Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | No, I do not, mainly due to cost, reliability, complexity and my skill level.
For our situation in my mixing shed, we are physically present and just watch the display and shut off the single arm switch box on the two wheeled cart when the display shows the desired batch total. This means that should my electronics fail, I can still run the pump without them.
I could utilize a contactor to start/stop the electric motor. The microcontroller would not be able to trigger this contactor directly so some type of intermediary relay would be necessary. I would need some type of input method to enter in the desired batch size. This could be done different ways. A keypad would be the most convenient. Push buttons might be used to adjust the batch size to the desired amount but either method adds complexity to the system. Due to these potential problems, I just decided to keep it basic.
The box on top of the cart contains an ESP 32 microcontroller. It is connected to the Raven flow meter and a four digit display. The sketch or program is quite simple. It merely counts the pulses it receives from the Raven flow meter and divides the running total by a meter cal. The meter cal converts these pulses into gallons which are displayed on the display.
The display enclosure has a Black momentary push button that we use to reset the running total to zero for each new batch.
I do have the ability to refine the meter cal by using a set of 3 momentary push buttons. A Yellow, Green and Red push button are used for that purpose which is rarely necessary.
The ESP 32 family of microcontrollers have the ability to exchange information with other members of the family wirelessly. They can also communicate with smartphones and tablets with and without internet access. I have used that capability for working with my shop and shed door openers.
Last year I made a wireless remote display for the batcher shown above. It consists of another ESP 32 and a larger 4 digit display that shows the running batch total. This larger display is easily viewed in the mixing area. It is a bit fragile and is not really suited for farm use but does work. It was one of those "can I make it work" kind of deals.
Edited by tedbear 4/5/2026 07:45
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switching to electric transfer pump
