I've had a quick search and see a few solutions for bigger water softeners but I have an 'under sink' version which takes block salt the one in this link is the same one.
My softener is in a store room (not visible daily like under the sink) So I would love a way to keep an eye on the salt level. I am not a skilled engineer and my soldering skills are terrible.
when I refill the salt there's a 10cm gap at the top of the blocks so I was thinking of having some sort of magnet in the salt section and a contact on the exterior which when the salt level drops would move the magnet on the salt block, activate the sensor and ping my phone and tell me to top up the salt.
However. - the alert would need to be in reverse, so the contact would be 'broken' 99% of the time and 'made' when the magnets hit the. sensor. Im not sure this is possible to program..
I've also considered using a small camera but I'd obv have to check the camera to see the level which isn't much more useful than going to check it myself. I wonder if something like a ring camera could have a 'zone' when the salt block drops below the zone then a notification would be sent.
The tanks have a brine in them regardless if pellets or bock. I simply use a water sensor with a 48" tail on it to rest on the salt. When it hits the brine it notifies me it's time to fill...
I don't think there's a lot of brine in the salt section of the softener - the main tank sits behind the salt.
Also - the blocks sit on a platform, so they dissolve slowly into the main tank. I called the manufacturer to ask how much brine there is and the problem is as I thought - the platform takes the blocks above most of the brine level so by the time a sensor would hit the brine the salt would be gone and could lose the softened water by the time the sensor goes off. I also asked and the brine level doesn't really change enough to leave a probe in there the whole time.
Perhaps some sort of pressure pad under the unit - set to monitor when the weight drops?
That's a very interesting product. I've never seen anything like that before. No external electric power required. Block salt-I've never heard of that. Under the sink install possible. Cool.
I think your contact sensor idea could work. Even a Simple Automation rule can easily be made to activate upon the "door opening", which is what a break in the gap would do in your case.
I can't totally visualize the block thing, but I wonder if you couldn't get a piece of plastic or whatever to ride on top of the salt block. The magnet could be glued onto it, and the plastic or whatever, which is sized just small enough not to impede anything, would keep the sensor in the right position.
edit: Maybe a little loop on top so you could remove it easily when adding salt.
I suspect it's more common here in the UK than USA. It's great that it doesn't need power etc. There is a version that is app enabled and it wasn't around when I bought mine but I actually quite like the fact it doesn't need electricity.
I think I would need a tube with a magnet that sits on top of one of the blocks - both blocks don't dissolve equally. but they tend to sort of go down to the 'danger line' around the same time - certainly it's not an exact science, then the other side of the sensor would be stuck to the exterior at the level where I'd need to replace the salt or thereabouts.
Alternatively - I could simply set a reminder on my phone to change the salt but what's the fun in that
You could use two sensors if you wanted-they're pretty cheap-and when one of them made contact, that'd kick off the notification. Plus it would be kind of a failsafe, lol.
It can't get hung up on the way down, can't be too difficult to remove and place back on top, can't be too far from the sensor (although you could use a more powerful magnet), etc.
I think I've got a solution - on the basis that the sensor will be flat agains the softener - so the edge that is meant to have the main contact on will actually be 90 degrees from the magnet inside..
My plan is to put a bar magnet inside a plastic waterproof box and one on the outside (so it will hold to it) I will use heat shrink on the magnet which will be on the outside . I'll do this on both sides so it will sit with hopefully minimal movement where the block salt is - so it will sit atop of the block and hopefully not slide too much. As the block lowers the box will lower and then eventually hit the contact of the sensor.
I've measured the sections and I think with the box plus a magnet either side of the short edges it shouldn't move enough to lose the contact.
Here's what I ordered just now. I may end up using some silicone at the ends of the magnets to seal the part the heat shrink can't get to.
I've gone for a cheap and I think reliable contact sensor which should work with Hubitat and seems to be widely supported.
I created a scale using Hubduino and set the brine tank on it. When the scale reads a low enough weight, I notify that it is time to add salt.
Another idea would be measure distance from the lid to the salt block. Could be done with Hubduino and an ultrasonic senor or one of the new occupancy sensors. Either way, the idea would be to mound it inside the lid and measure distance to the block. When the block dissolves the distance read goes up. You could drive a notification on that.
The sensor isn’t in the environment. It’s stuck to the exterior. Inside on top of the block salt is a box that’s got the magnet attached to make contact with the sensor when the block drops to the relevant level.
