TIMED DISCHARGE ADAPTER using PIC16F628

Introduction

This program is an experimental timed-discharge adapter for a Vericom control panel used with an Orenco Systems AdvanTex® wastewater treatment system (sewage filtration system) marketed by Wastewater Technologies, Inc.

Although the Vericom firmware is capable of modification to provide timed-discharge capability by a firmware download via telephone, this adapter was just an experiment to prove out the concept of timed-discharge for my particular drainfield characteristics. Thus, I don’t recommend this application for AdvanTex installations unless experimental and short-term in nature. This project is included simply as an example of a problem/solution using a PIC microprocessor.

The problem

As delivered the control panel simply directs the final discharge pump to send water to the drain field as controlled by high and low float switches, with anywhere from 20 to 50 gallons of effluent at a time. Because the surface drain field accepts wasterwater at a very slow rate, anything not quickly absorbed into the soil generally runs down the slight incline in the drain field and seeps out from under the mounded soil.

The Vericom control panel does have the ability to be re-programmed for timed discharge instead of float-driven discharge, but the final discharge station needs to be large enough to handle peak flows, and my discharge station is not that large.

Code:

/**************************************************************************

septic_07.c

This program is timed-discharge adapter for a Vericom panel used with Advantex
septic treatment system.  It turns on the final discharge pump by manipulating
the Vericom's PUMP-ON and PUMP-OFF float inputs on a timed basis, using the
state of the actual float switches as boundary conditions, i.e. don't turn on
the pump at all if the PUMP-OFF float says that there's no water to pump, and
turn on the pump anytime the PUMP-ON float says that the water level is high.

This version adds:  eeprom storage of pump-on time
                    activity LED shows 10% of pump-on time duration
                    skip out of delays immediately if put into BYPASS mode

Makes the high level float pump until it goes down, no interrupts.  Logs
on-time in both bypass and timed modes.

Still has issues because it confuses the Vericom panel, which then
goes into an alarm condition, and phones out with an alarm.  I haven't
figured out exactly what the Vericom panels is confused about, other
than that the low float is on for a very short period before the high
float is activated.

                         +5
                          |
                         14
                     ----------
                    |      RA0 |-17-- PUMP ON RELAY
     HIGH FLOAT---6-| RB0      |
                    |      RA1 |-18-- PUMP OFF RELAY
     LOW FLOAT----7-| RB1      |
                    |      RB5 |-11-- PUMP ON LED
     BYPASS-------8-| RB2      |
                    |      RB4 |-10-- PUMP OFF LED
                    |          |
                    |      RB3 |-9--- ACTIVITY LED
                    |          |
                    |  16F628  |
                    |          |
                    |      RB6 |-12-- PGD
                    |      RB7 |-13-- PGC
       6MHz XTAL-15-|     MCLR |-4--- MCLR
            XTAL-16-|          |
                     ----------
                          5
                          |
                         Gnd

***************************************************************************/

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