Water Level Alarm Using 555 Timer

AUGUST 2, 2015 BY ADMINISTRATOR 4 COMMENTS

Contents [hide]
 1 Water Level Alarm Using 555 Timer Circuit Diagram:
o 1.1 Water Level Alarm Project Output Video:
 2 Water Level Indicator Using Simple Transistors
o 2.1 Components Required
 3 Water Level Indicator Using ULN2003
o 3.1 Components Required

Even though more than 70% of Earth’s surface is covered with water, only 3% of that
water is useful for survival of life. Hence, efficient storage and usage of water is of
utmost priority.

Generally, water is stored in overhead tanks or underground tanks. A simple water

level indicator circuit is presented in this article to indicate the level of water in a tank
and also alarm when the tank is full.

Also Read the Interesting Post – Water Level Controller Circuit using 8051
Microcontroller.

The aim of this project is to make a water level detecting alarm with simple and low
cost hardware without compromising on the performance of the device.

First let us build a water level alarm using simple 555 timer.

Water Level Alarm Using 555 Timer Circuit Diagram:

 Circuit Diagram of Water Level Alarm using 555 Timer – ElectronicsHub.Org

The circuit uses a 555 timer in astable mode with R1=220 ohms, R2= 150 ohms and
C1=1 uF. The frequency of the given astable circuit is around 1.18 KHz.

The two probes which are shown in the circuit should be kept at the high level for the
water. The distance between the probes should be less than a few centimetres to
ensure that the conduction between the probes will take place when water is touched
to these probes.

When the water level rises to the height of the probes, then the 555 circuit will get
enabled and the output of the 555 timer produces a square wave output with a
frequency of about 1.18Khz. This output is given to the mini loudspeaker which then
beeps at an audio frequency of 1.18KHz.

The logic Implemented in this circuit is, 555 timer is enabled when its reset pin is
connected to logic high. But initially it is connected to ground. When the water level
is maximum this pin is enabled and this drives the 555 timer into astable mode.
Learn more about 555 timer.

Read: [Astable Mode of 555 Timer]

Water Level Alarm Project Output Video:

Water Level Indicator Using Simple Transistors
Water Level of the tank can be measured by using simple transistors also.

Components Required

 BC547 transistors-Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4
 Resistors R1,R2,R3,R4-8kohms
 R5, R6 ,R7 – 1k ohm
 Led – Red(LED3) , Green(LED1) , Yellow(LED2)
 Buzzer-Buz1
 Metal Contacts – M1,M2,M3,M4.

The circuit is designed to indicate three levels of water stored in the tank: low but not
empty, half and full but not overflowing.

When there is no water in the tank, all the LEDs are off as an indication that the tank
is completely empty. When water level increases and reaches M2, the contacts M1
and M2 get shorted as water acts as a conducting medium between M1 and M2.
This will turn on the transistor Q1 and the Green LED starts to glow. As the water
level continues to rise and reaches half the tank, M3 will come into contact with
water and receives a small voltage from M1.

As a result, Q2 is turned on and Yellow LED will glow. When the water in the tank
rises to full tank, M4 is also shorted with M1 and both Q3 and Q4 will turn on.

The Red LED glows and also an alarm is made by the buzzer as an indication that
the tank is full and the water pump or motor can be turned off.

Water Level Indicator Using ULN2003

One can implement this circuit using simple ULN2003 IC.IC ULN2003 consists of an
array of seven Darlington transistor pairs.

Components Required

 L1-L7-LEDs
  R1-R7-330 ohm
 M1-M7-Metal Contacts
 ULN2003 IC

This IC can be used to indicate seven levels of water in tanks. When metal contact is
reached ,each Led starts glowing.When the tank is full buzzer starts ringing along
with this all LEDs are ON.

