Smart Water Management: Tank Level Monitoring and Automatic Pump Control

A level sensor on the overhead tank reports the water level over LoRaWAN; a MacSet controller at the pump switches on when the level falls to the low threshold and off when it reaches the high one, with a gap between them so the pump does not chatter. The sump level or a flow reading is a second condition that stops a dry run, and a run-time limit catches a pump that keeps going. The rule runs on the controller, so it works whether or not the dashboard or the internet is reachable.

Ultrasonic for overhead tanks, ESRs, sumps and canals: the MacRay LUS X1 reads 3 to 450 cm from above without touching the water and gives a level, a trend and threshold events. A hydrostatic sensor such as the LPS X7 for small or shallow vessels where the sensor can sit in the liquid. A submersible 4–20 mA transmitter, read through the MacSync analog converter, for borewells and tall underground tanks. A float switch gives one switch point and a cable to the pump room, and can stay as a hard-wired backup. The table on this page sets them side by side.

Yes, mounted through the hatch or under the lid, pointing straight down and clear of the walls so the 60° beam meets only the water. Keep the first 3 cm (the blind zone) above the maximum level, and expect heavy condensation or thick foam to disturb the echo; the transducer itself is IP67. Where a sump is very deep or the surface is turbulent, a submersible transmitter through the converter is the alternative.

Lower a submersible 4–20 mA level transmitter, sized for the depth, into the borewell beside the pump cable. The MacSync LX1 analog converter at the well head powers the loop, reads it at 12-bit resolution and sends the water column over LoRaWAN; the WX1 does the same over Wi-Fi where the pump house has coverage. Standing level before pumping, drawdown during it and recovery afterwards show what the well can sustain, months before it fails.

Yes. The MacSet LX1 has two 16 A relays and takes the tank level, the sump level and the pump's run status as inputs to its rules: start on low, stop on high, no start when the sump is below the pump, stop and alarm when the run-time limit passes. For pumps above the relay rating it switches the starter's contactor coil, so the existing starter and its protection stay in place.

Yes, and that is how most sites use it. A transmitter in the borewell, a level sensor on the sump and one on the overhead tank feed one MacSet in the pump room: the borewell pump runs while the sump is below its high level and the well has water; the lift pump runs while the tank is below its high level and the sump above its low one. Municipal supply hours and tanker arrivals go in as schedules. One gateway on the terrace carries all of it.

Through the starter, yes. The MacSet LX1's two relays switch up to 16 A directly, which covers small single-phase pumps and valves; a larger or three-phase pump, including a borewell submersible, is switched through the coil of the starter already in the panel, so the starter's overload and phase protection stay in place. An electrician wires it at 230 V; the MacSet takes the starter's run contact back as a digital input for feedback.

Yes. Schedules sit alongside the level rules on the MacSet: a supply window in which the inlet pump may run, a tariff window for the lift pump, and the level thresholds still active inside them, so the sump fills while the line is live and the tank never overflows. The schedules are set from the phone and run on the controller.

The readings and the threshold events go to the dashboard or platform you choose, and that platform sends the push notification, SMS, email or WhatsApp message; most society apps, BMS and SCADA packages do this, and so do ChirpStack with Node-RED or any MQTT-based dashboard. Macnman supplies the hardware, the open payloads and the decoders, not a messaging service, so the alert reaches whichever phones you configure.

The ultrasonic sensor does not care about the material; it needs a clear line from the lid to the water with the 60° beam kept off the walls, which a bracket or a short stand-off gives in a narrow tank. Plastic, RCC and steel tanks all work; a tank with an internal ladder, a pipe or an agitator in the beam path needs the sensor moved to a clear spot. For a very deep or turbulent vessel, the submersible transmitter through the converter is the alternative.

It removes the two ways a pump wastes power: running after the tank is full and overflowing, and running dry. How much that saves depends on how often it happened before, so we do not quote a figure; the pump's energy meter, read through the same converter, shows the kWh before and after the pilot.

Kilometres, not metres: the sensor on the tank and the controller in the pump room both talk to the LoRaWAN gateway, which sits on the highest terrace and typically covers a society, a campus or a plant. A basement pump room or a deep sump takes an indoor Setu X1 gateway. The planning tools on this site give a first estimate and the Maya app's Ping test confirms each spot before the device is fixed.

No. The level rule runs on the controller and the readings go to your own LoRaWAN network server, MQTT broker or HTTPS endpoint, or to the society app, BMS or SCADA you already run. ChirpStack can run on the gateway itself. There is no mandatory Macnman cloud and no subscription in the path.

The MacSet keeps running its thresholds and schedules locally, so the tank fills and the pump stops without the gateway or the internet; it reports the history when the link returns. Battery sensors keep measuring through a power cut, and a sensor that goes silent is raised as a stale-data alarm on the dashboard rather than read as a flat line.

Yes, where the meter has an RS485 Modbus port or a pulse output, which most bulk water meters and panel energy meters do. A MacSync LX1 or WX1 polls the meters on the line and sends volume, flow and kWh on the interval you set. The meters stay as they are; the converter only reads.

For switching the pump, yes, and it adds what the starter cannot: the tank and sump levels decide, no SIM, no recharge and no mobile signal are needed at the pump house, and the rules keep running through a network drop. The comparison table on this page lists the differences; the starter's protection relays stay in place.

