Uploaded November 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
With COVID, we are home a lot more. We were curious how this was affecting our oil usage. We have a 275 Gallon vertical tank. It has an extra 2" vent hole on the top of the tank. I used this to insert a 2" PVC pipe connector. I designed and 3D printed an insert to hold a Particle Proton WIFI microprocessor and an ultrasonic distance sensor. I came up with two different approaches to convert the measurement from the tank opening to the top of the oil to gallons of oil remaining. The information and alerts can be sent to your cell phone. It works with IFTTT and Blynk.
The parts I used cost less than $40:
* Particle Photon WIFI microprocessor ( sparkfun.com/products/13774 )
* HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor ( amzn.to/38VGMH5 )
* 5V 2A USB micro power supply ( amzn.to/32YLBeS )
* female to female jumper wires ( amzn.to/2HiaiLG )
* Permatex Ultra Black Oil-resistant RTV ( amzn.to/3lFizIq )
* 2" PVC Schedule 40 Plug ( amzn.to/38UKMaB )
* 2" PVC Schedule 40 NPT adapter ( amzn.to/3fkwp0E )
The 3D Print file is located at:
thingiverse.com/thing:4658275
prusaprinters.org/prints/46664-oil-tank-level-monitor
After I did my project, I found another similar one: blog.vpetkov.net/2017/11/12/diy-monitor-heating-oil-tank-gallons-with-pushbullet-sms-and-email-alerting
I also found a commercial product: amzn.to/2IKdkbT
FTC Disclaimer:
We may earn commissions for purchases made through the links below.
As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases.
With COVID, we are home a lot more. We were curious how this was affecting our oil usage. We have a 275 Gallon vertical tank. It has an extra 2" vent hole on the top of the tank. I used this to insert a 2" PVC pipe connector. I designed and 3D printed an insert to hold a Particle Proton WIFI microprocessor and an ultrasonic distance sensor. I came up with two different approaches to convert the measurement from the tank opening to the top of the oil to gallons of oil remaining. The information and alerts can be sent to your cell phone. It works with IFTTT and Blynk.
The parts I used cost less than $40:
* Particle Photon WIFI microprocessor ( sparkfun.com/products/13774 )
* HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor ( amzn.to/38VGMH5 )
* 5V 2A USB micro power supply ( amzn.to/32YLBeS )
* female to female jumper wires ( amzn.to/2HiaiLG )
* Permatex Ultra Black Oil-resistant RTV ( amzn.to/3lFizIq )
* 2" PVC Schedule 40 Plug ( amzn.to/38UKMaB )
* 2" PVC Schedule 40 NPT adapter ( amzn.to/3fkwp0E )
The 3D Print file is located at:
thingiverse.com/thing:4658275
prusaprinters.org/prints/46664-oil-tank-level-monitor
After I did my project, I found another similar one: blog.vpetkov.net/2017/11/12/diy-monitor-heating-oil-tank-gallons-with-pushbullet-sms-and-email-alerting
I also found a commercial product: amzn.to/2IKdkbT
FTC Disclaimer:
We may earn commissions for purchases made through the links below.
As Amazon Associates we earn from qualifying purchases.