Water Level Indicator

JANUARY 25, 2015 BY ADMINISTRATOR 6 COMMENTS

Contents [hide]
 1 Water Level Indicator Project Circuit Features:
 2 Water Level Indicator Project Block Diagram:
 3 Water Level Indicator Circuit Diagram:
 4 Download Project Code
 5 How to Design Water Level Indicator Project using AVR Microcontroller?
 6 How Water Level Indicator Project Circuit Works?
o 6.1 CONDITION 1: Water not available
o 6.2 CONDITION 2: Intermediate levels
o 6.3 CONDITION 3: Water full
o 6.4 Water Level Indicator Project Working Flow Chart:
o 6.5 Water Level Indicator Project Applications:

The Water Level Indicator employs a simple mechanism to detect and indicate the
water level in an overhead tank or any other water container.

The sensing is done by using a set of nine probes which are placed at nine different
levels on the tank walls (with probe 9 to probe 1 placed in increasing order of height,
common probe (i.e. a supply carrying probe) is placed at the base of the tank). The
level 8 represents the “tank full” condition while level 0 represents the “tank empty”
condition.

Recommend Reading: How Water Level Controller Circuit Works using 8051
Microcontroller?
When the water-level is below the minimum detectable level (MDL), the seven
segment display is arranged to show the digit 0, indicating that the tank is empty,
when the water reaches level1 (but is below level2) the connection between the
probes gets completed (through the conducting medium – water) and the base
voltage of transistor increases.

This causes the base-emitter junction of transistor to get forward biased, this
switches transistor from cut-off to conduction mode thus PIN (B7) of microcontroller
is pulled to ground hence, the corresponding digit displayed by the seven segment
display is 1.

The similar mechanism applies to the detection of all the other levels. When the tank
is full, all input pins of microcontroller become low. This causes the display to show 8
and also in this case a buzzer sound is given, thereby indicating a “tank full”
condition.

Most water level indicators are equipped to indicate and detect only a single level.
The Water Level Indicator implemented here can indicate up to nine such levels and
the microcontroller displays the level number on a seven segment display.

So, the circuit not only capable of cautioning a person that the water tank has been
filled up to certain level, but also indicates that the water level has fallen below the
minimum detectable level. This circuit is important in appliances such as the water
cooler where there is a danger of motor-burnout when there is no water in the
radiator used up also it can be used in fuel level indication.

Recommened Reading: Water Level Alarm Using 555 Timer

In this project we show the water level indicator using eight transistors which
conducts as level rises, a buzzer is also added which will automatically start as the
water level becomes full, auto buzzer start with the help of microcontroller. With the
help of this project we not only show the level of water on seven segment display but
also indicate the water full condition using a buzzer.

Water Level Indicator Project Circuit Features:

 1. Easy installation.
2. Low maintenance.
3. Compact elegant design.
4. The Automatic water level controller ensures no overflows or dry running of
pump there by saves electricity and water.
5. Avoid seepage of roofs and walls due to overflowing tanks.
6. Fully automatic, saves man power.
7. Consume very little energy, ideal for continuous operation.
8. Automatic water level controller provides you the flexibility to decide for
yourself the water levels for operations of pump set.
9. Shows clear indication of water levels in the overhead tank.

Water Level Indicator Project Block Diagram:

Water Level Indicator Circuit Diagram:

 Download Project Code
How to Design Water Level Indicator Project using
AVR Microcontroller?
 A constant 5v power supply is given to the microcontroller and rest of the circuit
from a battery.
 The tank has 9 conductive type sensors (other types of sensors have been
mentioned earlier but in our project only conductive type are used) embedded
into it and 8 wires of sensors out of 9 are connected to transistors and the 9th
is connected to 5v+ supply.
  The use of transistor is it acts as inverter (i.e. in on state gives low voltage at
output and in non conducting state gives high voltage at its output), all
transistors outputs are connected to PORTB of microcontroller.
 Seven segment display is connected to PORTD. It is connected in common
cathode fashion.
The Output for the 7th level is not only shown on seven segment display but
also indicated with a discontinuous buzzer sound.
 Output for the 8th level (i.e. tank full condition) is not only shown in seven
segment display but also indicated with a continuous buzzer sound.

