5 Minute Water Sensor
Something I find really annoying to do is filling up a jug of water. Because the water dispenser lets out the water quite slowly, it takes ages to fill up the jug completely. So I came up with the idea of making a water sensor that will let me know when the jug is full, so I don't constantly have to focus on it.
Because I didn't have very much electronic experience, I made it from trash. To make it I used a cheap kid's toy that I got from a kid's magazine. Basically, it was a small sack that started laughing if you squeezed it. The sound it makes is not perfect, but it works fine. Instead of this any toy that makes a sound when a button is pressed could be used. Happy Meal toys would probably work perfectly.
The two open ended wires are just regular uninsulated 1.5mm wire. I attached it to the toy with some hot-glue (no soldering).
Making this took me just about five minutes. The rewiring was very straightforward, and thankfully there was no soldering needed.
How to make it
Here's a video of the sensor in action:
Because I didn't have very much electronic experience, I made it from trash. To make it I used a cheap kid's toy that I got from a kid's magazine. Basically, it was a small sack that started laughing if you squeezed it. The sound it makes is not perfect, but it works fine. Instead of this any toy that makes a sound when a button is pressed could be used. Happy Meal toys would probably work perfectly.
The two open ended wires are just regular uninsulated 1.5mm wire. I attached it to the toy with some hot-glue (no soldering).
Making this took me just about five minutes. The rewiring was very straightforward, and thankfully there was no soldering needed.
How to make it
- Remove any covering or casing, so that you can get to the switch. In my case all I had to do was cut off the sack to get to the plastic casing underneath.
- Remove or just rewire the switch so there are two open ends. All I had to do was to press the wires onto the switch plates.
- Glue (or solder, depending on your toy) the wires down so there are two open wires sticking out
- Bend the wires around the casing, making sure that they don't touch. Leave a 1-2cm gap so it can be hung over the side of a jug.
Here's a video of the sensor in action: