1.

Introduction

Objective:
Today we will talk about a very useful project that we had taken up. It is called the Water Level
Indicator. Nowadays everybody has overhead tank at their homes. But everyone who has a water tank
above knows the kind of problems that they face. Firstly there is no system to track the water in the tank.
Then there come a secondary problem that is when their water pump is started they have no idea when it
gets filled up and sometimes there are situation where the pump keeps on pumping water to the tank and
the water starts spilling out from the tank. There is wastage of energy as well as wastage of water.

We have found one and wanted to put whatever we have done out here so that it may be helpful to
someone who has a overhead water tank at their homes.

Or

The drinking water crisis in Asia is reaching alarming proportions. It might very soon attain the nature of
global crisis. Hence, it is of utmost importance to preserve water for human beings. In many houses there
is unnecessary wastage of water due to overflow in overhead tanks. Automatic Water Level Indicator and
Controller can provide a solution to this problem. The operation of water level controller works upon the
fact that water conducts electricity due to the presence of minerals within it. So water can be used to open
or close a circuit. As the water level rises or falls, different circuits in the controller send different signals.
These signals are used to switch ON or switch OFF the motor pump as per our requirements. The total
amount of water available on Earth has been estimated at 1.4 billion cubic kilometers, enough to cover the
planet with a layer of about 3 km. About 95% of the Earth's water is in the oceans, which is unfit for
human consumption. About 4% is locked in the polar ice caps, and the rest 1% constitutes all fresh water
found in rivers, streams and lakes which is suitable for our consumption. A study estimated that a person
in India consumes on an average of 140 litres per day. This consumption would rise by 40% by the year
2025. This signifies the need to preserve our fresh water resources
Principle used:

Basically the unit is made up of various sensors acting as a switch. What happens is when you turn on
your water pump, the water starts to get pumped from your underground reservoir or from your
underground water supply from the pipes to your water tank. In the tank there is a  set of sensors( to be
precise there are 5 sensors), in the water tank. Just think them as a switch, as the work of the sensor will
be to connect a circuit. So the water starts to get filled in the tank and when the water level in the tank
starts to rise up, what happens is that the sensors that is installed in the tank starts to get activated one by
one indicating the water level in the tank. And finally when it reaches to its top most sensor, there will be
a visual display as well as a sound from the unit indicating that the water has filled in the tank and one
can be alerted that the tank has been filled up and the water pump has to be switched off saving
the electricity bill as well as over flow of water from the tank.
 2.Experimental Details

Block Diagram:

The water level controller block diagram is shown below figure which consists of water sensors,
transistor, level indicator, battery.

Overhead Water Tank Level Indicator

The water level sensors used in this project are insulated copper cables, three water sensor cables are used
for demonstrating three levels of water, such as empty, half and full levels of water in overhead tank.

Three NPN transistors and resistors are used in this project along with water level sensors for analyzing
water level by switching ON the LEDs in ascending order. This project can be further enhanced for
controlling the motor pump which is used to pump water to the overhead water tank, which can be termed
as automatic water level controller using 8051 microcontroller.

There are Four parts in this project:-

(i) The Sensor Part

It is generally a fixed support inside the tank having some nuts and bolt with wires coming out.
(ii) The Circuit Part
It comprises the brain of the module, where in all the various inputs from the sensors are fed. It is the unit
from where you will get all the information of how much of water is in the tank.
(iii) The Power Supply 
It is the part where in you will be converting the A/C voltage to a regulated voltage of 5V to the Circuit.
(IV) The Buzzer Part
It is responsible for bringing up the sound when the water level fills up in the tank. It will also be having a
speaker or a buzzer to alert.
Circuit Diagram:

Circuit Details:

This simple transistor based water level indicator circuit is very useful to indicate the water levels in a
tank. Whenever tank gets filled, we get alerts on particular levels. Here we have created 4 levels (low,
medium, high and full), we can create alarms for more levels. We have added 3 LEDs to indicate initial
three levels (A, B, C), and one Buzzer to indicate FULL level (D). When tanks gets filled completely we
get beep sound from Buzzer.
 Working:
Here we are using transistor (of NPN type) as a Switch. Initially there is no voltage applied to the base
of the Transistor Q1 and the transistor is in OFF state and no current is flowing through collector and
emitter and LED is OFF (See below diagram to understand Transistor Pin structure).
When the water level reaches to Point A in the tank, the positive side of the battery gets connected to
the base of the Transistor Q1 through the water. So when a positive voltage has been applied to the base
of the Transistor Q1, it gets into ON state and current starts flowing from collector to emitter. And RED
LED glows.
 
You can see resistors (R1, R2, R3) at the base of each transistor, which is used to limit the maximum
Base current. Generally a transistor gets its ON state fully when a voltage of 0.7 V is applied to the
base. There are also resistors (R4, R5, R6) with each of the LEDs, to drop the voltage across LEDs,
otherwise LED may blow up.
 
Same phenomenon happens when water level reaches to Point B. As soon as water level reaches to
Point B, a positive voltage gets applied to the Transistor Q2, it gets ON and current started flowing
through YELLOW LED, and LED glows. With same principle, GREEN LED glow when water level
reaches to Point C. And finally Buzzer beeps when water level reaches to D.
 
Note that Left most wire in the tank must be lengthier than other four wires in the tanks, because this is
the wire which is connected to positive voltage.
Circuit Components & Specification:

 4 - BC547 transistors
 6 - 220 ohm resistors
 3 - Colour led
 1 – Buzzer
 5 - 9v battery + battery clip

Wiring Diagram:

1. 10.  BATTERY CONNECTING WIRE 20  RESISTANCE 10  BUZZER 30  L.E.D 12 

PCB BOARD 40 PROJECT COST : & TOTAL COST = 492 SOLDING WIRE 50* 
SOLDING MECHINE 270* CAP 60
Conclusion:

The water level Indicator employs a simple mechanism to detect and indicate the water level in an over
head tank or any other water container. The sensing is done by using a set of four probes which are placed
at four different levels. We can conclude that this system is very beneficial in rural as well as urban areas.
It helps in the efficient utilization of available water sources. If used on a large scale, it can provide a
major contribution in the conservation of water for us and the future generations. In these days, when the
Earth's reserve of consumable water is decreasing every moment, every drop has its value. Water level
controller is a simple yet effective way to prevent wastage of water. Its simplicity in design and low cost
components make it an ideal piece of technology for the common man.

 CONCLUSION This is a simple model water level indicator which can be made at your home. This
project is the solution to help the user to indicate water level in reservoir or into the water tank that
indicated different levels in an over head tank. A connection runs under to the underground tank to check
the availability of water in the tank before operation the pump and the pump operates only automatic
Water level Controller can be used in Hotels, Factories, Homes Apartments, Commercial Complexes,
Drainage, etc.,
Finally, the project has been successfully implemented & tested. I am proud to express my delight as the
project I embarked upon is successfully finished in such a short span. The project gave us more
confidence that we will be able to put in practice, whatever the theoretical knowledge we gained during
the course of study till now. It really persuades us to do more and more perhaps in better way in future.