How Water Level Indicator Project Circuit Works?

The operation of this project is very simple and can be understood easily. In our
project “water level indicator” there are 3 main conditions:

1. There is no water available in the source tank.

2. Intermediate level i.e. either of 3rd to 7th level.
3. There is ample amount of water available in the source tank.

So let us discuss more about these 3 conditions

CONDITION 1: Water not available

When the tank is empty there is no conductive path between any of the 8 indicating
probes and the common probe (which is connected to 5v+ supply) so the transistor
base emitter region will not have sufficient biasing voltage hence it remains in cut off
region and the output across its collector will be Vc approximately 4.2v.

As in this case the microcontroller is used in the active low region (which means it
considers 0-2 volts for HIGH and 3-5 volts for LOW) now the output of transistor
which is 4.2v approximately will be considered as LOW by the microcontroller and
hence the default value given by microcontroller to the seven segment display is 0
which indicates as the tank is empty.

CONDITION 2: Intermediate levels

Now as the water starts filling in the tank a conductive path is established between
the sensing probes and the common probe and the corresponding transistors get
sufficient biasing at their base, they starts conducting and now the outputs will be
Vce (i.e. 1.2v-1.8v) approximately which is given to microcontroller.

Here the microcontroller is programmed as a priority encoder which detects the

highest priority input and displays corresponding water level in the seven segment
display.

In this project while the water level reaches the 7th level i.e. last but one level along
with display in seven segment a discontinuous buzzer is activated which warns user
that tank is going to be full soon.

CONDITION 3: Water full

When the tank becomes full, the top level probe gets the conductive path through
water and the corresponding transistor gets into conduction whose output given to
microcontroller with this input microcontroller not only displays the level in seven
segment display but also activates the continuous buzzer by which user can
understand that tank is full and can switch off the motor and save water.

Water Level Indicator Project Working Flow Chart:

Flow chart gives the clear and easy understanding of the project. The process goes
on as follows:
The microcontroller checks for tank full condition, if the condition is satisfied it
indicates the same on display unit and also sounds a buzzer if the condition fails it
 checks again and this process continues and the corresponding level is indicated in
the display unit.

Recommend Reading – How to Interface Seven Segment Display to 8051

Microcontroller?

Water Level Indicator Project Applications:

 Automatic Water level Controller can be used in Hotels, Factories, Homes

Apartments, Commercial Complexes, Drainage, etc., It can be fixed for single
phase motor, Single Phase Submersibles, Three Phase motors. (For 3Æ and
Single Phase Submersible Starter is necessary) and open well, Bore well and
Sump. We can control two motor and two sumps and two overhead tanks by
single unit.
 Automatic water level controller will automatically START the pump set as soon
as the water level falls below the predetermined level (usually 1/2 tank) and
shall SWITCH OFF the pump set as soon as tank is full.
 Fuel level indicator in vehicles.
 Liquid level indicator in the huge containers in the companies.

Water Level Controller using 8051

Microcontroller
OCTOBER 13, 2015 BY ADMINISTRATOR 10 COMMENTS

Contents [hide]
o 0.1 Water Level Controller using 8051 Circuit Principle:
 1 Water Level Controller using 8051 Circuit Diagram:
o 1.1 Water Level Controller using 8051 Circuit Design:
o 1.2 Algorithm for Water Level Controller Circuit:
o 1.3 Water Level Controller using 8051 Circuit Simulation Video:
o 1.4 DOWNLOAD PROJECT CODE
o 1.5 How to Operate Water Level Controller Circuit using 8051 Microcontroller?
o 1.6 Water Level Controller Project Output Video:
o 1.7 Water Level Controller Circuit Advantages:
o 1.8 Applications of Water Level Controller Circuit using 8051:

This article explains you how to detect and control the water level in an overhead
tank or any other container. This system monitors the water level of the tank and
automatically switches ON the motor when ever tank is empty. The motor is switched
OFF when the overhead tank or container is FULL. Here the water level of the tank
is indicated on LCD (Liquid crystal Display). Using this system, we can avoid the
overflow of the water. We have already seen How water level indicator circuit
works using AVR Microcontroller in the earlier post. But, here we are designing
the circuit which is used to detect and control the water level automatically in
overhead tank using 8051 microcontroller.

