of all that water in the roof of my house (concrete house, flat roof).
So the sensor is easy and not expensive ($25 for the Maxbotic, analog output), and turning off the water pump when water level is too low is easy too with a simple relay. The question is about the electronically controlled water valve. The valve that controls water input to the water tank. The Watercop and other valves that can stay open or close without applying constant power are too expensive. So I was wondering about a simple irrigation valve. The flow specifications seems to be good at up to 15gpm or even 30gpm in some models. The other question is operating power. When I have really low pressure the tank might take the whole night and sometime more than that (the best pressure from the mains is during the night when few people is using water). Do you know how much power do those valves use? I will need that not only to know if I'm better with the expensive OFF/ON valves, but for sizing the power supply too.
What do you suggest? Any other ideas?
