Just an idea for anyone who is putting in a new well, I just installed one and as I did I put a float switch and a 150 psi pressure sensors about 20 feet above the well pump. One the output was scaled to feet of water so OpenHab could graph exactly how many feet of water were above the pump. If the value dropped below 20 feet my pump is shutoff, the float switch acts as a backup in case my pressure sensor is off for some reason.
Just a thought, I love how it is working so far.
Hey Nathan,
I have don’t a bunch of work using pressure to measure liquid, and I would tend to agree that it is pretty awesome.
I’m curious as to why you installed the pressure sensor so far above the pump.
Personally, I would have put it closer. Did you do this to avoid potential water disturbance which would be caused by the pump pumping?
Do you have any plans or thoughts on getting volumetric measurements?
Cheers,
Greg
My well depth is 397 feet, I left 20 feet of room at the bottom of the shaft for sediment. I could have put it closer, but my pressure sensor was next to my float switch that acts as an emergency backup and I needed a bit of warning between that and the pump.
My system displays the feet as well as gallons of water of head above the pump. Gallons is simply 1.47 per foot for an 6" bore. To get system usage I use a standard water meter that pulses once per gallon.
My water system is a bit overkill:
Well Pump
Pressure / Float sensor
44 gal Expansion tank
Water quality PPM sensor
Water Meter
4" 5 micron sediment filter
4" 1 micron sediment filter
4" carbon block filter
AerMax system (removes Hydrogen Sulfide)
Water Softner
3 DOW-LP4040 RO Membranes
3 Water quality PPM sensors
86 Gal Expansion Tank
Hot Water Heater (Heat Pump with backup Electric)
Temp Sensor
Overall it is working well, in the future I may add minerals to the water to balance it out.
Very nice Nathan!
I hadn’t thought about sediment, but that is a very good point. (I have
worked with tanks, not wells)
It would be interesting to see how your consumption relates to your column
water level and if it recovers differently at different periods of the
year, etc.
Cheers,
Greg