topaz trench
Hi everyone,
I have a bunch of plants and would like to start a new project with them: water level measurement and reporting.
The plants are not in classical soil, so it is really more water level and moisture measurement.
I have them as hydrocultur in expanded clay aggregate.
Does anybody have any recommendations for sensors (either wifi or ble) that are battery operated and ideally cheap(ish)?
Cheers
Alex
high schooner
Hm there is something new from Apollo automations which is a soil moisture sensor
crude briar
I don't think that would work without actual soil though. You might be able to use a US sensor with an ESPHome setup, but even then, not really sure that would work in a hydroculture type of setup as the water levels are usually pretty low.
One thing that might work as well is a water leak sensor (with a probe) taped to the water container. Invert the condition on it (wet == good, dry == bad) and you might have what you need as well.
high schooner
Oh I would have expected the clay to be similar to soil
crude briar
It's not (Ask me how I know) lol
high schooner
Hehe
crude briar
The clay messes with the resistance on the sensor and it pretty much stays the constant value 100% of the time. I tested my PLT-1 in clay in my flower bed and ended up having to dig out a hole and put actual soil in and then place it in that to get accurate readings.
topaz trench
Thank you for your suggestions. Yes, the clay is essentially a bunch of balls that store some moisture but would not be in real sensor contact.
The level of water is normally measured as really liquid water, i.e. there is a floating device with an indicator that gets lifted and shows the water level.
I thought about the tuya flood warners but I would have to place the sensor at the minimum level and have it be in constant warning mode. And when it drops below that level I will be informed.
But I would much prefer some kind of actual level sensor. So something that shows me (roughly) which level the water is at and from that I can also roughly predict when I will need to water again 🙂
I saw a few sensor boards that looked like they simply have multiple contacts spaced apart and depending on which sensor sees water it will indicate the level.
Buuut those sensors are really DIY and require me to print a case for the sensor, the esp and the batteries. So not ideal.
grave glen
I want a water level sensor as well, but for a different purpose. The only thing I can think of is just buying a bunch of flood detectors and using the data from them, it'll be real janky
The one you link looks perhaps good for your purpose, but I'm picturing more like a rain barrel water level
For my purpose, maybe something with a floater...