Automatic water level controller 2013

Abstract
A water level controller was designed, built and tested. Transistors
were used as main components of this project work. This is because of
their ability to be ON and OFF based on the amount of voltage on their
base terminal. The source of power for the pump is controlled by the
relay which in turn is controlled by the collector voltage of one of the
transistors. The interconnected network of the transistors and resistors
let the relay coil energized or de-energized based on the level of the
water in the tanks automatically.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

Acknowledgement
We want to express our profound gratitude and deep regards to our
advisor Instructor Ayenew Tegegn for his exemplary guidance,
monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the course of this
project. The advices and guidance given by him time to time shall carry
us a long way in the journey of life on which we are about to embark.

We also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to

instructor Abel for his support and valuable information, which helped
us in completing this task through various stages.

We are also obliged to staff members of Adama university electrical

engineering department in their respective fields. We are grateful for
their cooperation during the period of this assignment.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1
1. INTRODUCTION ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
1.1 Background and significant of the project ------------------------------------------ 1
1.2 Objectives----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
1.3 Methodology ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2
1.3.1. Data collection--------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
1.3.2. Software Requirement----------------------------------------------------------- 2
1.3.3. Experimental check -------------------------------------------------------------- 3
1.4. Scope of the project -------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
CHAPTER 2
2.1. Fundamentals --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
2.1.1 Conductivity of water ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
2.1.2 Relay--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5
2.1.3 Water pumps---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
CHAPTER 3
3.1. System Block diagram----------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
3.1.1. The tanks with the probes----------------------------------------------------------- 9
3.1.2. Network of the transistor ----------------------------------------------------------- 9
3.1.3. Relay-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
3.1.4. Pump ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10
CHAPTER 4
4.1 System design and implementation ---------------------------------------------------- 11
4.1.1 Theoretical Design ----------------------------------------------------------------- 11
4.1.2 Analytical Design ------------------------------------------------------------------- 12
4.1.3 Implementation--------------------------------------------------------------------- 13
CHAPTER 5
5.1. Conclusion-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
5.2. Recommendation---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
5.3. References------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15
APPENDIX--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16
Appendix A------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 16
Theoretical Design of the project ------------------------------------------------------ 16
Appendix B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17
Analytical Design of the project ------------------------------------------------------- 17
Appendix C------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 18
Total Design of the project -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Automatic water level controller 2013

CHAPTER 1
1. Introduction
1.1 Background and significant of the project.
Among the departments in Adama University, Electrical engineering
department is the one. Currently the department is working on
producing responsible electrical engineers. In order to make the
students solution bearings for the real world problems, the department
ordered them to be in groups and work on different project titles. So
this team is among the organized groups and was working on a title of
water level controllers.

1.2 Objectives
After the completion of this project we are going to be able to:

- Control the amount of water in the overhead tank

automatically.
- Minimize the unnecessary wastage of water.
- Reduce the chance of non-availability of water in case of
emergency.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

1.3 Methodology
1.3.1 Data collection

Within the data collection period we do some research about the

project related. Once we get enough information, we tried to find out
the electronic component and other materials and some of equipment
to be used. We also have done the research about the project related.
Including with study about the electronic components such as
transistor, resistor and also about devices like relay and electronic
water pump. The study is not just for the function of the components
but the types of small circuits build by each component related.

1.3.2 Software requirement

For software requirement, we have chosen the Multism software. It is a
software tool suite to be used primarily for electronic design
automation. The software is used mainly to create electronic prints for
manufacturing of printed circuit boards and see their simulation.

After the process of gathering all the related information about this
project, a step of designing the water level controller circuit is done.
Using the Multism software, the circuit was done and simulate

Transistor selection was the most important step in this electronic

circuit design. It is better to use transistor which exhibit high gain at
lowest possible current consumption.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

After the transistor had been selected, the circuit was then designed.
However, for the values of the resistors, the process of obtaining the
desired values is done manually where each of the components in the
circuit will be tuned until the desired output is obtained.

