A on off float switch for the water tower.

[Bob]

About 3 days ago I embarked upon a project I have been putting off sense I was a Kid...
Not that its a really hard project... just one of those low priority ones that you always have something better to do ! hehehehhe
...
the problem is this... we pump water from our spring up to a water tower.... every day to make sure the tank is full.... over the years we have gone through 2 towers and about 5 tanks... this last one seams to be the best of all the tanks and its a 300gal poly tank.
When Mom bought it about 15 years ago I took my old Ham radio tower and made a tower out of the sections of it to hold the tank about 15ft off the ground... its been there every sense and working fine. 
 the problem with this system is ME... I forget to pump water, or I pump and forget to turn it off
or any combination of the two <GRIN>
recently I bought a timer and put it in line to automatically turn on the pump every day...
and that works ok... but I never know if the tower is FULL or not so I set the timer to come on 2 or 3 times a day and usually I have to turn off the pump because the tank is running over...
this wasts water big time... so I decided to get off my butt and make a float switch so it will Regulate the water level automatically....
....
the tank has a removeable lid... which I attached a 1" pipe flange and to that a 2" piece of pipe
a 1" Pipe "T" went on that short pipe and then another short piece of pipe on top...
this Pipe arangement is a guide for the S.S. Tubeing I am using to hold the float... the float is a Small 1qt propane bottle thats empty... and attached to a rubber hose on its neck which is attached to the tubeing... hose clamps hold it on and looks to be good and sturdy....
so the tubeing now will slide up and down depending on the water level as the float sits on the top of the water.....
I welded a rod that I bent in a strange shape to accomidate a Toggle switch (on a piece of flat stock with a hole in it  welded to the rod, for the switch to attach.
the switch is Upside down  so when the float raises it turnd the switch off... and when it lowers it turns the switch on....
 the switch triggers are S.S. fender washers bored out to snugly fit the tubing, hose clamps keep the washers from moving up or down when contacting the switch and silicone glue keeps them in place.
the reason for the strange Washer "switch throwers" is because the float and rod probably will turn and the tubing will still be the same distance from the switch  so it doesn't matter how the float is positioned the washers will still flip the toggle switch....
 if I had gone with simple arms to flip the switch I would have to have kept the tubing from turning,
this was my first idea and I saw problems galore with it...
... for weather proofing I just wrapped the switch in black tape and hooked a 100ft extension cord to the switch... because I dunno how much of the wire I will need to reach the pump electric line...but it should only be about 30ft.
...
all is ready to go except the silicone needs to dry completely... and I can put the cap back on the tower with its new float switch....
then all that is left to do is hook up the wires ...
its been a long time coming and it will be nice to not have to worry about water in the tower!
....
the Down side to this is,... it can (and will) pump the spring Dry if I use too much water and nothing will tell me that the pump ran dry and lost prime and won't pump water....so about a day later I'll run completely out of water and realize the pump isn't pumping!
...
so I will hook up the wall switch once again so I can turn it on and off manually at will. and take the timer out of line and use it somewhere else! hehehehhe
....
so that's what I've been doing lately !
...
Bob......

[Manta]

Bob,

...and nothing will tell me that the pump ran dry and lost prime and won't pump water....

Why not add another float that trips and rings a bell  when the water level is,  say,  half full ? That should get you out of the rocking chair and make you turn on the pump.

Dave
(Manta)

[Bob]

Humm thats a thought ! a good one too !
 I ran a check on the float switch and the boyancy of the float isn't enough to flip the switch !
the tank filled up and ran over and never flipped the switch ! HEHEHEHHE
(I don't have it hooked up yet anyway, just checking it)
so I am making a Tupper-ware float ...I cut some plywood circles that will hold the tube into the bottom of the container.... I'll silicone up the top and try that... its about 3 times as big as the quart container so it should do the trick ! hehehehe
...
Bob.......

[Manta]

You need to use a micro switch,  not a toggle switch as they tend to need quite a lot of effort to knock them over. Or increase the leverage of the arm.
At the chicken factory we used tilting floats and the electronic probe type. The tilting floats are good as you can adjust the level simply by changing the length of the cable. They can be wired for normally on or off.  Maintenance free as well;  fit and forget.

Dave
(manta)

[crb]

You could put a pressure switch on the pump discharge (no pressure, no run)
if it runs out of water.

[Bob]

Manta... that's kind'a like a Mercury switch isn't it ? used to have a few of them laying around here ages ago....
problem is  the float goes straight up and down ... not on a lever... the tank isn't that big ...although I could rig one up I suppose...a Mercury switch sure would out last the contacts on a toggle switch !... all I have to do is put it on a cam and let the float tilt the thing... hummmm
come to think of it I saw some of those float switches at Lowes hardware the other day... I could simply put the switch in the tank and adjust the length of the wire/cable to get the amount of on/off that I want.... they were $27.00 though but I gave them serious consideration.... if I have trouble with my switch going south on me I'll probably invest in one and be done with it! HEHEHEH

...
CRB... that's a good idea...but how do I wire it to come on then ? no pressure no run.... when the pump is off there is no pressure ! pump on there is pressure unless there is no water.... 
...
I'm using a normal shallow well pump with a pressure switch on it but it is backed off and doesn't do anything... but I can turn it on here at the house and run over there (about 1/4 miles away) and stick a stick in there between the contacts and turn the pump off... then prime it and put the cap back on and remove the stick, re cover the thing and all is done.
so basically its always on and I  disconnect the power here at the house ...
when I put the switch in line I will leave the switch in the house ON all the time and let the float turn it on and off automatically.... at least that's the plan.
...
Bob......

[Manta]

Bob,

Not quite the same.  Imagine the float sitting on top of the full tank of water,  the supply cable attached to a beam across the tank and hanging slack.
As the water fall the cable will eventually reach it's limit and become taught. When it does this it will cause the float to rotate so that it can hang on the cable.  This rotation,  or tilting,  will cause the switch inside the float to make (or Break,  as required) and this will switch on the pump
As the water level rises the cable will fall down in a loop from the float causing it to revert back to it's original position and thus switching the other way and knocking off the pump.

Dave
(Manta)

[crb]

How about a high and low level light so you know when to turn it
on and off?

[Bob]

Yah Gotcha Manta ! that is the switch that I found in the hardware store.... might just opt for one if this switch I made up gives me much trouble !
...
CRB...  Actually I don't think I'll need it. I think once I get it going correctly it will be a
 "set it and ferget it" type thing... it will take care of itself !  if, once or twice a year I run out'a water I'll handle it then ! heheheheh  I noticed that I can tell the water level in the tank just by looking now at the float rod... when I went by it this morning it was all the way up so the tank was full...
heck the float switch is worth it just for that convenience! HAHAHAHHAHA
...we have a site tube in the side of the tank that I put in there when I installed the tank umpteen years ago but you can't see through the vinyl tube now... yet alone see the float in it.
....
i was going to wire the switch up this morning but I took the wife out to buffet breakfast instead, and now its too hot so fooie on it ! HAHAHHAHA
...
Bob......

[Manta]

crb,

Problem with that is,  what if you aren't there ?

Dave
(Manta)

[crb]

I guess if you arn't there, you are not using any water.

[Bob]

Well do far do good... that switch has been maintaining the water level just fine...
now I have to weather proof it....that should be a challenge...
perhaps a gallon jug with the top cut off and just slip it over the entire thing ! HEHEHEHE
....
Bob....

[Manta]

crb,

I was thinking of automatic plant and animal watering.

Dave
(Manta)

[Bob]

well, we actually do live like a bunch of animals out here....so a watering system fer animals should do the job just fine ! LOL !
...
i haven't got around to the cave painting yet.... but that don't mean we're not PRIMITIVE!  HAHAHAH
...I can make arrow-heads out'a rock.... even better if ya have obsidian or such like... but I prefure a rock with a hole drilled in it and tied to a stick.... makes a High tech club! LOL !
(makes finding a wife much easier ya see!)
...I tried to make a wheel out'a a rock one time but it split in half just about the time the hole was going to break through.... so there went my hopes for transportation ! <GRIN>
....
jk.
Bob.....

[Bob]

Well, the switch and float system I put on the water tower has been working great now all summer it has saved us so much water that the pond that is below our spring has started to re fill ! first time in a good 30 years !  ...
 I  do need to climb up the tower soon and put some sort of Rain hat on that switch to keep it dry
 I may just stick a plastic waste basket over the thing and call it good ! LOL
... but I dunno quite yet !
... there is no doubt in my mind that I should have put that switch in 50 years ago !
I really didn't expect it to SAVE me water but it has by the tons already ... this time of the year the pond is always dry and has been all summer... but because of the switch there is a good 2 ft of water in the pond below the spring....the pond WAS dry as a bone when I installed the switch after about a month I went over there and there was about 1 ft of water in the pond! I was Quite surprised!
 That has many benefits.... one real big one is keeping the local bear out of the spring when he wants to bathe.... now he can play in the pond like he used to ! LOL !
...
Bob....