BrinePulse™ Smart Salt Monitor

What's in the Box

• 1× BrinePulse™ Smart Cantilever Rail Assembly — complete 3D-engineered telescoping enclosure with controller housing, status LED, tactile action button, and center ToF laser sensor module.
• 1× Supporting Outer Rim Rest — self-aligning cantilever end that rests flat across the opposite brine tank rim.
• 1× Premium High-Flex USB-C Power Cable for continuous, battery-free 5V operation.
• 1× Quickstart Reference Leaflet with instant setup QR codes.

1 Mount the Hardware on Brine Tank

BrinePulse installs in under 30 seconds with zero tools, drilling, or screws. The cantilever rail simply rests across your existing brine tank rims.

1. Open the Salt Tank Cover: Remove or swing open your water softener brine tank lid.
2. Hook the Controller Housing: Take the left end of the rail (the main controller housing with the USB-C port and button) and hook it firmly over the left tank rim so the housing hangs on the outside of the tank.
3. Position the Center Sensor: Slide and extend the telescoping rail across the opening until the center laser sensor is positioned directly above the open salt bed. Ensure the downward-facing laser has a clear, unobstructed line of sight to the salt (keep it clear of the internal vertical brine well tube).
4. Rest the Supporting Bracket: Lower the right bracket onto the opposite tank rim so the assembly sits stable and flat.
5. Connect 5V USB-C Power: Plug the included USB-C cable into the controller housing and connect to any standard 5V USB wall charger (1A or greater). The status LED will immediately begin slowly pulsing.

2 Connect to Wi-Fi

BrinePulse features pure Wi-Fi SoftAP onboarding — no finicky Bluetooth pairing required. It connects directly to your home 2.4 GHz network.

1. Power Up & Wait 15 Seconds: When powered on, BrinePulse broadcasts a temporary setup network named BrinePulse-Setup (or BrinePulse-XXXXXX).
2. Join Setup Network: On your phone, tablet, or laptop, open Wi-Fi settings and connect to BrinePulse-Setup. When prompted for password, enter:
   setup1234
3. Open Captive Portal: The setup page will open automatically. (If it doesn't open within a few seconds, open your browser and navigate to http://192.168.4.1).
4. Enter Home Wi-Fi Credentials: Select your 2.4 GHz home Wi-Fi network from the list, type your password, and click Save.
5. LED Confirmation: BrinePulse will connect to your router. The status LED will turn solid Blue to confirm that the device is online.

3 Connect with Mobile App & Web Dashboard

Once on your Wi-Fi, BrinePulse provides real-time salt telemetry via the unified BrineLink mobile app and a built-in local web dashboard.

Android

iPhone & iPad

Linking Device in the App

1. Open the BrineLink / BrinePulse app and tap Add Device.
2. The app automatically scans your local network for your sensor (~15 to 45 seconds).
3. Once detected, assign your water softener name (e.g. "Basement Softener") and salt capacity. Live salt % appears immediately!

Local Web Dashboard (Zero Cloud Required)

You can also access the monitor directly from any web browser on your home network by visiting:

4 Calibrate Empty Salt Baseline

BrinePulse comes pre-configured with standard factory dimensions (50 mm full to 800 mm empty floor), which works out of the box for most standard water softeners. For pinpoint accuracy tailored to your specific tank height, calibrate the floor baseline when your salt level is low.

Option A: Hardware Action Button (Instant)

1. When your tank is empty or nearly empty, locate the button on the controller housing.
2. Press and hold the button for 5 seconds until the Blue status LED flashes twice.
3. Release the button. The current distance to the bottom floor is now permanently saved as 0% Empty.

Option B: From the Mobile App or Web Dashboard

1. In the BrinePulse app or local web UI, tap Calibrate Empty Tank.
2. Confirm when prompted. The zero baseline updates instantly in onboard flash memory.

Hardware Button & Status Indicators

The integrated diffused Blue status LED and tactile action button provide immediate diagnostic feedback directly at your softener tank without needing a phone or computer.

Multi-Function Button Controls

Status LED Blink Pattern Reference

Note: BrinePulse features a single high-visibility Blue LED. Operational states and hold confirmations are indicated by blink cadence and pulse counts (salt level is monitored via the mobile app or Home Assistant):

Home Assistant & ESPHome Integration

BrinePulse natively integrates with Home Assistant via the official ESPHome integration — delivering 100% local, lightning-fast, encrypted updates with zero cloud dependencies.

Step 1 — Automatic Discovery (Recommended)

Once BrinePulse joins your Wi-Fi, Home Assistant automatically discovers it under Settings → Devices & Services.

1. Look for BrinePulse in the Discovered section at the top of the Integrations page.
2. Click Configure.
3. When prompted for an Encryption Key, enter:
   w8j3YZuSYXZY/oEI520oW2Vj83LpXagyb5UxeqyXP40=
4. Click Submit. All salt sensors, switches, and buttons import automatically.

ESPHome Docs

Step 2 — Manual Setup (if auto-discovery does not appear)

1. Go to Settings → Devices & Services → Add Integration.
2. Search for ESPHome.
3. Enter Host: brinepulse-XXXXXX.local (replace XXXXXX with your device's 6-character MAC suffix, or enter the local IP address). Port: 6053.
4. When prompted for the Encryption Key, enter:
   w8j3YZuSYXZY/oEI520oW2Vj83LpXagyb5UxeqyXP40=

Available Entities in Home Assistant

Example Automation: Low Salt Smartphone Notification

Add this automation in Home Assistant to receive a notification on your phone when salt drops below 20%:

alias: "Notify When Water Softener Salt Is Low"
trigger:
  - platform: numeric_state
    entity_id: sensor.salt_level_percent
    below: 20
action:
  - service: notify.notify
    data:
      title: "Water Softener Alert"
      message: "BrinePulse reports your salt level is down to {{ states('sensor.salt_level_percent') }}%. Please add 2 bags of salt."
mode: single

Firmware & Manual Updates

BrinePulse runs native open ESPHome firmware with full Over-The-Air (OTA) wireless update capabilities. You can update wirelessly via Home Assistant, through the device web interface, or download the compiled binary directly:

Need Assistance or a Larger Rail?

Our direct engineering team is ready to help with mounting, calibration, or network connectivity. If your brine tank is wider than our standard 18" rail, let us know and we'll send a free extension adapter!

Email Engineering Support: brinepulse.support@gmail.com