1.3.3 Experimental Check

Once the simulation is done, the next step was to check its operation
experimentally using a breed board. By implementing all the
components on the breed board and using a light emitting diode (LED)
for indication, we have seen the operation of the desired circuit for
different possible levels of the water.

1.3.4Printed circuit board (PCB)

To make the size of the main design of the controller as small as
possible and easily portable, we decide to make it in PCB board. This
board can then be installed on the wall of building being in the closest.
This will help it to be durable.

1.4 Scope of the project.

The design must be limited in scope as to be fit within the one semester
period. Furthermore the system must adhere to many of the project
requirement as can be addressed in the following.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

The first consideration was to make the design as simple as possible.

This will help it to be usable by anymore i.e. no need of being
professional.

We also took a good consideration about the production cost. We saw

this issue from two perspectives. The first one is to use simple and
cheap components for the construction of the design. Second, we
focused on the supply power and try to design a system which needs to
be supplied with a small possible power.

It is also considered to make its size small. This can be achieved by

implementing it on a PCB board.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

CHAPTER-2

2.1. FUNDAMENTALS
All of the components in this system must work together perfectly to
provide the desired result. These components include the water in the
tank together with the probes immersed, the networked transistors,
the relay and the pump. This means the system as a whole must be
operable. There are areas in all four components that were researched
so they could be used effectively.

2.1.1. Conductivity of water

The conductivity of water is a vital concept for our project because the
transistors receive their input power through the water.

Actually pure water is a very poor conductor of electricity. At 25 oc the

net concentration of ions is 2.0 x 10-7 mole/m3. This makes the water a
very poor conductor. However, the water in general such as water
found in taps, rivers lakes, sea contain higher concentration of ions,
making it a better conductor to various degrees. Since the water which
is going to be controlled by our design is a tap water their will not be a
problem on the conduction.

2.1.2. Relay
An electromagnetic relay is a type of electrical switch controlled by an
electromagnet. The core of the electromagnetic relay, naturally, is an
electromagnet formed by winding a coil around an iron core. When the
 Automatic water level controller 2013

coil is energized attracting a pivoting iron armature. Pivots, it operates

one or more sets of contacts thus affecting the circuit. In our case, we
use a relay with two contacts. When the magnetic charge is lost the
armature and contacts are released.

Contacts on electromagnetic relay can take two forms. Normally

opened contacts connect the circuit when the device is activated and
disconnect it when the device is not active. Normally closed contacts
disconnect the circuit when the relay is magnetized and connect the
circuit when the coil is demagnetized.The one we use in our design is
normally open type.

2.1.3. Water pumps

On analyzing the components of our design, we did a small research on
water pumps and able to know that there are many types of water
pumps. Each serves a special purpose in home or business .water
pumps however, are responsible for moving water from one level to
another level. Currently the main types of water pumps used are well
pumps, sump pumps and printer tanks. Among these, the one which
fits to our project design is the well pump type. In our project the well
water pump help to push water from the underground tank.

Well water tanks are available in various amounts of horsepower.

The size of the home and the number of the bathrooms and sinks it
contain are important considerations when deciding which well pump
to purchase. If a home has many water outlets or if the well water
pump is located a great distance from the bathroom sink or tub, the
home will need a stronger underground tank or it can also be a well. In
addition, well water pumps supplying water to more than one home
 Automatic water level controller 2013

will need to have more horsepower. A type of the well pump is shown
in the following figure.

Fig 1 An electrical well water pump

 Automatic water level controller 2013

CHAPTER 3
3.1. SYSTEM BLOCK DIAGRAM
The system is composed of four main components. These
components are the probes in the tank, the networked transistors, the
relay and the pump.
DC power
supply

Under ground
tank
Network of
transistor

Over head tank

Relay

AC Control Circuit
Pump
Power
Supply

Power circuit
 Automatic water level controller 2013

3.1.1. The tanks with the probes

Two tanks are used for this project work. The first (the overhead
tank) is the one which will be placed at the top of a building. Incase of
unavailability of water from the tap, this tank can be used as an
alternative source of water. So this tank is needed to be full of water all
the time. In our project this is done by pumping the water from the
second tank used (the underground tank). This tank is used to ensure
that the overhead tank is always full. Whenever water level in the
overhead tank becomes below a certain predetermined level (empty
level), the designed controller refills it only until the “the full level”. The
signal which indicates whether the water reaches above the full level or
below the empty level is detected by the probes immersed in the tanks.
This probe terminals become connected or disconnected based on the
levels of the water. So in order to indicate the predetermined levels in
the overhead (full level and empty level) two pairs of probe terminals
are placed. Similarly in the underground tank there is one pair of probe
terminal to indicate whether there is water in it or not.

3.1.2. Network of the transistor

This portion is the heart beat of the whole project. The transistors are
arranged in a very logical and reasonable manner with the necessary
resistors in their respective place. This network of transistor receives
the DC power as a result of the connection of probes in the tanks.
Depending on the received dc power, there will be some ON and OFF
operations of transistor. This will result in an output which will help to
control the next portion of the design.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

3.1.3. Relay
The output from the networked transistors is to be applied to the relay.
It will be energized or de-energized based on what it receives from the
transistor’s network connected to it.

3.1.4. Pump
This is the last portion of the design. The pump is used to fill the
overhead tank whenever the water level in it become below the empty
level. The pump will be ON or OFF based on the status of the relay.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

CHAPTER 4
4.1. SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLMENTATION
4.1.1. Theoretical Design
In the figure which is indicated in Appendix-A the common probes
connecting the underground tank and the overhead tank to +26v supply
are marked C. The low level and high level probes in the overhead tank
are marked L and H respectively .the other probe in the underground
tank which is above the ‘dry run’ level is marked ‘S’.

When there is enough water in the ground tank, probes C and S are
connected through water. As a result, transistor T 1 gets forward biased
and starts conducting. This in turn switches T2 on. Initially, when the
overhead tank was empty transistors T3 and T5 are in cutoff state and
hence PNP transistors T4 and T6 get forward biased via resistors R5 and
R6 respectively.

As all series connected transistors T 2, T2 and T6 are forward biased,

they conduct to energize the relay. Thus the supply to the pump motor
gets completed via the left side set of the relay contact (assuming that
switch S2 is on) and the pump starts filling the overhead tank.

Once the relay has energized, transistor T6 is by passed via the right
side set of contact of the relay. As soon as the water level touches
probe L in the overhead tank, transistor T5 gets forward biased and
starts conducting. This in turn, reverse biases transistor T 6, which then
cut off. But since transistor T6 is by passed through the relay contacts
the pumps continuous to run. The level of water continuous to rise.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

When the water level touches probe H, transistor T 3 gets forward

biased and starts conducting. This cause reverse biasing of transistor T 4
and it gets cutoff. As a result, the relay de-energizes and the pump
stops. Transistors T4 and T6 will be turned on again when the water level
drops below the position of L probe.

Resistors R7 ,R8 and R9 are designed in such a way that transistor T 1,T3
and T5 are turned on when the water level touches probes pairs C-S,C-
H and C-L ,respectively. Resistor R 4 ensures the transistor T2 is off in the
absence of any base voltage. Similarly resistors R 5 and R6 ensure that
transistors T4 and T6 are ‘ON’ in the absence of any base voltage.

Switches S1 and S2 can be used to switch ON and switch OFF

respectively, the pump manually.

4.1.2. Analytical Design

The voltage at the collector terminal of the last transistor of the
networked transistor (2.96v) is used to energize the relay coil. The relay
we were able to get was at a higher rating (24v), so that it can’t operate
with 2.96v. The solution suggested was to use power transistor instead
of the transistors we used. But since power transistors needs a higher
amount of electricity to be applied to them and we were trying to make
our design to work with the smaller possible power, we decide that it is
better to use the common transistors together with the desired ratings.

