Tank liquid level senders

[olewsaa]

If your tank is not of metal, you can use electromagnetic sensors. Cheap, easy to come by. I made a small project to interface with OpenPlotter/SignalK wirelessly. Works well for any tank wall except metal.
Our Ovni have 5mm Aluminum walls in the tank and I was forced to use the Gobius sensors, which work great BTW.

Ole

[jrlimited]

Hi,

You need to check out Gobius, I have these fitted to fuel, water and black and grey water tanks. You can check all your levels easily on your phone. Not terribly expensive and worth every penny.

[jrlimited]

Sorry I meant to post the link. https://www.gobiuspro.com/

[Tudorsailor]

Originally Posted by olewsaa

If your tank is not of metal, you can use electromagnetic sensors. Cheap, easy to come by. I made a small project to interface with OpenPlotter/SignalK wirelessly. Works well for any tank wall except metal.
Our Ovni have 5mm Aluminum walls in the tank and I was forced to use the Gobius sensors, which work great BTW.

Ole

I tried the sensors with the two strips of foil previously and could never get the system to calibrate
I have tried using the non-contact sensors that one can buy on eBay and you used in your project. They work well on a test tank with lovely clean walls. However when I installed on the wall of my 18 year old waste tank, the sensors really did not work well. I just could not calibrate them reliably I suspect the inside wall is just too cruddy for the capacitance sensor to work

The Gobius may be the answer as its using a completely different technology

One sensor is all that I'd need

Thanks for bringing it to my attention

TudorSailor

[tedowens]

I have Wema Kus liquid level senders in my black water tanks. They are terrible. They routinely clog with waste and stop working. I have to pull them out and clean them about once a year. I Have Aluminum tanks and can't use the external type. I also have the problem of not being able to see if it is half full. I have limited access above the tanks so I can put a longer sensors in. I am also searching for a better sensor for the next time mine fail.

[MickMeck]

Originally Posted by tedowens

I have Wema Kus liquid level senders in my black water tanks. They are terrible. They routinely clog with waste and stop working. I have to pull them out and clean them about once a year. I Have Aluminum tanks and can't use the external type. I also have the problem of not being able to see if it is half full. I have limited access above the tanks so I can put a longer sensors in. I am also searching for a better sensor for the next time mine fail.

iSeries Tank Monitors has a solution that does not use any moving parts. I have two stainless steel black water holding tanks. I was unable to go from the top so I drilled a hole underneath and installed a plastic hose with sensors inside. They do not clog. There are three simple ways to calibrate. I have had them for 4 years. Highly recommend.

[Bon Temps]

I used a Ferriello sensor fit s few years and hocked it is to an AlbiCtombi analog to Digital converter. Amazingly it actually work.is not working well for you. The sensors are generally reliable. Ourding out why your current one isn't acceptable.Amazingly it actually worked I am going to buy one ftom thesr people to upgrade

Mike
SCAD Technologies LLC
548 NC Highway 801 N
Advance, NC 27006
336-793-2003 ext 101
Manufacturer of Innovative Marine Electronics | Technologies LLC

[Laser Jim]

I second the suggestion for Electrosense.com. We've had one on our Jeanneau SO 35 aluminum holding tank for 3 years with no problems. Quick service at a reasonable price, ~ $200.



From their site:


Most systems on the market use float switches or arms, which eventually break or get gummed up and stuck; or they use "stick-on" sensors on the outside of the tank, which can easily be fooled into false readings by buildup on the inside of the tank's walls. Our sensors are all-electronic - no moving parts to break or get stuck. The displays can be powered by boat power or by a small 12-volt battery attached to the back of the display, which means that you don't have to run any power cables. The only cable to run is the control cable between the sender unit and the display unit. We use Cat5 Ethernet cable for that, so all you have to do is plug it in - no crimping or splicing.

[Boater Brad]

I installed SCAD sensors on my two holding tanks. Installation was easy and they work great. I hope the company keeps going because I want to get two more for my fresh water tanks.

[SaltyMetals]

I doi not know about the others but was strongly recommended the Gobius by some Scandinavian friends and it has been a great success. I am sure that anything that goes inside the tank is going to get clogged up eventually. The Gobius sensors attach on the outside of the tank and typically would be placed at the 25%, 50% and 75% positions although my recommendation would be to place the top one at 85-90% but they are attached with a 3M adhesive so i have not disturbed it. There is then a display about the size and thickness of a credit card which shows the corresponding lights for each level. Easy to install.
Andrew

[Boater Brad]

To be clear, the SCAD system sensors are also applied to the exterior of the tank, but are two continuous parallel strips from top to bottom. Once calibrated by setting empty and full levels, the processor is able to determine the level based on the percentage of the strips that are above and below the fluid level.

[BigAl.NZ]

Has anyone tried the BEP Marine TS1?

I am looking to connect some to my Actisense EMU-1. The TS1's (ultrasonic) would replace the older WEMA senders.

I am interested if the TS1's are very accurate? We have 300L of fresh water, it would be nice to get accuracy within 5%.

I presume all bets are off if we are heeling over. Does the gobius unit connect to anything other than a smart phone?

[gamayun]

Originally Posted by BigAl.NZ

I presume all bets are off if we are heeling over.

This is why I just purchased a WEMA fuel sender with the Simrad fuel sensor. What's wrong with WEMA?

[BigAl.NZ]

Originally Posted by gamayun

This is why I just purchased a WEMA fuel sender with the Simrad fuel sensor. What's wrong with WEMA?

I dont know which WEMA unit you have, but the one on our boat is late 80s vintage, and will read 80% one minute then 60% the next. Since the WEMA sender (resistive?) doesnt go all the way to the bottom of the tank, it doesnt factor in the bottom bit, and the tank is an irregular shape, so it doesnt appear to factor any of that in either!! Hence I need something better.

Maybe the new WEMA units are better? What technology does it use?

[sailormed]

You could install a water meter on the outflow of the tank and keep track of volume consumed. Maybe reset when you fill the tank to keep it easy.