A water-tank system featured by Hackaday

Two LearnOBots students had a problem at home: the water tank kept overflowing. Rather than put up with it, they built a water-level measuring system that checks how much water is in the tank and stops the overflow.

The problem

Rooftop tanks are filled by a pump. Nobody can see inside them, so it's easy to leave the pump running after the tank is full. Water spills over the top, electricity is wasted on pumping it, and the roof and walls get wet.

What they built

A system that measures the level of water in the tank, so the household knows how full it is and the tank no longer overflows.

How a build like this works

In general terms, a water-level system has three parts: something that senses the level, a small controller that decides what to do, and something that acts.

• Sensing: common choices are a float switch, metal probes at different heights that detect water touching them, or an ultrasonic sensor in the lid that measures the distance down to the water.

• Deciding: the controller compares the reading with a 'full' mark.

• Acting: it sounds an alarm, lights an indicator, shows the level, or switches the pump off through a relay.

What it teaches

• Starting from a real problem at home, not a worksheet.

• Sensors and thresholds: turning a measurement into a decision.

• Testing: a system like this has to work every time, so it gets tried many times before anyone trusts it.

• Saving water and electricity, which matters in every Pakistani household.

Recognition

The project was featured on Hackaday, the international website for hardware builders and makers.

Build your own

Our Plant Health Kit uses the same idea in a smaller form: a moisture sensor, a threshold and an alarm. The Security Kit and the IoT Home Automation Kit add more sensors and a relay.

Built by LearnOBots students at a LearnOBots STEAM programme.