But, just for analysis, we use an LED in place of the relay for indication.
When the LED glows, it means that the relay is energized, and when it
becomes OFF, that is considered as the relay is de-energized. The circuit
of the Analytical design is shown in Appendix B.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

Note that in the theoretical design when the relay energize, Its
contacts become closed. This happens automatically because of the
nature or characteristics of the relay. But in our analytically design two
switch are placed in place of the contacts of the relay which have to be
closed manually whenever the LED glows. This is done in regard that if
it were the relay, the contact close whenever the relay energizes and
become open when the relay de-energize.

We also use an incandescent bulb instead of the pump. Whenever the

bulb is ON, it implies that the pump starts to fill the overhead tank. And
when it is OFF, it means that the pump stops.

4.1.3.Implementation
A drawing of the overall system can be found in Appendix C. The user
of the system can make and install the probes on his or her ownway as
per the requirement and facilities available. However, we are describing
here one of the plenty ways.

A piece of non metallic conduit pipe slightly longer than the depth of
the overhead tank is used. The common wire C goes up to the end of
the pipe through the conduit. The wire for probes L and H goes along
with the conduit from the outside and enters the conduit through two
small holes bored in to it as shown in the figure.

Care has to be taken to ensure that probes L and H do not touch wire
C directly. Insulation of wires is to be removed from the points shown.
The same arrangement can be followed for the underground tanks also.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

Since the network of the transistors (the control circuit) decided to

be printed on a printed circuit board (PCB), it will be very easy to
handle and implement.
 Automatic water level controller 2013

CHAPTER 5
5.1. Conclusion
The team has provided that the automatic water level controller is
possible and functional. By implementing this very simple electronic
equipment it is possible at least to reduce unnecessary wastage of
water. It also ensures the availability of water in the case of emergency.

5.2.Recommendations
We have seen that the usual way of storing water in an overhead tank
is a very wasteful and totally manual. It needs an attentive follow up in
order to be sure of the availability of water.

The team highly recommends the design of the water level controller
to be used in order to overcome the drawbacks faced by using the
manual way of controlling the level.

5.3. References
1 Robert Boylestad and Louis Nashelsky, Electronic devices and
circuit theory
2 Dr.p.s.BIMBRA, Power Electronics
3 David A.Bell, Electronic devices and circuits
4 Norman H.Crowhourst ,Basic electronics courses
5 www.wiseGEEK.com

6 www.bizrate.com
 Automatic water level controller 2013

APPENDIX A
V1
0
T1 26 V
17
T2
R1 2N2222
6 7 J2
2.2kΩ
2N2222 T3 Key = A
1

T4
R2 2N2222 J4
5 8
2.2kΩ
2N2904 T5 Key = B
2 10 19
11
2N2222 J5
T6 R3 9
4
Key = C
2.2kΩ
2N2904
S1 14

R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9
1usec 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ

F 0

16
J1
15
V2 18
Key = E
12 Vrms J3
50 Hz
0° Key = D

Theoretical design of the water level controller

 Automatic water level controller 2013

APPENDIX B
V1
0

T1 20 V
17

T2
R1 2N2222
6 7 J2
2.2kΩ
2N2222 T3 Key = A
1

T4
R2 2N2222 J4
5 8
2.2kΩ
2N2904 T5 Key = B
2
10 19
J1 11
J3 2N2222 J5
T6 R3
Key = D Key = E 9
4
Key = C
2.2kΩ
2N2904
12 13

R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9
LED1 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ

0
X1
V2

120 Vrms
120V_100W
60 Hz
0°
3

Analytical design of the water level controler

 Automatic water level controller 2013

Appendix C
V1
0

T1 26 V
17

T2
R1 2N2222
6 7 J2
2.2kΩ
2N2222 T3 Key = A
1

T4
R2 2N2222 J4
5 8
2.2kΩ
2N2904 T5 Key = B
2 10 19
11
2N2222 J5
T6 R3 9
4
Key = C
2.2kΩ
2N2904
S1 14

R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9
1usec 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ 10kΩ

F 0

16
J1
15
V2 18
Key = E
12 Vrms J3
50 Hz
0° Key = D

Total project design