INTRODUCTION

This simple, economical and versatile circuit switches on the motor pump when water in the overhead tank falls below the lowest level and turns it off when the tank is full. It is the circuit which will be used in house water tank, water tanks of buildings. It is a fully automatic circuit, if someone used this circuit then there is no need of fill the water tank daily, switch on/off the motor daily The water-level controller circuit is built around IC 555 (IC2) to monitor the water level in the overhead tank and on/off status of the motor through the inverter and driver circuits. The transistor switch circuitry monitors the flow of water.

COMPONENTS

Transformer :

We used step down transformer in our project. This transformer(X1) steps down the 230V of AC supply to 12V AC. Thus the number of turns in the secondary winding is less then the number of turns in primary winding. Current rating in secondary coil is 300 mA.

Diodes :

Here we have used a bridge of four diodes D1,D2,D3,D4. All these are 1N4007. Diode acts as a switch. When the positive side of the battery is connected to the p side of the diode then it act as a closed switch but when the positive terminal is connected to the n side of the diode then it acts as a open switch. This diode bridge acts as rectifier and converts AC voltage to DC voltage. Diode D5 is called freewheeling diode. It is 1N4007. It

*****
Another diode used in this circuit is LED

i.e. Light Emitting Diode.it is connected between

*****

Resistors :

Total five resistors are used-R1,R2,R3,R4,R5.

R1(10 Ohms) is the current limiting resistor. It carries high current, so its wattage is high

******(0.5 Watt).

R2 and R3 both are 1 MegaOhms.

R4 and R5 both are 1 KiloOhms. There are six capacitors in the circuit.

Capacitors :

The ripples in the DC voltage from diode bridge are removed by the filter capacitor C1(1000 MicroFarad, 25 Volt). C2 and C3 both are 0.1 MicroFarad,*****Watt. They act as noise filtering capacitors. C4 and C6 both are 1 MicroFarad,25 Volt. C5 is 0.01 MicroFarad,

***** watt. These three capacitors filter noise.

IC 7812 : Power Supply:

Power supply is obtained through step-down transformer X1, diodes D1 through D4, capacitor C1, series currentlimiting resistor R1, regulator IC1, and noise-filtering capacitors C2 and C3.

Transistors :

Here we have used two transistors in the circuitT1(BC548),T2(SL100). The datasheets of these two transistors are given.

555 Timer :

One of the most versatile linear ICs is the 555 timer which was first introduced in early 1970 by Signetic Corporation giving the name as SE/NE 555 timer. This IC is a monolithic timing circuit that can produce accurate and highly stable time delays or oscillation. Like other commonly used opamps, this IC is also very much reliable, easy to use and cheaper in cost. It has a variety of applications including monostable and astable multivibrators, dc-dc converters, digital logic probes, waveform generators, analog frequency meters and tachometers, temperature measurement and control devices, voltage regulators etc. The timer basically operates in one of the two modes either as a monostable (one-shot) multivibrator or as an astable (free-running) multivibrator. The SE 555 is designed for the operating temperature range from 55C to 125 while the NE 555

operates over a temperature range of 0 to 70C.

The important features of the 555 timer are : It operates from a wide range of power supplies ranging from + 5 Volts to + 18 Volts supply voltage. Sinking or sourcing 200 mA of load current. The external components should be selected properly so that the timing intervals can be made into several minutes Proper selection of only a few external components allows timing intervals of several minutes along with the frequencies exceeding several hundred kilo hertz. It has a high current output; the output can drive TTL. It has a temperature stability of 50 parts per million (ppm) per degree Celsius change in temperature, or equivalently 0.005 %/ C. The duty cycle of the timer is adjustable with the maximum power dissipation per package is 600 mW and its trigger and reset inputs are logic compatible.

IC Pin Configuration
Pin 1: Grounded Terminal: All the voltages are measured with respect to this terminal. Pin 2: Trigger Terminal: This pin is an inverting input to a comparator that is responsible for transition of flip-flop from set to reset. The output of the timer depends on the amplitude of the external trigger pulse applied to this pin. Pin 3: Output Terminal: Output of the timer is available at this pin. There are two ways in which a load can be connected to the output terminal either between pin 3 and ground pin (pin 1) or between pin 3 and

supply pin (pin 8). The load connected between pin 3 and ground supply pin is called the normally on load and that connected between pin 3 and ground pin is called the normally off load. Pin 4: Reset Terminal: To disable or reset the timer a negative pulse is applied to this pin due to which it is referred to as reset terminal. When this pin is not to be used for reset purpose, it should be connected to + VCC to avoid any possibility of false triggering. Pin 5: Control Voltage Terminal: The function of this terminal is to control the threshold and trigger levels. Thus either the external voltage or a pot connected to this pin determines the pulse width of the output waveform. The external voltage applied to this pin can also be used to modulate the output waveform. When this pin is not used, it should be connected to ground through a 0.01 micro Farad to avoid any noise problem. Pin 6: Threshold Terminal: This is the non-inverting input terminal of comparator 1, which compares the voltage applied to the terminal with a reference voltage of 2/3 VCC. The amplitude of voltage applied to this terminal is responsible for the set state of flip-flop . Pin 7 : Discharge Terminal: This pin is connected internally to the collector of transistor and mostly a capacitor is connected between this terminal and ground. It is called discharge terminal because when transistor saturates, capacitor discharges through the transistor. When the transistor is cut-off, the capacitor charges at a rate determined by the external resistor and capacitor. Pin 8: Supply Terminal: A supply voltage of + 5 V to + 18 V is applied to this terminal with respect to ground (pin 1).

Relay :

Manual On/Off switch

: Switches S2 and S3 can be used to manually switch on and off the motor pump, respectively, when water is in between the upper and lower levels.

Power Switch :

It is the main switch(Switch S1) of the controller circuit. It is used to disable the unit during flushing the tank.

Electrodes : The set-up for the water-level sensing electrodes is

shown in Fig.1. Electrodes are suspended into the tank such that they dont touch each other. Points B, L and U of the water-level controller circuit are connected to the respective points of the sensor electrodes assembly. For the sensor electrodes, a moulded-type AC chord (used for tape recorders) with its pair of wires sleeved at the end and connected together to form the electrode can be used. Other electrodes can be made similarly. These three AC chords are suspended inside the tank from a longitudinally cut PVC pipe (used for electrical wiring).

Fig. 1: Water-level electrodes set-up for overhead tank

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
Circuit diagram required for our designed WATER LEVEL CONTROLLER is given below.

EXPLANATION OF WORKING OF THE CIRCUIT

The principle which the water level controller circuit follows is discussed here.

When water in the tank is below the lowest level L1 All the electrodes are electrically separated and hence points

L and U (pins 6 and 2 of IC2, respectively) are pulled up to the supply voltage through resistors R2 and R3, respectively. Therefore, to reset IC2 the output of IC2 at pin 3 goes low. As a result, transistor T1 stops conducting to drive transistor T2 and relay RL1 energises. The motor pump now starts running to fill the tank with water.

When the water level rises to bridge the electrodes,

because of the conductivity of water, pin 6 (E1) is pulled down to ground (E2). This does not alter the output state of IC2, which maintains its previous state, and the motor keeps running.

When water rises to the overflow level L2 and

touches electrode E3, point U (pin 2 of IC2) is connected to already sunken ground electrode E2, thereby triggering it. IC2 resets to give a high output at pin 3. This is inverted by transistor T1 to cut off transistor T2 and de-energise relay RL1. The motor pump now stops to prevent water overflow.

As water is consumed, the water level comes down leaving

electrode E3 isolated from ground electrode E2. Now point U (pin 2 of IC2) is pulled up to the supply voltage. This does not change the output state of IC2 and the motor remains switched off.

When water level again falls below electrode E2,

IC2 resets to cut off transistor T1. Transistor T2 conducts to energise relay RL1 and the motor is powered to run.

PRECAUTION
1) 2) Make sure that water being delivered from the water pipe doesnt touch any of the suspended water-level sensors. Use a properly shielded cable to carry signals from the tank to the water- level controller unit.

APPLICATION