Ok so Im building an auto water changer the process is as follows.
ATO off - turn off ATO for water change process.
Old water In - pumps tank water into the holding tank
Old water out - pumps water from holding tank to drain
New water In - pumps new water into holding tank
New water out - pumps new water from holding tank into sump
ATO on - turn ATO back on.
Each process will be controlled by a timer (in this case my AC3). It takes a little under an hour to fill the holding tank to a full 10 gallons since Im using small pumps and 1/4" tubing. So each process will be on for 1 hour to insure the tank fills and empties fully each time, letting the float switches shut each pump off when the water level is reached.
Now I currently have 4 pumps each with a float switch(two high, and two low) but the problem I have is no matter how much I adjust things I cant get the float switches to match. Meaning when old and new water are pumped in they should fill to the same point but since each switch is slightly different the difference can be as much as 1/10 of a gallon. Not really much but over time this could cause salinity swings I want to avoid.
So my solution is to only use 2 float switches (one high and one low) so that both new in and old in reach the exact same level. (and the same on the low point)
My question now is how do I control two independent pumps with a single float switch?
So far all I can think of is to wire the float switch to two relays, one for each pump. Since the timers will only allow one to be on at a time this should work....
So will that work? Or is there an easier way?
ATO off - turn off ATO for water change process.
Old water In - pumps tank water into the holding tank
Old water out - pumps water from holding tank to drain
New water In - pumps new water into holding tank
New water out - pumps new water from holding tank into sump
ATO on - turn ATO back on.
Each process will be controlled by a timer (in this case my AC3). It takes a little under an hour to fill the holding tank to a full 10 gallons since Im using small pumps and 1/4" tubing. So each process will be on for 1 hour to insure the tank fills and empties fully each time, letting the float switches shut each pump off when the water level is reached.
Now I currently have 4 pumps each with a float switch(two high, and two low) but the problem I have is no matter how much I adjust things I cant get the float switches to match. Meaning when old and new water are pumped in they should fill to the same point but since each switch is slightly different the difference can be as much as 1/10 of a gallon. Not really much but over time this could cause salinity swings I want to avoid.
So my solution is to only use 2 float switches (one high and one low) so that both new in and old in reach the exact same level. (and the same on the low point)
My question now is how do I control two independent pumps with a single float switch?
So far all I can think of is to wire the float switch to two relays, one for each pump. Since the timers will only allow one to be on at a time this should work....
So will that work? Or is there an easier way?