In this system water sensing can be done by using a set of 4 wires which are placed
at different levels in tank. DC supply probe is placed at the base of the tank.

Water Level Controller using 8051 Circuit Principle:

This system mainly works on a principle that “water conducts electricity”. The four
wires which are dipped into the tank will indicate the different water levels. Based on
the outputs of these wires, microcontroller displays water level on LCD as well as
controls the motor.

Water Level Controller using 8051 Circuit Diagram:

 Circuit Diagram of Water Level Controller using 8051 Microcontroller

Circuit Components:

 At89c51 controller
 At89c51 programming board.
 16*2 LCD
 5V Relay
 Bc547 (NPN) transistors – 5
 Resistors (1K) – 4
 Resistor – 330 ohm
 AC Motor
 Pot – 10k
 Programming cable
 Connecting wires

Water Level Controller using 8051 Circuit Design:

The main heart of this project is AT89C51 microcontroller. The water level probes
are connected to the P3.0, P3.1, P3.2, and P3.3 through the transistors. Port P2
connected to the data pins of LCD and control pins RS, RW and EN of LCD are
connected to the P1.0, P1.1, and P1.2 respectively.

Initially when tank is empty, LCD will display the message EMPTY and motor runs
automatically. When water level reaches to quarter level, now LCD displays
QUARTER and still motor runs. For further levels, LCD displays the messages HALF
and ¾ FULL.

When tank is full, LCD displays FULL and motor automatically stops. Again motor
runs when tank is empty.

Related Post: Also read the interesting concept about How water level alarm
circuit works using 555 Timer.

Algorithm for Water Level Controller Circuit:

 First configure the controller pins P3.0, P3.1, P3.2 and P3.3 as inputs and P3.4
as output.
 Now initialize the LCD.
 Continuously check the water level input pins P3.0, P3.1, P3.2, and P3.3
 If all the pins are low then display tank is empty on LCD and make P3.4 pin
high to run the motor automatically.
 High pulse on the pin P3.0 indicates quarter level, display the same thing on
LCD.
 If P3.1 is high then water level is half.
 High pulse on P3.2 indicates 3/4th full of the tank.
 If P3.3 is high then tank is full, now make P3.4 pin is low to turn off the motor
automatically.

Water Level Controller using 8051 Circuit Simulation Video:

DOWNLOAD PROJECT CODE
How to Operate Water Level Controller Circuit using 8051
Microcontroller?
 1. Initially burn the program to the controller.
2. Now give the connections as per the circuit diagram.
3. While giving the connections, make sure that there is no common connection
between AC and DC supplies.
4. Place the 4 water level indicating wires into the small tank.
5. Switch on the supply, now the motor will run automatically as there is no water
in the tank.
6. Now pour the water, when it reaches to quarter level then LCD displays
QUARTER on LCD.
7. For further levels it will displays HALF and ¾ FULL on LCD.
8. Still if you pour the water then LCD displays FULL and motor turns off
automatically when the tank is full.
9. Switch off the motor supply and board supply.

Get an idea about How to Interface 7 Segment Display with 8051

Microcontroller

Water Level Controller Project Output Video:

Water Level Controller Circuit Advantages:

 Human effort is reduced as the system controls the motor automatically based
on the water level.
 This system consumes less power.
 Simple and more reliable.

Applications of Water Level Controller Circuit using 8051:

 Used in big buildings where the manual monitoring is difficult.

 Used in industries to control the liquid level automatically.