I need to build a kitty water dish low-water-detector. Not a filtered fountain system, just "it is below this point -> flash a light or emit a beep".

I have trouble keeping the fancy fountain ones clean, and the typical little red light that some water dishes have when low is not enough.

@CoyoteTraveller Our model (PetSafe Drinkwell Platinum) makes obscenely annoying noises when it runs low on water, if that counts? Makes it very easy to know when to refill it!

@CoyoteTraveller The main thing with this one as well is it's also basically dishwasher safe as well and the components are all very inexpensive repair/replace. But it is a filtered fountain model fwiw.

@Goldkin If I can just chuck most of the thing into the dishwasher that would be really useful. My current filtered one that's gathering dust tends to pick up a lot of mold inside, and has to be hand washed with a lot of fiddly parts. How much of a hassle is it to wash out the pump, etc?

And is that "obscenely annoying noise" an actual intended warning sound, or is it the sound of a pump slowly killing itself?

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@CoyoteTraveller The latter. Though it's a simple (user-removable, openable, and replaceable!) fish tank pump, so it's not too bad tbh

As for washing it out: I've opened it up before and cleaned it. Not too bad? Simple sink rinse after opening and it was good as new.

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