Schematic overview schematic overview moist sensorĪt the top left you see that we send a pulse through a By measuring the charge and discharge time we can determine how moisty the earth is. The water in the earth changes the capacitor's capacity. The capacitive moisture sensor works like a capacitor. This sensor works in a different way than the traditional sensor mentioned earlier. You can use both, it doesn't matter for this lesson. On this sensor you see 1.2, there is also a version with 2.0. So NOT use this sensor! Capacitive moist sensor Capacitive moist sensorįor our Arduino we are going to use another moisture sensor: theĬapacitive moisture sensor. This is because the direct current from the sensor will react with the water. In the photo you can see that the metal on the right pin has almost completely rusted away. The biggest disadvantage of this sensor is that it can corrode over time. Fertilizer also changes the resistance of the earth, which makes your measurement less accurate.

This allows you to measure how much current it conducts in the earth. It consists of two pins that you insert into the earth. Traditional moist sensor Traditional moist sensorĪbove you see the most common used moisture sensor. This button allows you to download the code, circuit diagram and other files relevant to this Arduino tutorial. With this sensor you can, for example, determine whether a plant needs water 🤓 Course materialĪt the bottom of this page you'll find the course material button.

Finally, he'll show you how to calculate the percentage of moisture in the soil by adjusting the code and measuring the total range of the sensor.Ĭapacitive moisture sensor.

Bas will guide you on how to connect the sensor to the Arduino board and run the code. The sensor also has a chip called a 555 timer chip which helps with timing. Instead of measuring resistance, this sensor works like a capacitor, measuring charge and discharge timing. However, he warns that fertilizers and corrosion can affect the sensor's accuracy. He explains that the sensor works by measuring the resistance between two pins which changes based on the water level in the soil. You'll need an Arduino board, the sensor, a sensor cable, jumper wires and a glass of water. In this tutorial, Bas will show you how to use a capacitive soil moisture sensor.

Arduino wire library capacitive load