The below code is from Seeedstudio as an example on how to read the current flow rate of the sensor. Would it be easy to change this so that instead of getting a flow rate, it actually meters out a specific amount of water? So if I have a long PulseCount, is will let me know when that many pulses have occurred.
Thanks,
// reading liquid flow rate using Seeeduino and Water Flow Sensor from Seeedstudio.com
// Code adapted by Charles Gantt from PC Fan RPM code written by Crenn @thebestcasescenario.com
// http:/themakersworkbench.com http://thebestcasescenario.com http://seeedstudio.com
volatile int NbTopsFan; //measuring the rising edges of the signal
int Calc;
int hallsensor = 2; //The pin location of the sensor
void rpm () //This is the function that the interupt calls
{
NbTopsFan++; //This function measures the rising and falling edge of the
hall effect sensors signal
}
// The setup() method runs once, when the sketch starts
void setup() //
{
pinMode(hallsensor, INPUT); //initializes digital pin 2 as an input
Serial.begin(9600); //This is the setup function where the serial port is
initialised,
attachInterrupt(0, rpm, RISING); //and the interrupt is attached
}
// the loop() method runs over and over again,
// as long as the Arduino has power
void loop ()
{
NbTopsFan = 0; //Set NbTops to 0 ready for calculations
sei(); //Enables interrupts
delay (1000); //Wait 1 second
cli(); //Disable interrupts
Calc = (NbTopsFan * 60 / 7.5); //(Pulse frequency x 60) / 7.5Q, = flow rate
in L/hour
Serial.print (Calc, DEC); //Prints the number calculated above
Serial.print (" L/hour\r\n"); //Prints "L/hour" and returns a new line
}
Get rid of the delay in your loop, and don't reset your counter - just let your ISR keep adding it up, to get total quantity flowed. No performance loss.
Actually you need to keep track of two measurements on rate based and one time based, if you need know the total amount of material that has flowed over time. One is the specific flow rate at any given time it's measured and the other measurement is the flow totalizer the integrates the flow rate over time. It's not as simple as it might first appear.
Total flow amount (a quantity) is equal to flow (a rate of flow) over a specified time span. The difficulty is if the flow rate can or does change rather then always being a fixed rate, hence the need to do a integration calculation and periodically reset the flow, as in total gallons per day, etc.
If flow rate is a constant then you just need to keep track of time passed from start and keep a running total quantity flowed sense start.
Not a flowsensor but I had a similar thing with KWH, wrote article on the playground that is easily converted to a flowsensor.
See - Arduino Playground - EEM12L-32AKWhMonitoring
I should have been more specific. I don't need to know anything about the RATE. All I need to do is know how much water flows (how many pulses) If it's just a few lines, would someone be able to show me a simple counter sketch that would count the number of pulses? I was hoping it'd be just a few simple lines to count the pulses until I get to a specificied pulse count. I'm new at this.
Here is something you can play with. It compiles but I haven't tested it, it's just for concept.
// flow pulse counter
// Uses pin 2 interupt to measure flow of material signal input
// retrolefty 2/5/11
volatile unsigned long isrCounter;
unsigned long pulseCount;
unsigned long stopCount = 100000;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(57600);
Serial.println ("Flow counter starting"); // signal initalization done
attachInterrupt(0, countP, RISING);
} // End of setup
void loop() {
delay(100);
noInterrupts();
long pulseCount = isrCounter;
interrupts();
Serial.print("Flow pulses = ");
Serial.print(" ");
Serial.println(pulseCount);
if (pulseCount > stopCount)
{
// issue a stop command here for the pump
// some kind of digitalWrite(pumpPin, LOW);
Serial.println("Pump stopped after ");
Serial.print(pulseCount);
Serial.println(" pulses");
while(true) {} // endless loop here to stop program
}
} // end of loop
void countP()
{
isrCounter++;
}
THANKS! I was just reading about the attachInterrupt function, and wondering if it could do something for me...
So do I understand it right:
attachInterrupt(0, countP, RISING)
...the external interrupt(0) is on pin 2 on the Uno, so my sensor is connected there.
...countP is the code that will run when RISING occures.
This is perfect! This does exactly what I'm needing!
Thanks again.
amirf:
Does the counting need to keep the board on?
That won’t be power efficient. I have seen boards that count flow for years. Can ArduinoCode do this?
Did those boards count and maintain the count while they were OFF?
Have the board wake up upon incoming pulse, add the count, go back to sleep.
Maybe it's possible to use the clock pins to count while asleep (preferably T1 as it's connected to the 16-bit timer1), and wake on overflow interrupt?
Retrofly is right, you need to get flow rate plus a time measurement. This will get you a qty of liquid.
Just understand how much water can go through the flow meter per 1 'tick' of the hall sensor. Then figure out how fast you are getting each 'tick' of the sensor per second or minute.
