Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
What are the nameplate ratings of the pump motor? Remember thatI have a water pump in a remote location. Sometimes the pump (120 volts) line springs a leak and then runs all the time with the potential of burning out pump. I want to build a little circuit that will tell me in my house if it is running. I have in the past build and induction coil out of a transformer and then used an LED to light up when the pump is on. I cut out one of the sides of the transformer then run a few winds of the power wire around the transformer that I cut the secondary wires from. It produces enough power to light an led.
However I would like to try another method. I have two ideas but I need a circuit diagram and instructions to do it.
One person mentioned to me the use of a Shunt. I have read up on shunts, and as far as I can see there is some potential here. Does anyone have a diagram that might be able to use a shunt. To light either an LED, or Neon bulb, or even Incandecent lamp.
Remember the point is not that there is power in the line, but it is to tell me that the pump is actually drawing current.
What are the nameplate ratings of the pump motor? Remember that
working with mains voltages is very dangerous and not to be
encouraged unless you know exactly what you\'re doing.
What are the nameplate ratings of the pump motor? Remember that
working with mains voltages is very dangerous and not to be
encouraged unless you know exactly what you\'re doing.
What are the nameplate ratings of the pump motor? Remember that
working with mains voltages is very dangerous and not to be
encouraged unless you know exactly what you\'re doing.
Unfortunately I\'m not local to it.
But it is a Jet pump for pumping household water from lake to house.
Its 1/2 horse 120vac. Based on other similar pumps draws about 4-6amps.
Reasonably common enough that you can get at any hardware.
Regards
What are the nameplate ratings of the pump motor? Remember that
working with mains voltages is very dangerous and not to be
encouraged unless you know exactly what you\'re doing.
Unfortunately I\'m not local to it.
But it is a Jet pump for pumping household water from lake to house.
Its 1/2 horse 120vac. Based on other similar pumps draws about 4-6amps.
Reasonably common enough that you can get at any hardware.
Regards
I don\'t think it\'s anything special. There are two thermostats andIn article <uiqqdfd1qi5tjnk8db79eisl3qiova1s74@4ax.com>,
default@defaulter.net says...
The circuit is still on my water heater and has been working for >10
years now. I have a flashing LED that flashes faster as current
increases (like when one heating element is on or both) and a piezo
buzzer that comes on when power is applied (I put a switch on the
water heater to save money) and again when the current drops to zero
(buzzer sounds for as long as a cap can keep it working)
Most water heaters only have one element on at a time. Is this a
special water heater ?
On Mon, 8 Jun 2020 11:23:23 -0400, Ralph Mowery
rmowery28146@earthlink.net> wrote:
In article <uiqqdfd1qi5tjnk8db79eisl3qiova1s74@4ax.com>,
default@defaulter.net says...
The circuit is still on my water heater and has been working for >10
years now. I have a flashing LED that flashes faster as current
increases (like when one heating element is on or both) and a piezo
buzzer that comes on when power is applied (I put a switch on the
water heater to save money) and again when the current drops to zero
(buzzer sounds for as long as a cap can keep it working)
Most water heaters only have one element on at a time. Is this a
special water heater ?
I don\'t think it\'s anything special. There are two thermostats and
two independently controlled heaters. If I\'m gone for the weekend and
power is off, it appears when I power it back up, that both elements
are on for a time.
On Sunday, June 7, 2020 at 1:36:06 PM UTC-4, amdx wrote:
On 6/7/2020 12:28 PM, amdx wrote:
On 6/7/2020 12:18 PM, default wrote:
On Sun, 7 Jun 2020 11:39:54 -0500, amdx <nojunk@knology.net> wrote:
On 6/7/2020 8:30 AM, default wrote:
On Sun, 7 Jun 2020 06:59:21 -0500, amdx <nojunk@knology.net> wrote:
On 6/6/2020 10:51 PM, whit3rd wrote:
On Saturday, June 6, 2020 at 6:17:17 AM UTC-7, Steve Wolf wrote:
I have a water pump in a remote location. Sometimes the pump (120
volts) line springs a leak and then runs all the time...
Remember the point is not that there is power in the line, but it
is to tell me that the pump is actually drawing current.
Get a Kill-a-Watt power monitor, and plug the pump in through
it.  You\'ll get
LOTS of information.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009MDBU?tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1
Actually adding something at the power panel, though, is tricky;
nominally, your current
transformer solutions could go inside the breaker box, if they had
the right safety stamps,
but otherwise your insurance won\'t like the idea.