As a working estimate, one level sensor per overhead tank and per sump, one controller per pump panel, one converter for the inlet bulk meter and the pump energy meter together, and one gateway on the tallest terrace, with an indoor gateway for a deep basement. A two-tower society is typically a handful of devices; the pilot on one tank settles the rest.

Two ways, without a leak cable. A bulk meter read every few minutes shows a night flow that never reaches zero, which is a leak downstream of the meter; a pressure transducer on the line shows a pressure that drops and stays down, which is a burst or a closed valve. Both appear as trends and alerts on the dashboard.

Yes, it is free to use and needs no SIM. LoRaWAN in India uses the IN865 plan in the 865 to 867 MHz band, which the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing has delicensed for low-power devices, so a society, a campus or a city runs its own gateway without a spectrum licence. Macnman devices are built for IN865 and are WPC compliant. The gateway's backhaul is the only recurring link: the site's broadband or one SIM in the gateway, not one per device.

You own it. The devices send to your own network server and broker, and from there to the society management app, the BMS, the water SCADA or the ICCC over MQTT or HTTPS; payload decoders are published on GitHub. Macnman does not hold your data and supplies no mandatory dashboard.

Yes. The devices register on any LoRaWAN network server, and decoded readings reach SCADA or the ICCC over MQTT or HTTPS; a 4G controller at an isolated pumping station publishes the same way. Commands, such as starting a pump at a station, go back as downlinks.

From the datasheets: the MacRay LUS X1 is rated about 3 years at hourly reports, 2 years at 15 minutes and 1 year at 5 minutes on its 8 Ah cell; the LPS X7 hydrostatic sensor is rated about 2 years at 5 minutes, 4 years at 15 minutes and 7 or more years at hourly reports on its 19 Ah cell, and the pressure transducer runs on the same cell or on DC; converters run on a 19 Ah cell or 9–36 V DC; controllers run from the pump panel. Battery level is sent in every message, and the battery life calculator estimates your interval.

The ultrasonic sensor has an IP67 transducer and is rated from −40 °C to +80 °C; the pressure transducer has an SS316 wetted part; the EC probe is IP68; enclosures are IP65 with an IP67 option. The datasheets carry the figures. Mount the ultrasonic sensor so it cannot be submerged; a sump that can flood to the lid is a job for the submersible transmitter.

The MacRay LUS X1 reports at 0.1 cm resolution across 3 to 450 cm; absolute accuracy depends on the surface, the temperature and the mounting, which is why the datasheet states resolution rather than a single accuracy figure. The hydrostatic LPS X7 is rated ±0.2 % of full scale and the LPS pressure transducers ±0.05 % of full scale. For pump control the thresholds matter more than the last millimetre. Calibration is a matter of entering the tank: the empty distance and the full distance go in from the Maya app, and the sensor reports percent and centimetres from them.

Usually, yes. A MacLink Gen-2 on the tallest terrace carries more than 2,000 devices on eight channels and reaches kilometres with line of sight; blocks that shadow each other, deep basements and far pump houses add an indoor Setu X1 or a second outdoor gateway. The coverage check with a sensor at the real mounting point comes before the order.

pH and electrical conductivity, yes: the LoRaWAN pH sensor reads 0 to 14 at ±0.1 and the EC sensor to ±1 % of full scale with an IP68 probe, on a battery. Macnman does not make a dissolved-oxygen, turbidity or chlorine sensor; a third-party analyser with a 4–20 mA or Modbus output connects through a MacSync converter.

The level sensor reports the high threshold as an event the moment it is crossed; the controller stops the pump at that level, and a second, higher threshold raises the overflow alarm if the level keeps rising, which also exposes a stuck valve or a gravity feed that should have closed. The alert reaches the phone or the dashboard within the sensor's reporting interval.

Yes, and that is the recommended way in. One MacRay LUS X1 on the tank that runs dry most often, one MacSet LX1 in its pump panel and one gateway on the terrace, on your own dashboard, for a few weeks; then the sump, the borewell and the meters join the same gateway. The pilot kit on this site is that set.

The list of tanks and sumps with their heights, where the pumps and their panels are, the distance from the tanks to the pump room and to the tallest terrace, whether there is power and mobile signal at the pump house, the bulk meters you want read and the dashboard, BMS or SCADA the data should reach. With that we specify the sensors, the controllers, the converters and the gateway position.

Four lines, and the sensor is only one: the number of tanks, sumps, borewells and pressure points, the pump panels that need a controller, the gateways needed for coverage (usually one, plus one for a basement), and the integration into the dashboard or SCADA you run. Send the tank list and a site plan and we quote the whole system rather than a device in isolation.

The sensors mount with the clip or bracket supplied and are set up from a phone with the Maya app; an electrician wires the controller into the pump panel at 230 V. We send mounting and wiring notes with the kit, support the commissioning remotely, visit for pilots, and work with FM companies and integrators through the partner programme for roll-outs.

Yes. Macnman designs and manufactures its level sensors, converters, controllers and gateways in Pune, Maharashtra. The LoRaWAN devices are WPC compliant for the IN865 band and the hardware conforms to RoHS; the datasheets state the figures for each device.