I use both imperial and metric units. In fact, I was criticized in another video for using imperial too much. Metric is obviously a better system, but the USA is so entrenched, it's difficult to switch. You're right about the angle. It should be 90 for best performance, but other angles work too.
@TheCrazyInventor12 жыл бұрын
What a neat and elegant way to measure the water level. Never thought of that myself.
@AppliedScience12 жыл бұрын
The key thing is the difference between refractive indices of the prism (acrylic plastic) and the medium surrounding it. If the medium is air, light will be reflected internally, and the pump will be activated. If the medium is water (or non-transparent like calcium or algae), most of the light will be scattered away and the pump will not be activated.
@garmse12 жыл бұрын
Today I went to my University to ask about a level controller. Could've waited to see your video and all my doubts would've been solved in les than 10 minutes. Anyways THANK YOU so much for your videos, I totally love them.
@KB9ZWL12 жыл бұрын
The FSV-11 is a very good sensor When I was working in the Food manufacturing industry we used a lot of them for sensing product motion and conveyor control. I installed them in a lot of different applications. One packaging machine had a bank of 20 of them fun times.
@gricka3112 жыл бұрын
this guy must be the best employee. he solves EVERYTHING
@adisharr12 жыл бұрын
The ambient light rejection is done by modulating the light source at a specific frequency and then using a narrow filter for that frequency. That way it can reject common household and industrial light sources. In the case of using multiple units in close proximity, many of the newer types can be connected as shown in the upper left of his video which can then be sequentially activated to avoid interference.
@evinism12 жыл бұрын
I think I'm more excited when one of your videos go up than pretty much any other. I've learned so much from these. Thanks for being a boss at things.
@dtopham10012 жыл бұрын
Very cool! Things like this make me wish I had paid a bit more attention in science classes. It is nice to see practical uses for these ideas that seem so remote in the classroom. Keep up the good work, Ben!
@morbos12 жыл бұрын
Thanks Ben for another great vid! This is not unlike the rain sensor for car windshields. The drop of water changes amount of light on the sensor.
@monkeyvoodoo905212 жыл бұрын
Awesome! I have water problems in my basement during the winter, and have been trying to come up with a reliable way to turn a pump on and off without spending tons of money, or needing a float switch (which needs a fair amount of vertical space to activate, which isn't desirable as far as keeping my basement mostly dry goes). I always find your videos interesting and informative, but this one looks like it'll be super useful for me. Thanks!
@AppliedScience12 жыл бұрын
Sure, that would work. One problem is that I don't want metal exposed to the aquarium water -- especially metal that is routed into the same electrical box that has mains voltage. The optical approach is inherently safe, and immune to corrosion as well.
@n17ikh12 жыл бұрын
Neat! Total internal reflection is how rain sensors on luxury cars work for automatic wipers, a wet windshield reflects light differently from a dry one. I've toyed with the idea of making a rain sensor for my car to put the convertible top up if it starts raining, maybe I'll buy some of the Keyence sensors from ebay to test it out.
@tothemaxttm12 жыл бұрын
surplus suppliers can be wonderful places to find this kind of equipment. DC power supply may be thousands brand new, but used ones often wind up in a junk heap then to a surplus place.
@AppliedScience11 жыл бұрын
I believe they do have a semi-configurable de-bounce timer. The pump that I used can be cycled rapidly since it is just a reciprocating diaphragm pump. It is also super quiet, so I can't tell when it is bouncing on and off.
@felixthecrazy12 жыл бұрын
Way more wicked and complicated than my float sensors. Awesome.
@owovergrowth12 жыл бұрын
To make the light refraction thing a little more complicated, changing the n value of the outer material (i.e. water/air) will change the angle at which total internal reflection occurs (it's 45 degrees for acrylic in air, a different value for acrylic in water, which allows the light to go right on through the acrylic and into the water, giving a smaller reading back.
@user-xb5zu6zu7j10 жыл бұрын
You saved my day- that's exactly what I've been looking for. Big thanks for the video.