  I\'d like to see someone get fancy and develop a circuit that
starts a
beeper after the pump has been running an adjustable amount of time.
Even put a reset button on it, so if you know it\'s running for a
reason,
you can reset it for a second or third time period.
Beep, beep, beep, beep. (556)
                                    Mikek
A simple RC network charging a cap that switches a mosfet connected to
a piezo buzzer is all that takes. When the charge on the cap reaches
the threshold voltage of the fet ~2-4V buzzer sounds, reset by putting
a pushbutton across the cap to discharge it fast.
 Care to make changes or pick some values? I looks like a big cap, over
1000uf. I added a discharge resistor, may help, but high value.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/w0wno1zhlptzc8e/pump%20beeper.jpg?dl=0
                                       Mikek
I donno what time delay you desire but one of the beauties of mosfets
is that the gate requires no current (in the picoamp range) so you can
use high value resistors to good effect.
It is pretty much the same deal with the input to the comparators of a
555. The input current is very low.
What I\'m saying is that if you want really long time delays, the
mosfet and 555 face the same limitations, and you\'d still resort to
counters etc. to increase the delay.
If your concern was the threshold of the 555 is 2/3 VCC and with a 15V
supply that\'s 10V. That would be an argument favoring a 555 IMO.
There are work-arounds for the mosfet but I might opt for a 555 then
too.
0r use a programmable controller chip. Those things can drag out time
delays into the decades without worrying about RC networks, capacitor
leakage, capacitor aging etc.. (for a cost of a buck or two, and they
sip current in the microamp range while waiting to time out)
For instance if a hibernate command is 8 minutes (for the sake of
argument) and you\'re allowed to count 8 bits that\'s 17 hours, if you
want to multiply that by another 8 bits that\'s 90 days, and you can
keep doing that....
 Ya, he said pumping water from the lake, I assume he uses it to water
the lawn, so the pump might run an hour or more.
 Even with a 1 Meg resistor, that\'s a big cap. would help to drop the
Vcc to 5V.
At one time I had button near my thermostat with an RC circuit that
turned on my air conditioner for a switchable 2 or 3 minutes. Just
enough to get comfortable. After the time out, it reverted back to the
thermostat. It used a a latch type relay.
I reduced the Voltage to 5V and added an In Use Indicator.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/712o2653q1q1r67/pump%20beeper%205v%20with%20in%20use%20indicator.jpg?dl=0
Hmm, how about putting a 5 Volt wall wart across the pump. And running
an LED or other indicator off the 5V. (or could be whatever wall wart
voltage you have laying around...)
On 2020-06-08, George Herold <gherold@teachspin.com> wrote:
On Sunday, June 7, 2020 at 1:36:06 PM UTC-4, amdx wrote:
On 6/7/2020 12:28 PM, amdx wrote:
On 6/7/2020 12:18 PM, default wrote:
On Sun, 7 Jun 2020 11:39:54 -0500, amdx <nojunk@knology.net> wrote:
On 6/7/2020 8:30 AM, default wrote:
On Sun, 7 Jun 2020 06:59:21 -0500, amdx <nojunk@knology.net> wrote:
On 6/6/2020 10:51 PM, whit3rd wrote:
On Saturday, June 6, 2020 at 6:17:17 AM UTC-7, Steve Wolf wrote:
I have a water pump in a remote location. Sometimes the pump (120
volts) line springs a leak and then runs all the time...
Remember the point is not that there is power in the line, but it
is to tell me that the pump is actually drawing current.
Get a Kill-a-Watt power monitor, and plug the pump in through
it.  You\'ll get
LOTS of information.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009MDBU?tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1
Actually adding something at the power panel, though, is tricky;
nominally, your current
transformer solutions could go inside the breaker box, if they had
the right safety stamps,
but otherwise your insurance won\'t like the idea.
  I\'d like to see someone get fancy and develop a circuit that
starts a
beeper after the pump has been running an adjustable amount of time.
Even put a reset button on it, so if you know it\'s running for a
reason,
you can reset it for a second or third time period.
Beep, beep, beep, beep. (556)
                                    Mikek
A simple RC network charging a cap that switches a mosfet connected to
a piezo buzzer is all that takes. When the charge on the cap reaches
the threshold voltage of the fet ~2-4V buzzer sounds, reset by putting
a pushbutton across the cap to discharge it fast.
