Fresh water tank monitor

[merl]

Hmmm, not sure if everyone here has OCD or I am just a lazy slob lol. When I fill my tank with the watering can I can tell when it's getting full from the gurgling as water goes into the tank. When I get an odd sputter when running water off I know I have reached 25% left.

Then again I carry 60ltrs plus in 5 litre bottles in the shower tray.

Oh, no need to answer the initial question, I know I am a lazy slob but I am happy and stress free

I agree Neil, measuring how much water you've put in the tank seems a bit OTT to me, I just stick the hoze in the tank and leave it running till it overflows and then I turn off. Our system warns us when we're down to about 1/4 remaining and I've never felt I needed anything more. Each to their own though of course

 

[mistericeman]

I agree Neil, measuring how much water you've put in the tank seems a bit OTT to me, I just stick the hoze in the tank and leave it running till it overflows and then I turn off. Our system warns us when we're down to about 1/4 remaining and I've never felt I needed anything more. Each to their own though of course

I'm not bothered about how much goes in....

More about how much has come out...

The gauge on our panel is about as honest as a..... Well something not very honest.

I also prefer not to cart excess water around to tend to not run full all the time.

 

[alun145]

The other thing with those is you need a tank that has a top filler Would be little use in the typical Autotrail Motorhome where the large filler is on the bottom and no access to the top of the tank at all.

Hi
I have a Autotrail tribute 720 with no top access to tank.
My top and mid sensors have failed.

Did you have same issue and find a solution similar to the article?
It seems such an elegant solution.
Thanks Alun

 

[wildebus]

Hi
I have a Autotrail tribute 720 with no top access to tank.
My top and mid sensors have failed.

Did you have same issue and find a solution similar to the article?
It seems such an elegant solution.
Thanks Alun

I don't know how the tributes are laid out in terms of the tank but I can tell you what I did with my own Autotrail and it might help lead you to a resolution?

I had the underslung tank, so no top access or hatch at all in the floor (some vans like Baileys and Swifts have a hatch. I don't think Autotrails ever do?)
There was a surround all around the tank for protection. Some kind of black composite sheeting. And I found a square panel underneath and towards the front of the van that was screwed on. It had no indication what is was so I removed the screwed and found it gave me access to the large screw filler you get on water tanks. It looks like Autotrail fit their water tanks upside down compared to most makers!
After removing this panel, you can see the tank - or at least a small portion of it. Now I always intended to fit this Mopeka sensor and my gauge DID still work, so I didn't look into that at all, but you might be able to access the sensor/probes and replace or fix this at this stage?
For the Mopeka, it was a matter of putting it against the bottom of the tank and taping and wedging it into place (fairly easily with packing between tank and surround) and then putting cover plate back into position.

Spme comments ....
1) If fitting a Mopeka, make sure you pair it with your phone first before fitting (I did, but I got a new phone a while back and now I will have to access the sensor again to repair if I want to use the phone app. I use the Cerbo so doesn't matter but just an FYI). The batteries last for ages so once fitted, this is not something you should need to do again for quite a time.
2) Gonna get dirty doing this, so watch out for grit and dirt, etc.
3) If you DO try and sort the sensor out or remove the filler cap to have a look, remember there will be water in the tank and it could be tricky to get any access points totally dry to reseal or use sealants (if replacing probe). I deliberately didn't disturb any fittings so as to avoid to introduce any possible leaks.

 

[merl]

I've used these little devices in the past,

https://a.aliexpress.com/_EyXi7ae

they detect liquid through a tank wall so no drilling.or access to inside the tank is required. It would be simple to fix half a dozen on the side at ascending heights and then connect the outputs to a row of LEDs or led bar graph like this.

Amazon.co.uk

 

[Geek]

That's much like the one I get from Lidl. I use it the other way round though: fill the tank until it is full then see how much it took to fill it.

Bought another one in Lidl last week. Reduced to £3.19.
They default to Auto mode, which means they turn on when water flows and off after a few seconds of no water flow.
That's usually fine, but yesterday I had to stop filling before half way full because a neighbour needed to drive past. So I had to read the meter then add 70 litres to the total at the end.

 

[Geek]

On our Eldis I fill till it starts to come out of the overflow. I always find that after filling up and driving I always loose a large amount, I assume from the overflow?
For me this application won't work until I find a solution to the problem, perhaps and extension off the overflow and tap.
Downside would be when I forget to open the overflow !#!!
Has any one else had this issue?

Thinking about it, when I had an Eldiss I had much the same problem. Water would pour out of the overflow if the tank was above three quarters full. I fixed it by making the overflow pipe much longer and having it go across the top of the tank and back before leading down and out.
That way the surge on corners had nowhere to go, but genuine overfilling could still escape.