@ajscomp3727 жыл бұрын
Turns out you don't even need to make the acrylic sensor tip yourself if you don't want to. Keyence sells the FU-93/93Z/94C, which is basically the same as your homemade sensor tip, or the FU-95 series, which looks through the glass (or clear tube/pipe) to get liquid level.
@spokehedz12 жыл бұрын
Floats can be gummed up real easily with the algae and high mineral contents that are in water. I would be willing to bet that hydro unit will not perform as robustly this one does. Not only that, with this same unit, he could technically also have it sense when the water becomes cloudy and set a light off that reminds him to change the filter--or even dose out a bit of algae killer automatically. And a whole load of other things all with the same unit.
@y1hardtop10 жыл бұрын
Since water is slightly electrically conductive, a much simpler method is to use a hexfet and a couple of resistors, for a water level sensor.
@adisharr12 жыл бұрын
Also, you don't need any jig to polish plastic fiber. Simply snip to length with a sharp razor and then polish against any hard surface. They are very forgiving.
@502deth12 жыл бұрын
iwont argue weather or not its a "better" sys., but, in my area, just try to find any metric taps, dies, drills, tape measures, ect.. at your local hardware store. if your lucky, they will have a small selection of metric bolts. any thing else is order online and wait for it to ship. great vids, btw. been going through them today. found you through the designing a transistor switch circuit vid. thats what i need to know. every other video is theory. i need to see the hands on to understand
@SireSquish9 жыл бұрын
One thing that makes me wonder about this probe: anything in an aquarium that is permanently immersed will tend to attract algae or other debris. I can imagine a situation where the light will be absorbed by whatever is fouling the probe, causing the pump to overflow the tank with excess topup water. I know you addressed this in the video, but that probe looks really quite clean compared to any long-term immersed object in my tank. That said - when are these going to market? :)
@tharlowXY12 жыл бұрын
Inspired design, but most importantly it looks cool.
@subi7o12 жыл бұрын
You make everything extremely interesting.
@404nf112 жыл бұрын
You should do a video on where you got all your tools at, over the course of watching these I've seen tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment in the background. Stuff I would chop off my left foot to get a hold of.
@Cameron_J9 жыл бұрын
I started watching your videos and half way through realized you have a reef tank. I don't see much on it though. This would be perfect for my system. You should have opened up the outlet box in the video. I don't have a cnc or lathe so making that end cap is not possible for me. Most ato are float or ultrasonic or even pressure/weight based. This is nice. Would love to get one
@AppliedScience9 жыл бұрын
Cameron Julsrud Thanks. I have had a few 55gal saltwater tanks, and a few small (5gal) reef tanks in the past, but nothing at the moment. It's true that an optical, low-cost liquid level sensor would be great for small home aquariums.
@MrEwilliams22 жыл бұрын
Do you have a diagram for how you wired this? What kind of relay did you use in the box? I built a similar sensor, but i want to see the signal in arduino if possible.
@chiphill48562 жыл бұрын
Nicely done!
@Inspironator12 жыл бұрын
that acrylic tip is not a 90 degree angle...But very nice implementation of the technology.
@jeremiahblatz12 жыл бұрын
Why did you choose a solid state relay, out of curiosity? It seems like a mechanical relay would be superior in this application. Does the sensor not supply enough oomph to trigger a mechanical relay?
@jeffjohnson64014 жыл бұрын
Could this be used in a pool? How do you think the acrylic sensor would stand up to Chlorine?
@TestSubject200010 жыл бұрын
Hi, Love the idea! Great application of fiber optics. Would you think this concept could be used as a monitor for precise water level monitoring (graduated rather than On/off). Maybe by using a U shape acrylic rod with input at one end and output at the other?
