Using Arduino with a water sensor to trigger signal

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello there,

Entirely new to Arduino.

I have built a water sampling box for my work that incorporates a PLC module, pump, solenoid valve and float switches. Basically when the water reaches a certain height it triggers the pump to take samples at set intervals, the line is then flushed with the solenoid valve to keep things clean. These boxes are located in a farm paddock far away from any offices however there is 3g connection available. We just want a notification of any kind to be sent to a mobile, computer, receiver that indicates a sample is being taken it is not required to include real time however that would be nice.

Is there anyway to use Arduino to send a wi-fi signal in the forms of e-mail, txt, sms or any type of other communication method when the water reaches that initial height and begins to sample. If so, where do I begin and what components do I need? I have had minimal programming experience however we are willing to pay $$ to have a program written for us.

2

If you have mains power and all you want is to send an SMS when a contact closes you may wish to check out commercially available gate openers eg 3G wireless door or gate access control: Aristel AN1706. (Theres lots of other ones).

If you are going to make it an arduino project you will need a 3G interface (search "arduino 3g") and a little bit of code. Services such as https://ifttt.com/maker allow you to send a variety of notifications with a single web site access.

3

Do you have an internet capability at the farm? I have a little Adafruit CC3000 wireless card, and an email account with SMTP2GO.com. If you have a cell phone with either Verizon or ATT (probably many others), you can formulate an email address related to the phone number, send it to SMTP2GO, and the email will be forwarded to the phone as a text message. I use it in a home sentry system to get messages from my system when I'm gone.

4

If you are using a PLC for the main sampling control, is there not a board or interface that will do this natively?

5

Thanks guys, your help is much appreciated!

Browsing the market for a PLC that has that capability and I have found a few just didn't know what direction to look at. We will be trialing all these options most likely too see which is most viable in the field.