Grove - Water Level Sensor (10cm) for Arduino

Mom: Hey son, our tank is overflowing again!!! Son: Ohh…. not again…. (Now it’s time to use what I learnt at my electronics class). Don’t worry Mom, I will use a Grove – Water Level Sensor and fix the problem!

We have dedicated our time to help you get started with this sensor quickly and easily. Try the example code and experience the demo above with clear codes.

Features

• Easy to use (Use Grove Connector without soldering)
• Based on capacitive sensing
• Waterproof
• Conformal Coating
• Corrosion Resistant
• Detect up to 10cm water levels
• I2C Interface

What better way to describe a product without having a story behind it?

Well…A few months ago, we thought of developing a water level sensor, but we wanted it to be different, unlike traditional water level sensing techniques such as using Ultrasonic Sensing and Resistance Based Sensing.

We have tested out different water level sensing methods such as using Non-contact capacitance-based sensing where we placed the sensor outside the container filled with liquid and also use a Carbon Stick to detect the water level.

But we figured that the results we got were not up to our expectations and after long period of use, the Carbon started to chemically react with water which made this technique not ideal.

So, we finally came up with a solution by using Capacitance Sensing technique. We used capacitive pads on the PCB of the module and did conformal coating over the PCB to make the sensor protect against moisture, dust, chemicals and high temperatures. We believe that this technique will allow you to make accurate water level measurements (±5mm accuracy) easily.

Let’s look at the difference between few water level sensing methods.

Specifications

• 2 x 8-bit ATTINY1616 MCUs
• Compatible with 3.3/ 5V power supply
• Measurement Accuracy: ±5mm
• Uses two I2C addresses at the same time: 0x78 and 0x77
• Working Temperature Range: -40°C to 105°C
• Weight: G.W 9.8g
• Dimensions: 20mmx 133mm

Note

The blue oil layer on the surface of the module’s capacitance sensing area should be kept intact. When the oil layer is damaged and the test object is a conductive liquid, the test data may be abnormal.

Attention

When testing, the highest liquid level inserted should not exceed the white dividing line, otherwise it will cause a short circuit.

Applications

• Tank overflow detection
• Liquid level sensing applications

Hardware Overview

Part List

• Grove Water Level Sensor x 1
• 20cm Grove Cable x 1

Documentations

Hardware Schematics

ATtiny1616 Datasheet