I recall reading an article somewhere (Cannot now find it) with instructions to make a water sensor that connects to the Apex breakout box just like a float switch. I remember just enough to be dangerous. It was a length of high gauge speaker wire with offset stripped sections that would complete a circuit in the presence of water. Has anyone done anything like this (or recalls the article)?
DiY Water Sensor (with Apex)
- Thread starter ca1ore
- Start date
slief
RC Sponsor
I think this is what you are after. While I am not a fan of this approach as any stray voltage would be passed right through the circuit into your controller, a simple leak detection circuit using a pair of wires does work. Leak detectors such as the Apex LDM and the Water Bug include circuitry (presumably diodes) that limit the direction current can travel to avoid voltage feeding back through the circuit and damaging electronics. A two wire solution offers no such protection.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Super-Simple-Aquarium-Leak-Detector/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Super-Simple-Aquarium-Leak-Detector/
slief
RC Sponsor
Not that I am aware of. If you want leak detection with the Apex and have spent that kind of money on a controller, why wouldn't you spend the money to do it right. $75 for the module and $30 per sensor there after. With something so serious as a leak, is it really worth it to risk your home and tank with a mickey mouse solution as two wires sitting on the ground? There are a lot of advantages to the Apex LDM. You can have multiple sensors connected to her LDM and know exactly where your leak is. Once you get the module, it's $30 per sensor there after. I can see DIY breakout boxes but DIY leak detection just doesn't make much sense to me.
rwb500
Active member
well, if there was a way to make a protected circuit with some diodes, then you could build unlimited sensors for pennies, and hook them all up to one of the open/closed sensors. I would never need the apex to tell me where the leak was if it was bad enough to set off one of my sensors. leak detection would be nice for me but I am certainly not going to spend $100+ on it. I would rather spend my money on preventing leaks instead of detecting them.
For $20.00 I stopped over at Ace Hardware and bought a watchdog water detector. Might not send emails through apex but does hurt my ears when it goes off. I can set my fish tank camera to send me a sound alarm email problem solved.
Not a bad Idea.....would tip you off to the smoke alarm too should something start smoldering while your away...........
slief
RC Sponsor
This is virtually the same leak detector I use with my Apex in conjunction with the break out box. The one I have is the next step up but they both work the same. I went this route long before the Neptune leak detection module was available. If the Neptune LDM was available at the time, I would have gone with the Apex one but the Waterbug does work well enough and has saved me once from a small leak while I was out of the country. While it won't tell you the location of the water leak like the Neptune one assuming you are using more than one sensor like me, it is cheaper at only $60 including the first sensor. That said, you do need to provide a 12v or 24v power source like an old AC Adapter.
http://www.amazon.com/Winland-Electronics-WB-200-WaterBug®-Sensor/dp/B000BKQ75G
http://www.amazon.com/Winland-Electronics-WB-200-WaterBug®-Sensor/dp/B000BKQ75G
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slief
RC Sponsor
For $20.00 I stopped over at Ace Hardware and bought a watchdog water detector. Might not send emails through apex but does hurt my ears when it goes off. I can set my fish tank camera to send me a sound alarm email problem solved.
If you are handy with electronics, you could probably open it up and connect a relay to the buzzer wires and create a normally open circuit that would close when the buzzer is triggered. That circuit could be used to connect to the Apex breakout box. The relay would insure that no power is transferred to the BoB via the power activated buzzer.
In theory, you could just cut the sensor off the box and use the sensor in conjunction with BoB to detect water. The only down side is that there is no protection from stray voltage passing through the sensor into your Apex. That would be a major concern as there is always a high risk of stray voltage when leaks develop around pumps and tanks. Stray voltage passing through the Apex via the BoB would likely damage the Apex. This is one key advantage that proper leak detection devices add to the equation and that protection isn't in the sensor itself but instead in the detection module. There are diodes and relays to insure that the open/closed circuit is shielded from any power transfer.
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janes_mw
Active member
+1 on the water bug. You can add multiple sensors. Water bug simply sends a switch closure action to your controller so it acts just like any other I/O input (NO or NC).
letoan
New member
A few years ago before Neptune came out with the leak sensor, I use the breakout box with titanium wire (jewelry wire) to sense water leak (same idea as float switch I/O) under my stand, pump, skimmer, and overflow.. Works great.
What I did was crimp a short piece of titanium wire to the wire connected the breakout and protect the non titanium wire part with shrink tubing to prevent corrosion. Secure both ground and sense next to each other and program the Apex what to do when contacted.. That's it, saves my a$$ if not my marriage a few times. [emoji1]
What I did was crimp a short piece of titanium wire to the wire connected the breakout and protect the non titanium wire part with shrink tubing to prevent corrosion. Secure both ground and sense next to each other and program the Apex what to do when contacted.. That's it, saves my a$$ if not my marriage a few times. [emoji1]
btb72
New member
what about just the water bug sensor and not the main part? and connecting it to the bob? just don't know what the end of the wires could hook up to the bob.
http://www.amazon.com/W-S-U-EnviroA...469_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=04BDQRVDK0WVAJSFKB96
http://www.amazon.com/W-S-U-EnviroA...469_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=04BDQRVDK0WVAJSFKB96
n2585722
Well-known member
These will work with any switch input on a controller. All you need to add is a 12 volt wall wart to supply the 12 DC to run the sensor. http://www.grisk.com/images/product_pdfs/liquid_detection/2600_12volt_dc_water_sensor.pdf