 Care to make changes or pick some values? I looks like a big cap, over
1000uf. I added a discharge resistor, may help, but high value.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/w0wno1zhlptzc8e/pump%20beeper.jpg?dl=0
                                       Mikek
I donno what time delay you desire but one of the beauties of mosfets
is that the gate requires no current (in the picoamp range) so you can
use high value resistors to good effect.
It is pretty much the same deal with the input to the comparators of a
555. The input current is very low.
What I\'m saying is that if you want really long time delays, the
mosfet and 555 face the same limitations, and you\'d still resort to
counters etc. to increase the delay.
If your concern was the threshold of the 555 is 2/3 VCC and with a 15V
supply that\'s 10V. That would be an argument favoring a 555 IMO.
There are work-arounds for the mosfet but I might opt for a 555 then
too.
0r use a programmable controller chip. Those things can drag out time
delays into the decades without worrying about RC networks, capacitor
leakage, capacitor aging etc.. (for a cost of a buck or two, and they
sip current in the microamp range while waiting to time out)
For instance if a hibernate command is 8 minutes (for the sake of
argument) and you\'re allowed to count 8 bits that\'s 17 hours, if you
want to multiply that by another 8 bits that\'s 90 days, and you can
keep doing that....
 Ya, he said pumping water from the lake, I assume he uses it to water
the lawn, so the pump might run an hour or more.
 Even with a 1 Meg resistor, that\'s a big cap. would help to drop the
Vcc to 5V.
At one time I had button near my thermostat with an RC circuit that
turned on my air conditioner for a switchable 2 or 3 minutes. Just
enough to get comfortable. After the time out, it reverted back to the
thermostat. It used a a latch type relay.
I reduced the Voltage to 5V and added an In Use Indicator.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/712o2653q1q1r67/pump%20beeper%205v%20with%20in%20use%20indicator.jpg?dl=0
Hmm, how about putting a 5 Volt wall wart across the pump. And running
an LED or other indicator off the 5V. (or could be whatever wall wart
voltage you have laying around...)
That\'d work if you\'re prepared to install a second cable back to the
house, the current monitor OTOH can be installed at the house end of the
cable.
--
Jasen.
The only switch is in the pump house is directly Wired from the fuse box to that switch and then to the pump. The switch happens to be a ground fault protected Outlet. Which I added as the original was not fault protected. The current setup uses the power as it comes from fuse box in house.
On slightly separate topic but related I thought I would set up the original diode circuit on a test board to understand and learn from the concept.
I\'m using 400v 3a.diodes and 100 watt light bulb. I will not use this for anything over 3a, befor you ask.
However it does not seem to work. I get no ilumination of led. I have tred lowering the R value down to 10r. Still no light.
I then tried to increase the load, not exeeding the diodes amps still nothing.
I\'m frustrated it\'s not workinh.
I then found a circuit by David Johnson. Popular on this NG years ago. He has a circuit almost the same as the original giving near top BUT he uses only 3 diodes and 10r. I tried this and no luck. I wondering if it me or not. I know that David Like many of you are very knowlegabe. I can post David circuit if you like. But I\'m not home right now.
What are the nameplate ratings of the pump motor? Remember thatI have a water pump in a remote location. Sometimes the pump (120 volts) line springs a leak and then runs all the time with the potential of burning out pump. I want to build a little circuit that will tell me in my house if it is running. I have in the past build and induction coil out of a transformer and then used an LED to light up when the pump is on. I cut out one of the sides of the transformer then run a few winds of the power wire around the transformer that I cut the secondary wires from. It produces enough power to light an led.
However I would like to try another method. I have two ideas but I need a circuit diagram and instructions to do it.
One person mentioned to me the use of a Shunt. I have read up on shunts, and as far as I can see there is some potential here. Does anyone have a diagram that might be able to use a shunt. To light either an LED, or Neon bulb, or even Incandecent lamp.
Remember the point is not that there is power in the line, but it is to tell me that the pump is actually drawing current.
On slightly separate topic but related I thought I would set up the original diode circuit on a test board to understand and learn from the concept.
I\'m using 400v 3a.diodes and 100 watt light bulb. I will not use this for anything over 3a, befor you ask.
However it does not seem to work. I get no ilumination of led. I have tred lowering the R value down to 10r. Still no light.
I then tried to increase the load, not exeeding the diodes amps still nothing.
I\'m frustrated it\'s not workinh.
I then found a circuit by David Johnson. Popular on this NG years ago. He has a circuit almost the same as the original giving near top BUT he uses only 3 diodes and 10r. I tried this and no luck. I wondering if it me or not. I know that David Like many of you are very knowlegabe. I can post David circuit if you like. But I\'m
not home right now.
