How to Convert NPN to PNP transistor?

Question

I'm creating a water level indicator so I can turn on a pump when the water level gets too low. I have NPN transistors, but I would like the transistor to act as a switch that closes when the water level drops below a certain height. The NPN transistor I used for the experiment seems to do the opposite (close the switch when the water level is high enough), so I figured I need to use a PNP transistor instead. However, after following this SO suggestion and flipping the connection to the battery terminal as well as the LED, the LED did not turn on as expected when the water level gets too low. I would appreciate your advice.

The circuit below lit the LED when the water level closed the circuit. How do I get the LED to turn on when the circuit is open?

^{simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab}

Answer 1

^{simulate this circuit – Schematic created using CircuitLab}

Figure 1. Modified schematic. LED is on when probe is dry.

Move the LED as shown in Figure 1.

• When the probes are dry Q1 is off and the LED is lit via R2.
• When the probes are wet Q1 is on and shorts out the LED.

The disadvantage with this simple fix is that current is wasted when the LED is off.

Your 100 Ω resistor value is a bit low (but is also the CircuitLab default). For an LED with a 2 V forward voltage you will drop 7 V across R2. A 1 kΩ resistor will limit the current to 7 mA which will be quite bright on a modern LED.