Automated water spray

Hi there. I'm new to the forums and very much new with Arduino. I have been using it as part of my final year project for Mech Eng to automate a few solenoid valves with no problem.

At the moment however I am trying something a little different which I believe to not be too difficult I just can't work out the best way to do approach it.

I would like to have an automated water spray, which simply cycles through spraying a jet of water every two seconds or so.

The programming of this I imagine is very simple as it will most likely entail activating an output pin in a for loop every few seconds.

My question really is what equipment will I need and how to set it up. The spray only needs to cover an area of approximately 5x3cm and does not need to be powerful, just needs to keep the target area wet.

If I could buy an electonically activate water spray, clearly that would simply do the job however I have searched with no avail.

I am thinking along the lines of a servo, water pump, spray etc but could anybody give me a little guidance as to where to start and how to set up the circuit as I am pretty stuck!

Thanks so much,

Ed

To spray water, you need some pressure.
Is is normal tap water, or from a reservoir.
A shower head could be like a nozzle head, or you can find something at a gardening store.

Can you keep the surface wet by dripping some water on it ? If so, you only need a solenoid valve.

EdClay99:
My question really is what equipment will I need and how to set it up. The spray only needs to cover an area of approximately 5x3cm and does not need to be powerful, just needs to keep the target area wet.

This seems to be the crucial part of the requirements. What sort of spray do you need? If you need a very fine spray as you'd get from an atomiser, you will need a lot of pressure. If a much coarser spray would be OK, you can get away with a much lower pressure.

Or one of those ultrasonic mist makers.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-LED-Ultrasonic-Mist-Maker-Fogger-Water-Fountain-Pond-Atomizer-Air-Humidifier-/130811170143
But I have to warn you, they are dangerous. Don't put your hand in the water if they are switched on.

You could set up a mini sprinkler system. Use a 24V solenoid valve to turn on the water, then attach whatever nozzle you want for the water. You could even use a traditional sprinkler nozzle if you wanted. As long as your hoses are short enough you shouldn't have much delay in turning on the nozzle.

Otherwise I'd look for a water solenoid valve on ebay. There should be plenty of those.