@shanereinholdt15267 жыл бұрын
Hello Appiled Science, Great video, fantastic idea on monitoring/ controlling water levels with a non-mechanical moving device. Such as a float switch that undoubtedly in the long run has a 100% failure rate {often sooner than later due to gummy, crusty, crud build up(s)} My assumption are: 12v Auto Relay & 120V aquarium water pump Question: What is the required voltage of the senor device? Low voltage I presume, and hope. Since my application is an off grid happening. Thanks, Shane
@KowboyUSA12 жыл бұрын
Where did you get the heater strip you used in your 'A close look at supercritical carbon dioxide CO2' video? I desperately need one for a project I'm working on.
@mikeg49725 жыл бұрын
Can a sensor like this work in the dirty/ rusty environment of an automotive cooling system? I'm looking for a coolant level sensor that has no moving parts.
@grundel_live10 жыл бұрын
I found the Keyence FS V11, what brand/model is the actual sensor that goes towards the water, or does that come with the keyence?
@JosephMassimino6 жыл бұрын
I bought 6 of them New, for $20, on a accepted best offer, and free shipping. Do you have any suggestions for me to turn my toslink cable into a sensor like what you turned on a lathe ? I don't have a lathe to do that?
@actioncia7 жыл бұрын
I can just use a 12 vdc relay with a 12 v power source to power this controller than when zero water is detected, it turns on the power head from reservoir for water?
@613joy12 жыл бұрын
I like this idea better than the float switches. How do you mount it?
@aerofart11 жыл бұрын
Ben: Do those sensors have a de-bounce feature? Is there a problem with your water level probe turning the pump on and off repeatedly when the sensor is near threshold?
@barneycarparts7 жыл бұрын
Hello Applied Science, Can you do a video on a similar device to sense water color. I have a gunite pond I put a blue dye into to stop algae growth. The blue color fades within a couple of days and algae begins to bloom. I would like an automated gizmo to keep it at the same shade of blue. I am proficient in Arduino programing in C++. I thought I could do a photo sensor and red led looking through a glass tube. Looking for ideas. Thanks.
@jy_smile66896 жыл бұрын
barneycarparts hello, im interested in your project on sensor to detect color change in water. Can you help me with that? Tq
@frac12 жыл бұрын
Not a GFCI on an aquarium plug? Or is it plugged in to a GFCI circuit?
@Nikkuuu6912 жыл бұрын
Could you also mount 2 metal pieces next to each other (with a gap of course) and detect if the water conducts current between the two?
@sd4dfg212 жыл бұрын
If calcium and other external buildup doesn't reflect/refract the light away like water, then doesn't it refract like air? Which is the condition that turns the pump on to fill your tank?
@Nikkuuu6912 жыл бұрын
That's what I was thinking as well, thanks for the reply ;)
@502deth12 жыл бұрын
i notice a lot of metric references in your videos. canada? also, i dont know how metric angles work, but im pretty sure, even in metric, that cone is not 90 degs ;)
@revolutiongames200412 жыл бұрын
You should hook it up to a feeder to feed while it fills.
@davidmorrill29436 жыл бұрын
A wise man once told me (paraphrase) a true sign of genius is that a real genius can get the same result a "genius" with much more simple methods.
@POLOLOUS312 жыл бұрын
How about a simpler setup like water sensor to turn on a pump?
@martygermishuys23508 жыл бұрын
can you show me how you wired up the relay?
@ViperMD12 жыл бұрын
Excellent video. Watching these always makes me want to do projects, sadly I never know what to do. lol Also that 1 dislike must be a luddite.
@ankeshjaisansaria46887 жыл бұрын
From where can I get this sensor ?
@HerringZFish9 жыл бұрын
Would anyone entertain the idea of making one of these thing for sale? I think that I would need is the sensor, cable and Keyence, not the relay or AC outlet. I would hook that to a controller.
@TheMBagge12 жыл бұрын
The datasheet says max. current consumption 50mA
@datsquazz12 жыл бұрын
This would be cool for pc liquid cooling
@paulbendel11 жыл бұрын
Cool!
@randalbarrett96007 жыл бұрын
Are you still monitoring this? I have a few questions. I am going to use this simple method to see a dark liquid level through a glass tube. I am wanting to pick your brain :) I am a scientific glassblower. Randal