I’m interested in finding low-cost wireless pulse counters with flow sensors to monitor my water flow in irrigation pipes.
I’m currently using Monnit wireless pulse counters and their wireless gateway products, but their hardware is somewhat expensive ($59 for their 1-input pulse counter, $130 for the 4-input counter).
At the same time, generic flow sensors are readily available for many vendors, and it’s possible to integrate their pulse output directly from the flow sensor into an Arduino Uno board, then use a shield to send the data to the cloud. However, there are no Grove sensors that can be used for this purpose (pulse counter) and I have not built a system that can replace the more-expensive hardware from Monnit.
Monnit’s gateway gives a nice graphical front end to display the
flow data for irrigation, so you know the irrigation valves are working and water is getting out on the vegetable garden and crops in the field, without having to physically be there to monitor that process,
Does your company have any low-cost pulse sensors which I could use for this purpose? I think there is a market for such products, even to monitor water use inside homes which can be done in real time rather than wait for the monthly water bill to come from the local utility company. Triggered text alerts can be sent if, for example, a water pipe breaks and excessive flooding occurs inside a bathroom or kitchen when the owner is not home.
Thanks!
Nathan M. Gant
ngant17@gmail.com
www.lawnchariot.com