Hello, I need a very reliable temperature sensor for a Arduino project.
My family has a hunting ranch with a cabin in Texas which is located 5 hours from our home. The cabin has a well setup with a electric pump, we shut off the water to the cabin before we leave via valve but we keep water on to a giant water 'bucket' which the deer and other local animals drink from. The bucket has a mechanical float valve which closes when full.
However, it can be risky leaving this on when temperatures drop to freezing and we often leave the ranch unattended for sometimes months at a time. I just had to drive up here just to turn the well pump off since temperatures are expected to hit -1F on Monday and we don't want a pipe to burst and flood the area. It doesn't happen often but I would like to set up a automated system that will shutoff the well pump should temperatures drop to 30f. Thus the reason for a reliable temperature sensor. Anyone know of a dependable product? I'm thinking of using two of the same sensors and if either sensor differs more than 5-10 degrees from each other I would assume one of the sensors are bad and to override the whole setup(turn well pump on).
I use a Maxim DS18B20 + Arduino Pro Mini to monitor my well house temperature and turn on heater if temp falls below 2℃, been working without fail more than 7 years.
Just shutting the well pump off will not stop the pipe from bursting. You also need to drain the pipe.
Paul
Paul_KD7HB:
Just shutting the well pump off will not stop the pipe from bursting. You also need to drain the pipe.
Paul
There's a simple way to stop a pipe bursting when the water freezes. Take a length of plastic tube the same length as the pipe you want to protect and thin enough to thread inside it. Seal both ends. Thread the plastic tube inside the pipe.
When the water freezes it will crush the plastic tube instead of bursting the pipe.
Paul_KD7HB:
Just shutting the well pump off will not stop the pipe from bursting. You also need to drain the pipe.
Paul
Yeah, I understand that but from what part of my family tells me who built the place, the biggest concern is the well pump as it is expensive to replace, not sure what aspect of this is a problem for the pump so I can't comment on that. This would also prevent huge amounts of water being leaked as I plan on setting up the code to limit the amount of pump run time to 30min. a day after the temperature hits 30f once until it is physically reset. Lastly, if the pump gets shutoff soon enough, the pipes might get partially drained by filling up the "bucket" if enough water gets consumed quick enough, but I don't think it would get entirely drained regardless due to gravity working against you. We do have a water valve for a hose attachment in the well house, I could put a electric valve on it but I wouldn't trust it to stay sealed overtime, just another possible leak point.
Not sure how I'm going to go about the code exactly as it gets difficult for me to think of a method to go about it after considering the specific customization I want to add to it, I'm mostly familiar with "If" arguments for similar projects. I have another thread in the coding section for this.
PerryBebbington:
There's a simple way to stop a pipe bursting when the water freezes. Take a length of plastic tube the same length as the pipe you want to protect and thin enough to thread inside it. Seal both ends. Thread the plastic tube inside the pipe.When the water freezes it will crush the plastic tube instead of bursting the pipe.
Thanks for the advice but it is far too late for this and we have a lot of pipe.
JCA34F:
I use a Maxim DS18B20 + Arduino Pro Mini to monitor my well house temperature and turn on heater if temp falls below 2℃, been working without fail more than 7 years.
Temperature Sensor - Waterproof (DS18B20) - SEN-11050 - SparkFun Electronics
Thanks for the advice, do you personally use it to measure the water temp. itself or ambient air temperatures?
I like this idea. It is true that shutting off the well pump will not prevent pipes from bursting .... but if it works properly it WILL prevent the cabin from being flooded with water. Judicious use of solenoid valves could even drain the pipes in the event the system is triggered.
You will probably need a pretty high current relay in series with the existing one, or else tap into the existing controller.
Like another earlier poster, I like the DS18B20 sensors. They are easy to use in arrays of several sensors and they can be obtained encapsulated and supposedly waterproof for not much money. And if I were doing this project I'd also monitor multiple sensors ... though the decision tree governing action when the sensors vary will require some thought. I would also consider adding a sensor of a completely different type, such as an LM335 analogue output device, just for an added layer of reliability to guard against unanticipated failure of the serial comm protocol.
S.
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