ARDUINO FLOW RATE SENSOR

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Ever wanted to measure liquid flowing through a pipe / container? Wanted to create a control
system based on the water flow rate or quantity ? For example while gardening, to measure the
amount of water used to water your plants , to prevent wastage , etc. If yes, then this very easy
DIY project is for you. Here, step by step instructions are given on how to measure water flow
rate and quantity using an arduino flow rate sensor. Have fun with this DIY hacking tutorial!

What are the stuff required to do this project?

Hardware :
1. Arduino / Arduino Clone or make your own custom arduino board with this tutorial.
2. Water/Liquid flow meter like : Flow meter.
3. Connecting wires.
Software :

1. Arduino IDE : Arduino

So how does this work ?
The arduino flow meter mentioned in the above link works on the principle of Hall Effect.
According to which, a voltage difference is induced in a conductor transverse to the electric
current and the magnetic field perpendicular to it. Here, Hall Effect is utilized in the flow meter
using a small fan/propeller shaped rotor which is placed in the path of the liquid flowing.
The liquid thus pushes against the fins of the rotor, causing it to rotate. The shaft of the rotor is
connected to a hall effect sensor. It is an arrangement of a current flowing coil and a magnet
connected to the shaft of the rotor. Thus a voltage/pulse is induced as this rotor rotates. In this
flow meter, for every litre of liquid passing through it per minute it outputs about 4.5 pulses.This
is due to the changing magnetic field caused by the magnet attached to the rotor shaft, as seen in
the picture below. We measure the number of pulses using an arduino. And then calculate the
flow rate in L/hr using a simple conversion formula explained in step 2.

Working of a flow rate sensor

Step 1 : Connecting the arduino flow rate sensor
Here, the connections required for this flow rate sensor with respect to arduino is very minimal.
There are only three wires coming from the flow rate sensor. The 5V Vcc (Red wire) , The Gnd
(Black wire) , and the signal/pulse (Usually yellow) line. Connect the Vcc and Gnd of the flow
meter to the arduinos Vcc and Gnd. The pulse line of the flow rate sensor is connected to
arduinos digital pin 2. The arduinos digital pin 2 serves as an external interrupt pin (interrupt
pin 0). Now you have hooked up your flow meter to the arduino.

Arduino flow rate sensor connections

Step 2 : Upload the flow meter code to the arduino and measure water flow rate
Upload the following code to your arduino : Flow Meter Code. Here the code uses an external
interrupt on arduinos digital pin 2. This is used to read the pulses coming from the flow meter.
When arduino detects the pulse, it immediately triggers the pulseCounter() function . This
function then counts the total number of pulses.
In this arduino flow rate sensor, for every litre of liquid passing through it per minute it outputs
about 4.5 pulses. Thus dividing the total pulse count obtained by 4.5 will give you the total
amount of liquid passing through it in litres/minute. Further dividing it by 60 will give you the
flow rate in litres/hr. And hence the total amount or quantity of water/liquid that has passed
through it. The sensor is accurate to within 3%.

A video showing the arduino flow rate sensor in action

External diameter: 1.9cm

Inner diameter: 1.1cm