Corny Level Sensor

[Fatcatthegreat]

I have a couple of corny kegs that were used to supply water to a piece of analytical apparatus. They are standard cornies except they have a third port which had a level sensor installed. These sensors have all kinds of possible uses. The pictures illustrate how they seem to work. A float moves up and down between two O-rings and output through an RCA plug to the electronics that report the level via turning on an LED. The float has two objects that appear to be copper imbedded in the top of float.

Does anyone have an idea what might be being measured?

I will need to fabricate a circuit to light the LED and have no idea how to that.

Thanks for any help.

 

[yowzers]

Sorry, don't see any pictures

 

[day_trippr]

While there's little easy about building things inside tubes, there were a couple of projects many years ago for approximating the volume in a dispensing keg, and one of those used a series of (5, iirc) magnetic reed switches inside a down tube with the wires exiting the top and a donut shaped float with a magnet within...

Cheers!

 

[Fatcatthegreat]

Hope this is better

 

[Fatcatthegreat]

I

While there's little easy about building things inside tubes, there were a couple of projects many years ago for approximating the volume in a dispensing keg, and one of those used a series of (5, iirc) magnetic reed switches inside a down tube with the wires exiting the top and a donut shaped float with a magnet within...

Cheers!

I have reloaded the pictures as thumbnails and clicking them brings up the picture.

It appears that what I have is what you describe except that is a commercial product. It only measures one level, about a half gallon. Now all I need is a circuit diagram to handle the output and light an LED. Thank you your reply.

 

[tll77]

That reminds me of the float sensor inside a pump designed to dispense from a carboy, frequently used on mobile coffee/espresso carts.

like this

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019PDUM8C/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

it uses a reed switch to shut the pump off before the bottle is empty
what you have here is an emergency warning light that your keg is about to run empty!

 

[yowzers]

I see. It looks like the float is designed to tell you when it moves as the keg is almost empty, but it does not look like it will tell you the level all along. You'd need keg level indicators for that.

 

[day_trippr]

Or one tracks the poured volume using a flow meter.
For the OP, a very simple circuit can be used to light up an LED when the float has activated the reed switch.

Cheers!