instructables

Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone

by ItsGraGra

This instructable is entered in the "Wireless" estimate the levels.

contest. Please vote for me, Thank you
Not much fun, inaccurate and time consuming, there
When I moved to a rural property in Australia I was must be an easier way.
faced with the fact my water supply was at the mercy
of the Gods; rain from the sky to fill the tanks. Using Blynk and my WLAN was the answer, I could
see at a glance the levels on my phone.
I had a capacity of around 30,000 litres across 2
concrete tanks and checking the levels meant Check out Blynk here
climbing up a ladder, lifting a very heavy concrete
cover and peering down into the damp darkness to

Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 1

Step 1: The Hardware

The standard HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors are not DC-DC 3.3v supply
waterproof, waterproof ultrasonic transmitter/receiver
sensors to the rescue. These are the same units used Plus a waterproof box big enough to fit all the boards
on motor vehicles for reversing and hazard detection. in.
These coupled to an ESP8266 NodeMCU WiFi board
plus a small power regulator board make up the Breadboard for testing
hardware.
Link wires
These parts can be bought from AliExpress very
cheaply (links below) or the supplier of your choice. LED color of your choice

ESP8266 NodeMcu-V3-Lua-WIFI Plug pack, 9 - 12VDC with Arduino UNO compatible

type connector
Waterproof Ultrasonic Sensor

Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 2

Step 2: Wiring It Together on the Bench for Initial Testing
I used a breadboard for initial setup and testing.
For testing purposes this can run off the USB supply
from your PC but in the field I used a small 3v3
regulated DC-DC converter supplied by a 9v plug
pack. A 12v supply could be used with these
converters. Use what you have laying around.
Plug the 2 ultrasound sensor boards directly into the
breadboard and run 2 wires for each to the Arduino
as below. Be aware these ESP12E boards run on 3.3
volts. They have a 5v input supply pin (VIN) and also
run on the USB supply when connected to your PC.
Do not supply more than 5 volts to the VIN pin you
use that.
Wire using male to female link wires:
Sensor1 ping to Arduino GPIO5 (D1)
Sensor1 echo to Arduino GPIO4 (D2)
Sensor2 ping to Arduino GPIO14 (D5)
Sensor2 echo to Arduino GPIO12 (D6)
These sensors work ok at 3.3volts. This is good as
level converters are not needed.
It's probably a good idea to take the supply and
Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 3
ground for the sensor boards from the DC-DC
converter output pins when doing the final wiring in
the box but for testing use the Arduino 3v3 and GND
pins.
Wire both sensors VCC to Arduino 3v3
Wire both sensors GND to Arduino GND
The LED is only on for 50mS every 2 seconds so I
didn't bother with a current limiting resistor but a 1/4W
470R resistor can be added if you wish.
LED Anode (long leg) to Arduino GPIO13 (D7)
Through a resistor if desired
LED Cathode to Arduino GND
Now plug the Sensors into the back of the sensor
boards, they have 2 mtr long co-axial leads.
I needed to extend these, my tanks are 6 mtrs apart. I
used some old co-axial cable I had laying around.
If you do this, be sure to cover all soldered joints with
heatshrink.
That's all the wiring, next is the software.
Step 3: Collecting and Installing the Software

Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 4

This water level monitor uses Blynk to send info from
the ESP8266 board to your phone via their servers.
The Blynk server in the cloud serves up your app with
the information in the widgets on the phone. When
signing up with Blynk you are given 2000 energy
points. These points are used to 'buy' widgets for your
program.
2000 points is enough to build this water monitor app.
I actually have a 'local server' running on a Raspberry
Pi, this allows unlimited points and better security. It
does not use the Blynk server at all, completely
independent.
Get the Arduino IDE here Arduino IDE. Follow the
getting started link on how to install this software, it is
not part of this instructable.
Download the Blynk library here Blynk library,
download link is at the bottom of the page.
Follow the instructions on that page to install the
library.
Get the phone app here Blynk App.
An account can be created now for Blynk if you wish
using the app. Remember the login email address
you use, you'll need it later. Probably best to use your
every day email account.
You will also need this library:
NewPing This is an excellent library for using
ultrasound devices that does all the timing for you. No
need to mess around with milliseconds etc.
These instructions below need to be done to install all
the ESP8266 software.
Starting with 1.6.4, Arduino allows installation of third-
party platform packages using Boards Manager. We
have packages available for Windows, Mac OS, and
Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 5
Installation and setup of a local server is beyond the
scope of this instructable. There are many
instructions and tutorials on the net for doing this
starting with the Blynk website.
The final version I coded for OTA (over the Air)
updating as it is remote and I didn't want to pull it all
apart just to update the software. I'll discuss the OTA
software changes and methods later.
While on the bench we have the USB serial to upload
code.
First thing you will need is the Arduino IDE if you
don't already have it.
Linux (32 and 64 bit).
Start Arduino and open File > Preferences window.
Enter ( copy and paste - without the quote marks)
```http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp82
66com_index.json``` into *Additional Board Manager
URLs* field. You can add multiple URLs, separating
them with commas.
Open Boards Manager from Tools > Board menu and
install *esp8266* platform (and don't forget to select
your 'NodeMCU 1.0 (ESP-12E Module)' board from
Tools > Board menu after installation).
From the menu select Sketch > Include Library >
Manage Libraries. Allow it to finish downloading. You
should see the Blynk libraries installed.
For your PC to communicate with the Arduino boards
the USB to Serial software (We ESP12 USB-UART
CH341SER_win driver) needs to be installed. This is
needed for all Arduino comms over USB. Get it here
That's all the software set up hopefully.
Step 4: Test Code for the ESP8266 Board

When I write software I like to build it up from small
beginnings and continue testing as I go.Writing a long
program and finding it doesn't work is difficult to
debug.
So we'll start with two sensors reporting back the
information to the serial monitor built into the Arduino
IDE.
A folder will be created with the ino file inside.
Confirm you have the correct board selected, click the
'verify' button (very left button on the IDE). It should
compile without error.
Connect your board to the USB cable, select from the
IDE menu Tools > Port > COM n.

No reporting to the Blynk server, OTA or WiFi yet.
Double click the 'water_code_1.ino' file below, after
Arduino IDE starts go to File > 'save as' and save to
your sketch folder.
The correct com port can be found by simply
unplugging the board and see which port disappears.
Click the 'Upload' button in the Arduino IDE and allow
it to finish compiling and uploading.

In the IDE select Tools . Serial Monitor.
The LED should flash every 2 seconds and the
monitor should be reporting distance, depth and liters
for each tank every 2 seconds similar to the picture
shown.
These sensors have a range of about 3 mtrs They are
set at 3 mtrs in software anyway.
Test each sensor by moving it in and out from a solid
object like the wall, you should see the figures
change in the monitor window. As the distance
increases this is simulating a lower water level so
less liters will be reported and vise-versa.
If all works as expected go to the next step.

Download (https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/FUL/Q9X1/JA36MS3S/FULQ9X1JA36MS3S.ino)
http://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FUL/Q9X1/JA36MS3S/FULQ9X1JA36MS3S.ino
…

(https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/FUL/Q9X1/JA36MS3S/FULQ9X1JA36MS3S.ino)

Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 6

Step 5: Code With WiFi and Blynk

Now lets get connected to the Blynk server. go to your email and copy the authority token, paste it
into your arduino program where it says 'char auth[] =
download and open the water_code_2.ino "YourAuthToken"

In the Arduino IDE select File > 'save as' to your
sketch folder.
Open the Blynk app, sign in. Create a new project,
chose device = ESP8266, connection type = WiFi,
set the theme you prefer. press the Create Button.
An authority token will be sent to your nominated
email account. press OK. Further instructions on the
app program in the next step.
Also enter your SSID and your password.
Now upload it to your ESP board.The serial monitor
should display connection status before it displays
the water levels.
In the next step we will finish the Blynk project in the
app.

Download (https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/FCL/K7Q2/JA36V5M6/FCLK7Q2JA36V5M6.ino)
http://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FCL/K7Q2/JA36V5M6/FCLK7Q2JA36V5M6.ino
…

(https://cdn.instructables.com/ORIG/FCL/K7Q2/JA36V5M6/FCLK7Q2JA36V5M6.ino)

Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 7

Step 6: Setting Up the Blynk App Program
Continuation of new project in the Blynk app....
Press the + at the top of the screen in the app, scroll
down and press Value Display. Do this 4 times
Press the + at the top of the screen in the app, scroll
down and press LevelV. Do this twice
Press the + at the top of the screen in the app, scroll
down and press SuperChart.
Lay out the widgets like the picture. A long press on
the widget gives you handles to resize them.
Color them as you see fit.
Press the first Value Display (top left), name it Depth
1, select V1, 0 to 300 and PUSH
Press the second Value Display (top right), name
Depth 2, select V4, 0 to 300 and PUSH
Press the third Value Display (2 down left), name
Liters 1, select V2, 0 to 9999 and PUSH
Press the forth Value Display (second down right),
name Liters 2, select V5, 0 to 9999 and PUSH
Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 8
Press the left Vertical Level, name it Level 1, select
V3, 0 to 1600, OFF and PUSH
Press the right Vertical Level, name it Level 2, select
V6, 0 to 1600, OFF and PUSH
Press the SuperChart, names Liters 1 and Liters 2.
Press the icon (data stream) next to Name, PIN = V3,
slide switch = VALUES, minn = 0, max = 1600
Press the icon (data stream) next to the second
name, PIN = V6, slide switch = VALUES, min = 0,
max = 1600
You can play around with the other settings to suit
your preferences.
To delete a widget drag it to the top right of the
screen.
If everything looks ok, press the play button top right
of the screen. If your Arduino is running you should
see the same numbers (except distance) come up as
in the serial monitor.
Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 9
Step 7: Setting Up OTA Updating
OTA or 'Over The Air' uploading of code is a really a
useful feature, particularly in this case where the ESP
board is in a box and outside.
This is a fairly simple process:
1. a OTA bootloader is first uploaded to the board.
2. The board is reset by pressing the reset button on
the board.
3. your new code for the water tank project containing
the OTA additions is uploaded to your board by USB.
Future uploads are achieved by selecting the WiFi
port in Tools > Port.
Go to File > Examples > ArduinoOTA > BasicOTA
The program will load up, enter your Network Name
and Password in the code near the top f the program.
Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 10
Upload this to your board.
Now press the reset button on the board.
Go back to your water tank program and un-comment
the 3 places shown in the pictures, these are required
now for OTA uploading.
Upload this to your board, use serial USB.
If you look under Tools > Port in the Arduino IDE you
will notice a new port. It will have 'esp8266', the board
ID and the board IP address.
For future upload use this port, no need for a USB
serial connection.
The board can now be powered by some other
means but OTA will still work using power from the
USB cable.
Step 8: Mount the Boards Into the Box
I mounted the ESP8266, both the Ultrasonic boards
and the DC-DC converter in a IP66 rated box as it
would be outside and exposed to the elements. I did
however put the box inside a UV safe plastic bag just
to be sure. I felt the connectors could leak water into
the box.
I wont go into detail about mounting the boards; your
box may be different to the one I used.
I didn't have any female connectors for the Sensor
boards so I soldered the wires and covered with
heatshrink.
If you have female-female wire links, all the better.
Mount the DC-DC converter to a position where the
power connector can be plugged in from outside.
Take all the power and ground connections to this
Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 11
board so we avoid ground loops. Use 3.3 volts for
everything.
Drill a hole for the LED, try to make it a tight fit so no
adhesive is necessary.
Check everything, especially the power wiring.
Plug in the power pack and connect to the box, plug
in the sensors and switch on.
You will not see anything on the serial monitor of
course as we are not using the USB serial
connection, but check your phone app.
Move the sensors around, the figures should change
in the app.Bear in mind a ping and info transmission
is only done every 2 seconds.
Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 12
Step 9: Mount the Sensors in the Tanks
Again I cant go into detail about mounting the sensors
in the water tanks, your tanks are most likely different
to mine.
It does however have to be within your homes WLAN
WiFi envelope. If your tanks are at a greater distance,
WiFi extender could be used.
However, fix the sensors pointing directly vertically
downwards toward the water at the height you
measured before, see the picture, should be at
'Depth1 and Depth2. It is assumed the water can
never reach this depth before overflowing. You don't
want the sensors drowning.
I should also point out these sensors have a minimum
Water Tank Levels by WiFi on Your Phone: Page 13
range distance of 20 cm, this is because the
transmitter and the receiver share the same ultrasonic
speaker and has speed/timing problems under that
distance.
Connect everything up and ensure everything is
weather proof.
Apply power, it takes a few seconds to boot, you
should see the water levels on your phones Blynk
app.
Any questions I will try to answer as best I can. Good
luck with this useful project.