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i made an water level indicator using IC: ULN2803

Refer: Easiest water level indicator

Block diagram

It works well when used on glass of water, but when connect to my rooftop tank all the leds slowly diminishes and turns off. I think this has to do with high resistance of the tank water, but i doubt it since it worked well for first few days.

i am not any expert (clearly) so any help is appreciated.

Alex Robbin
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2 Answers2

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I'm not big in chemistry, but I believe that it has stopped working because of electrolysis. In other words your contacts have corroded to the point that the resistance is too high. You could prevent this by using AC, but then the circuit would be a lot more complicated. I would opt for capacitive sensors, Analog Devices have an interesting app note about Capacitive Liquid Sensors Or you can follow this Instructable

Elmesito
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  • I don't think AC will stop electrolysis but the corrosion must be the issue he's facing. – Dorian Dec 27 '18 at 10:04
  • @user156047 I too think you are right, but i dont understand anything about Capacitive liquid sensors. But, if i were to replace the contact points with something non-corrosive and have less chance for electrolysis would that work? – Alex Robbin Dec 27 '18 at 10:09
  • @AlexRobbin Maybe it would be better to use large electrodes. Not only the corrosion but also mud or particles attracted by the current flow might play a role in this. If you have large electrodes they will have a low impedance even covered with some impurities. – Dorian Dec 27 '18 at 10:35
  • For what I remember from my Uni days, there are two possible causes to corrosion, one is electrolysis and the other dissimilar metals. Electrolysis is the splitting of water cells, and that requires I believe 1.23V to happen. Unfortunately this means that for conducting the electricity you will only rely on the impurities of the water. I don't think it is a dissimilar metal issue due to the voltage you use. – Elmesito Dec 27 '18 at 10:44
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    You can easily check this by inspecting the probe wires, right? – user253751 Dec 27 '18 at 11:54
  • yes, but check both ends (resistor side and 12V side) – Elmesito Dec 27 '18 at 15:03
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It's due to corrosion and electrolysis process mostly.

Go with some alternative thing like Float switche. Follow the link FLOAT SWITCH

Electron
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