BluePump protects and controls your pool’s filter pump
— July 9th, 2019
Most pools feature a powered pump system to help filter out debris, but what if your water level gets too low? Pumps designed for ‘wet’ operation generally don’t work well when water isn’t present, so Luc Brun came up with an innovative monitoring solution.
His setup uses an Arduino Nano and an ACS712 sensor to observe both voltage and current, detecting the phase shift between the two. If this shift is too large, this indicates dry operation, and shuts down the pump via a relay until things are resolved.
To complement this ability, BluePump also includes a temperature sensor, an RTC, and a Bluetooth module, allowing it to schedule cleanings as needed, or work under human control via a custom Android app.
July 10th, 2019 at 19:46:55
Very nicely done. I’ve done something very similar with a septic pump and a 120vac switch that reads the amperage that’s being pulled by the pump. When the amperage drops, you know that the water level is down low enough for a vortex to have started forming and causing some cavitation. You then just use that derived value to turn the pump off.