Water Softener Salt Stage Monitor - Open Electronics

By Emanuele Signoretta on August 29, 2022

Water softeners work utilizing a course of referred to as ion trade wherein calcium and magnesium ions from laborious water are exchanged with sodium chloride (salt) through a particular resin. The water goes right into a stress vessel the place it strikes by way of the resin beads, and the calcium and magnesium are changed by sodium. The resin beads will finally change into exhausted and unable to choose up any extra laborious minerals. The recharge or regeneration course of passes a salt water answer by way of the resin beads which detaches the hardness minerals and flushes them harmlessly to the drain. The resin beads are left refreshed and able to make extra softened water.
Ion trade water softeners are available in many sizes and styles however all of them have one factor in frequent, a brine tank that wants filling with salt each few weeks to ensure an everyday provide of soppy water. Water softeners usually are not precisely enticing items of kit and so they’re banished to some inaccessible place which means a particular go to is required to verify the salt stage. Most of the time, the cue for including extra salt comes from family members griping about laborious water.

A match and neglect salt stage sensor is required that may ship a reminder when the salt is low within the softener. On this Instructable, a spread sensor is used to measure the salt stage within the water softener each few hours and the consequence posted on ThingSpeak. When the salt stage will get low, ThingSpeak will ship a reminder e mail to replenish the brine tank with salt.
All of the parts for this mission can be found on eBay, as common, the most affordable components come from Asia. Even having to purchase all of the parts, the whole price shall be about US$10. A mess of abilities like soldering or utilizing the Arduino IDE are wanted to make this mission. All these strategies are coated in different Instructables and usually are not repeated right here.