Best choice for detecting water?

[ShortBus]

No problem. I don't imagine that you have a schematic of your circuit? Could it be adapted to use the integrated comparator onboard the pic?

[aratti]

All I want to do is create a sensor that beeps when water bridges a pair of contacts

You could use a simple floating switch. See an example @

http://www.homesecuritystore.com/p-8...mac=4&zmap=SB2

Al.

[ardhuru]

I was looking for something similar a few weeks back, except my requirement was more complex as I wanted to detect 10 different levels of water using a simple 2 wire probe.

Anyway, while I cant pretend to have found the perfect solution, Arrati's suggestion in that thread (http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=11468) came pretty close.

So, my vote would be stainless steel nut-bolts to make the actual contact, with a good resin epoxy sealant around the wire connected to the bolt. This coupled with a software arrangement to drive the sensor with a duty cycle of perhaps 1:10, or even 1:100 would give you years of maintenance-free use.

Incidentally, I used the adc of the pic, rather than the comparator, although in your case the comparator (or even a digital input) should be fine.

Regards,

Anand Dhuru

[ShortBus]

Arrati, thanks for the idea, but I'll need an electrical solution rather than mechanical in this application.

Anand, any chance you could post an example circuit?