DIY water sensor probes for Plantmate DC 5V to 3.3V 5V 6.6-12.6V Converter & Water Comparator Module

This is a simple method to DIY water sensor probes for the Plantmate DC Converter & Water Comparator Module.

Material:

1. Copper Foil
2.  A piece of discarded credit card size plastic
3. Wires
4. Mini USB male connector (it comes with the Module)

3/16” Copper Foil	Discarded gift card	2 conductor wires	Mini USB male connector

Tools:

1. Scissor
2. Glue gun
3. Soldering iron
4. Ruler
5. Permanent Maker pen
6. Clear nail polish

Scissor	Glue gun	Soldering iron	Ruler	Permanent Maker	Clear nail polish

Steps:

Step 1

Use the permanent marker pen and ruler to draw the line on an empty space of the plastic card .

Step 2

Cut 2 pieces 30 mm copper foils

Step 3

Peel the 2 pieces 30 mm copper foils and stick them to the plastic card, line up with the drawn line.

Step 4

Cut 80 cm 2 conductor wire and solder one end to the 2 copper foils on the plastic card.

Step 5

Solder the other end of the wire to the Mini USB male connector. (This connector comes with the module)

Step 6

Use a scissor to cut the shape as you like.

Step 7

Use the glue gun to glue the soldered area.

Step 8

Wait for the hot glue to cold down and dry, use the clear nail polish to paint on it carefully, and don’t touch it until it is completely dry.   This is the final step, we made the water sensor probes.

TEST:

Connect the Module to the Arduino UNO:

* 1. Pin 1 to UNO GND

 * 2. Pin 2 to UNO A2

 * 3. Pin 5 to UNO 5V

 * 4. UNO 3.3V Pin to UNO AREF Pin (option)

• Use the Arduino USB cable to connect with your computer.
• Connect the DIY water sensor probe to mini-USB adapter on the module board.
• Open the IDE program on your computer, make sure the Board and the Port on your IDE ->Tools drop down menu are correct.
• Copy the codes below and upload them to your Arduino UNO.

/* 
 *  DIY water sensor with Plantmate DC 5V to 3.3V 5V 6.6-12.6V DC Converter & Water Comparator Module
 * and Arduino UNO PIN connection:
 * 
 * 1. Pin 1 to UNO GND
 * 2. Pin 2 to UNO A2
 * 3. Pin 5 to UNO 5V 
 * 4. UNO 3.3V Pin to UNO AREF Pin
 * 
 */
 
// Upload the code below to your Arduino UNO
int sensorValue;
int sensorPin = A2;    // select the input pin for the Water Comparator
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600); //open serial port, set the baud rate to 9600bps
}

void loop() {
  sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin); // read the value from the sensor

  Serial.print("Value: "); Serial.println(sensorValue); 
}

Leave the DIY water senor on air and dry, click the Serial Monitor on your IDE program, on the pop-up window, you will see something like this:

Put the DIY water sensor into water, you will see something like this:

Conclusion:

This simple and easy to DIY sensor probe with the Plantmate DC 5V to 3.3V 5V 6.6-12.6V DC converter & Water Comparator Module actually work well together.

We read the values from the Arduino UNO and the range is 27 from 382 to 409 while the DIY water sensor probe in water or not in water. Beware your data may different, it depends on many variables (the wire’s length, the copper foil’s size, the gap between the copper foils, etc.…). The wire I used is 24-gauge 2 conductor wire, if use different wire or copper foil or the gap between 2 copper foils is different. The data may different and better.

The range between water and no water is not too wide, but it is good enough to detect water, if we connect a DC water pump to the module that we can use this DIY water sensor to control the water pump for your own project purpose. We see many application scenarios on this little device.

The END!