Add more diodes in series. The diode voltage drop (sum of all diodes)
has to be bigger than the LED plus resistor.
And and use a red led. (less forward voltage drop than say
green or blue)
I don\'t think it\'s anything special. There are two thermostats andIn article <uiqqdfd1qi5tjnk8db79eisl3qiova1s74@4ax.com>,
default@defaulter.net says...
The circuit is still on my water heater and has been working for >10
years now. I have a flashing LED that flashes faster as current
increases (like when one heating element is on or both) and a piezo
buzzer that comes on when power is applied (I put a switch on the
water heater to save money) and again when the current drops to zero
(buzzer sounds for as long as a cap can keep it working)
Most water heaters only have one element on at a time. Is this a
special water heater ?
On slightly separate topic but related I thought I would set up the original diode circuit on a test board to understand and learn from the concept.
I\'m using 400v 3a.diodes and 100 watt light bulb. I will not use this for anything over 3a, befor you ask.
However it does not seem to work. I get no ilumination of led. I have tred lowering the R value down to 10r. Still no light.
I then tried to increase the load, not exeeding the diodes amps still nothing.
I\'m frustrated it\'s not workinh.
I then found a circuit by David Johnson. Popular on this NG years ago. He has a circuit almost the same as the original giving near top BUT he uses only 3 diodes and 10r. I tried this and no luck. I wondering if it me or not. I know that David Like many of you are very knowlegabe. I can post David circuit if you like. But I\'m
not home right now.
Add more diodes in series. The diode voltage drop (sum of all diodes)
has to be bigger than the LED plus resistor.
And and use a red led. (less forward voltage drop than say
green or blue)
The only switch is in the pump house is directly Wired from the fuse box to that switch and then to the pump. The switch happens to be a ground fault protected Outlet. Which I added as the original was not fault protected. The current setup uses the power as it comes from fuse box in house.
On slightly separate topic but related I thought I would set up the original diode circuit on a test board to understand and learn from the concept.
I\'m using 400v 3a.diodes and 100 watt light bulb. I will not use this for anything over 3a, befor you ask.
However it does not seem to work. I get no ilumination of led. I have tred lowering the R value down to 10r. Still no light.
I then tried to increase the load, not exeeding the diodes amps still nothing.
I\'m frustrated it\'s not workinh.
I then found a circuit by David Johnson. Popular on this NG years ago. He has a circuit almost the same as the original giving near top BUT he uses only 3 diodes and 10r. I tried this and no luck. I wondering if it me or not. I know that David Like many of you are very knowlegabe. I can post David circuit if you like. But I\'m not home right now.
The only switch is in the pump house is directly Wired from the fuse box to that switch and then to the pump. The switch happens to be a ground fault protected Outlet. Which I added as the original was not fault protected. The current setup uses the power as it comes from fuse box in house.
On slightly separate topic but related I thought I would set up the original diode circuit on a test board to understand and learn from the concept.
I\'m using 400v 3a.diodes and 100 watt light bulb. I will not use this for anything over 3a, befor you ask.
However it does not seem to work. I get no ilumination of led. I have tred lowering the R value down to 10r. Still no light.
I then tried to increase the load, not exeeding the diodes amps still nothing.
I\'m frustrated it\'s not workinh.
I then found a circuit by David Johnson. Popular on this NG years ago. He has a circuit almost the same as the original giving near top BUT he uses only 3 diodes and 10r. I tried this and no luck. I wondering if it me or not. I know that David Like many of you are very knowlegabe. I can post David circuit if you like. But I\'m not home right now.
The only switch is in the pump house is directly Wired from the fuse box to that switch and then to the pump. The switch happens to be a ground fault protected Outlet. Which I added as the original was not fault protected. The current setup uses the power as it comes from fuse box in house.
On slightly separate topic but related I thought I would set up the original diode circuit on a test board to understand and learn from the concept.
I\'m using 400v 3a.diodes and 100 watt light bulb. I will not use this for anything over 3a, befor you ask.
However it does not seem to work. I get no ilumination of led. I have tred lowering the R value down to 10r. Still no light.
I then tried to increase the load, not exeeding the diodes amps still nothing.
I\'m frustrated it\'s not workinh.
I then found a circuit by David Johnson. Popular on this NG years ago. He has a circuit almost the same as the original giving near top BUT he uses only 3 diodes and 10r. I tried this and no luck. I wondering if it me or not. I know that David Like many of you are very knowlegabe. I can post David circuit if you like. But I\'m not home right now.