Water flow meter for hozelock hose pipe.
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Just wondering if anyone has seen a meter that connects to a hozelock hose pipe that will measure the total ammount of water in L or m3?
Of course it would be good to be mys hackable too!
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@skywatch Gardena and Orbit used to market in-line hose models years ago, so probably there are others now, but they are not noted for accuracy.
A bulkier alternative which is hackable is a standard water meter with a reed fitted horizontally on the supply tap. An apartment type is lighter than the iron Zenith I have on the outside supply, Class B and pulses every 100 litres. Gets removed in the winter when outside lines are drained anyway.
Elster make 1/2" Class C and D meters which are less reliant on orientation, reed triggered every litre. Metal version was V100, plastic V110.
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@zboblamont Thanks for the info - maybe I will have to make something for next years season. It's pouring with rain here today, so no worries about using a lot of water!
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@skywatch It totally depends on what you wish to achieve by way of accuracy, and whether local reading is preferred to system available.
I have a dual system where domestic supply goes (post softening) via piston type D meter (batch flow) meter with a mosfet pulse trigger, external via a Zenith with a Reed, but my supply is private else the V200 would be on the public supply.
I looked at the earlier version V110 and regret not getting it, all sorts of ghosts I never figured out as had no financial incentive to do so.
You will find the water meter market a bit of a monopoly, Google Elster, loads of info but not a single price, but Singapore and China do sell them
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It doesn’t have a hozelock connection, but https://www.aichitokei.net/products/microflow-sensor-of-z/ might work
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I came across this recently that may be suitable, with appropriate hozelock adapters?
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@mfalkvidd @Woodside The problem with these devices is basic inaccuracy, limited flow capacity, and 5v constant supply.
50mW is not massive in short bursts but on a constant basis, not battery friendly at all....
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@zboblamont I’m not sure skywatch is limited to battery-powered sensors
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@mfalkvidd True... I assumed that the water connection was exposed without rain shelter, and thereby no adjacent power socket.
I had looked at these devices before and fell over the 5v issue (again
) before I looked at the flow and accuracy which ain't great.
Even a Class B chinese apartment meter with a reed is cheap enough, and have registers to verify totals.
My gas meter is now on year two of 2xAA triggered by a reed, monitoring 24/7, and the readings is spot on...
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Thanks for the ideas everyone! - Sorry for the late response, I've been busy at an airshow all week.
So to move forward I can power from the mains power supply. The outside tap to connect the water to is under the kitchen window so no problem powering from inside.
Also, it is not intended to be a permanent fixture. Just something to use and attach when I water the lawns and pot plants - and for the record that means plants that are in pots! (You never know who's watching)
.If the meter has atandard UK tap threads I can always add hozelock adapters to it.
Accuracy does not have to be that great. About +/- 100L would suffice since we pay about £1.50 per 1000L of tap water used (plus sewage charges which are calculated on the water you consume, so it is more expensive than that).
With the next 3 days at 30C+ I expect I'll need to do water this again (although I have recovered over 300L rainwater for the pots last week).
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@skywatch The UK standard used to be an outside tap through the wall with an internal isolation valve and draindown, if that's the case here, maybe you could sneak a semi-permanent meter install in back of a kitchen cabinet where it's already 1/2" ? A $10 chinese apartment one with a 10 litre pulse may be worth googling.
1.50 per cube is about a quid a day excluding the medicinal cannabis plants
etc, so water is still pretty cheap there, albeit doubled on sewerage charges even when it doesn't go down the drain.
Cats and dogs here for the next 3 days, but a welcome change from 33-37.. Often thought about water butts, but being on a private borehole there's no financial incentive, and no chlorine to consider...
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@zboblamont Thanks for the advice. I don't really want to 'fit' anything as I hope to move next year so something portable that I attach when I use the hose and then bring back inside is all I need.
For the time being I have ordered one of those cheap Chinese flow rate sensors and a couple of hozelock adapters to get started with. Then I can take it up a notch from there if I want.
Good thing about water for plants is no need for chlorine. After many years of doing this none of plants have complained! - And they include kaffir lime, lemon, tangerine, olive, banana, palms, lemon grass , chillies etc....
