Hello everyone! My final project topic is an automatic drip irrigation system. My task is to count water droplets in order to track water consumption. Does anyone have any ideas on how I could implement this?
THANK YOU !!!
I moved your topic to an appropriate forum category @jorsolic1.
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Measure the level in the water tank or its weight.
Search "tipping rain gauge"... know gauge volume. When gauge is full, it tips. Count the tips.
Probably not the best approach to track consumption.
But if that's your task, break beam sensor could detect when the drop leaves dripper or piezo disc could detect when drop hits it.
Hello, I news help
I want to control the flow rate of a submersible pump in the range from 3 to 6 V. When it operates at 6 V, the water flows through the drippers too fast, and I want the flow to be slower, i.e. the time interval between droplets to be longer. However, when I reduce the voltage to 3 V, the pump does not have enough power to deliver water to the end of the hose. I am working on a Smart Greenhouse project.
The hardware setup consists of a relay, a pump, a power supply, and an ESP32 microcontroller. It is being considered whether the initial supply voltage could be set to 6 V and then gradually reduced to a lower level, such as 4.5 V or 3 V, during operation.
Thank you!
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We don’t have any information about your actual hardware.
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Maybe a simple controlled peristaltic pump could work.
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What about something in the middle, 4.5V?
You still have to face the fact that water flow at the end of the hose is less than at the beginning. You likely need adjustable drippers to balance the flow.
How much current does the pump use?
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HUM: MINI WATER PUMP - Soldered Electronics this is a pump
You can control the pump motor speed using PWM but you will have to build a simple circuit with a transistor, a diode and a few resistors.
The ZTX618 is available from Farnell
Here is the correct plumbing for a system you are designing:
It will let you vary the pressure to your drip system when you adjust the valve controlling the pressure. If you wish you can automate that valve! The pressure gauge is optional. Leave the pump alone and let it pump as designed.
This seems to be a drip irrigation system?
Maybe. Maybe not. If the supply flow rate does not exceed the total flow requirement needed by the emitters, this should not be an issue. Unless the diameter of the hose is to small. A properly designed irrigation system should not require adjustable emitters to prevent flow problems. Adjustable emitters are used because of flow requirements for a particular area.
Have you tested the flow rate at 3 volts without the hose/lines attached? Can it even pump the required amount that all the emitters need? If not, than you need more voltage or a larger pump. If it can, your hose may be to small in diameter.
Please explain, what goes in has to go somewhere, the only place known at this point is the other end of the hose unless it has a leak.
I do like the idea of adjustable drippers.
I agree, it uses self-regulating drippers. They have quite flat flow rate over large pressure range. And the flow doesn't increase if you add more pressure than nominal.
But since OP experienced too much flow when powering the pump at 6V, I suspect that the irrigation system is not properly designed.
We could consider every dripper as "a leak".
Hi, @jorsolic1
Why not run a header tank to provide pressure for the drip system and just use the pump to top it up?
Tom.... 
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@jorsolic1 According to the article you linked, your pump only has .57 up to 1.56 psi to push the water. That is very little pressure in an irrigation system. The maximum flow is 120 l/h or .53 gallons per minute. But I suspect with the toy that you linked to, that flow rate is straight out of the pump, not hooked to a hose. And I also suspect the advertising numbers are inflated. The hose will reduce the flow rate. So you need more power to push the water to the end of the hose. Also, that pump can only pump up to 100 centimeter high. That is where I got the pressure ratings above. Are you pumping up hill? That will cause more flow problems.
Can you show us your system with details? Like a plumbing schematic?
The link to the pump does not say if it is a "regular" brushed DC motor or a brushless (BLDC) type. BLDC motors may not work well (or at all) with PWM speed control, Brushed motors will, but the response is not linear (it may take a PWM value of 30 or more just to make the motor start) and 50% PWM may not result in 1/2 voltage or motor speed, it's a trial and error process.
In my experience, small submersible pumps don't last very long.
Look for magnetic drive as in fish pond pumps. Does away with glands, Very long life, but often mains voltage.
DC power peristaltic very controllable.
I have made some decent sprayers using automobile windscreen washer pumps, 12-V DC, again controllable. Cheap and powerful.
Bear in mind, pumps come in different types. Positive displacement pumps don't like closed heads e.g. blocked pipe or tube. Impellor types, centrifugal, will survive closed pipes. Centrifugal pumps are mainly for shifting liquids as in washing machines; PD pumps are better for dosing and providing higher pressures.
When a delivery head or output pressure is given in bars or metres, one bar is one atmosphere, roughly 14-lbs per square inch or a column of water about 10-metres.
I bet, as “economical” as it looks, it is brushed, so it should work with PWM. (Though we don’t know for sure. It does only have two leads, + and -) But you are right about the following:
My experience says if you want to run a brushed DC motor at low speed, sometimes you have to kick start it or start it at a higher speed, then back it down. And under pressure with hoses attached it might refuse to work at a lower PWM value.
I think this one is an impeller type.