Stupid Tank Gauges

imchud · Jul 6, 2010

My 2009 3385 Tank gauges always work pretty good... we just got it back saturday from RV Capital for some repairs they were doing, set it up on our site and everything is working great. i checked the tanks after two days and they all were full. I thought it was strange, i didn't think we used that much water???? anyway, i went and open the blank tank valve and it drained but It didnt seem to dump that much, so I closed it up and opened the two gray tank valves and left them open. Now two more days have past and I check the gauges again for the black tank level, I was surprised when i found that one gray tank shows a 2/3 full level and the blank tanks showed full again. so again i went to drain the black tank and again it didn't have much in it. I don't much care... the gauges in my old coach never read correctly so every few days I would just open the valves up and let it drain. Maybe when i flush the black tank tomorrow it will clean the sensors, is there anything I could put in the drains for the gray tanks to clean them??

Tom

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

Tom, I've been told "Do This, Do That". In reality the tank level indicators in ALL Rv;s are mediocre, NONE of them work well and that;s the way it is, take their readouts with a grain of salt. There ain't no fix ! Happy RV'ing ! Tom

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

One potential , lower cost fix, may be to try Horst Miracle Probes. They are redesigned tank probes that replace the OEM ones. Supposedly designed to not foul up from tank debris. I'd like to hear a report from someone who have tried them.

A more expensive fix would be to use the SeeLevel system by Garnett.

Jim

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

I have a 2011 BH 3670 RL. Does anyone know where my black tank is located and the best way to get to the level probes ? I believe I will change to the Horst probes - if I can get to the tank easily. The black water tank probes cost $33.00 for 4 probes. I need 2 nut drivers, one for the wire termination and one for the body (which sqeezes & compresses the rubber sealing grommet) and it's changed. So simple a caveman could do it. It's worth a try. Tom

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

Tom, if you pull your basement walls out, you will see the black tank directly under the bathroom area. In the photo, the black tank is visible under that "floor" in the rear of the basement. The tank flush is on the door side, valve on the ODS, but I don't remember if the sensors are visible or not. At any rate, you'll have to drop the underbelly to get at them.

View attachment 9295

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

RollingHome said:
I have a 2011 BH 3670 RL. Does anyone know where my black tank is located and the best way to get to the level probes ? I believe I will change to the Horst probes - if I can get to the tank easily. The black water tank probes cost $33.00 for 4 probes. I need 2 nut drivers, one for the wire termination and one for the body (which sqeezes & compresses the rubber sealing grommet) and it's changed. So simple a caveman could do it. It's worth a try. Tom

RolingHome:
I also have a BH 3670RL and bought the Hortst probes just for the black tank. I got as far as removing the corner section of the underframe cloth in the front off door side. I found that the probes installed by Heartland were NOT "standard" 3/8 inch diameter that the Horst probes are, and new holes would have to be drilled adjacent to the existing probe locations. Unfortunately, there is very little clearance between the side of the tank and the frame of the trailer - not enough for a powered drill. At that point I gave up the project for a while. I am thinking that maybe it would not be TOO hard to get a short drill bit, and MANUALLY screw it into the tank using vice grip pliers. I don't want to drop the tank just for this. I have never overflowed the black tank, and the grey tanks let me know by backing up into the shower and sink, which is no great problem.
Maybe I will get my RV servicer to install them the next time the rig is in for service.

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

Thanks Bill, I think you just saved me some time & money... Oh well.

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

Even a dipstick would be more accurate than the OEM sensor system.

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

While all you fellows are looking at your tanks, see if there are blocks in place to keep the tanks from shifting from door-side to off-door-side. When I had my underbelly down earlier this summer I found no blocking and when the tanks are empty you can move them by hand. Just imagine how easy they move when you are going down the road with some liquid in them swooshing around. Then imagine the pipe attached to the top of the tank having to move with the tank, or not.

Mark

DXprowler · Jul 7, 2010

wdk450 said:
RolingHome:
I also have a BH 3670RL and bought the Hortst probes just for the black tank. I got as far as removing the corner section of the underframe cloth in the front off door side. I found that the probes installed by Heartland were NOT "standard" 3/8 inch diameter that the Horst probes are, and new holes would have to be drilled adjacent to the existing probe locations. Unfortunately, there is very little clearance between the side of the tank and the frame of the trailer - not enough for a powered drill. At that point I gave up the project for a while. I am thinking that maybe it would not be TOO hard to get a short drill bit, and MANUALLY screw it into the tank using vice grip pliers. I don't want to drop the tank just for this. I have never overflowed the black tank, and the grey tanks let me know by backing up into the shower and sink, which is no great problem.
Maybe I will get my RV servicer to install them the next time the rig is in for service.

Maybe not because of the support but would it be possible to drill holes where a drill would fit, maybe at the front, and then extend the wires?

Jim.... I'm sure the Garnet SeeLevel gauges won't work because the tanks are L shaped on all sides and with the SeeLevels you need a flat surface. I installed them in the previous trailer and they worked very well!

fjspinelli · Jul 7, 2010

Your going to love this suggestion. When you are done camping and ready to head home. Dump about a cup of Dawn Dishwashing detergent and a bag of ice down the toilet and drive home. It may solve your problem in the short term with no mess or fuss.

Worked once for us.

FJ

RollingHome · Jul 7, 2010

FJ, I'm gullable so I'm gonna try your suggestion for 3 reasons;

1) I never have done it or heard it.

2) Our probes don't work because of gunk on them, the dawn may "de-gunk" them.

3) It's not a big investment...

If it doesn't work, ya know I'm gonna talk about ya !

jnbhobe · Jul 7, 2010

It WORKS try it!!!!!

imchud · Jul 7, 2010

Thanks for all the info guys... My camper is on site for the summer, when I pull it home at the end of the season i think i will try the "dawn & ice trick" -but I'm not sure what to do with the gray tanks??? However i really don't care if they work or not... i usually (when i'm there) just keep the gray tanks open and every few days I will just open the black tank valve and drain it. I really don't think its worth the time and money to spend in trying to fix the STUPID GAUGES...

Tom

fjspinelli · Jul 7, 2010

Tom, feel free to "talk" about me! I used about 1/2 a container in each tank when I did it. It worked on my 2004 Sunnybrook. I look foward to your fall run home. FJ

imchud · Jul 7, 2010

Thanks FJ... I'm going to give it a try and i will let you know how it works... But if it doesn't, look out brother it could get ugly, Just kidding... i'll be nice, but I might slap you around just a little bit if its ok with you.

Tom

Recovered from 25-May-2010 · Jul 7, 2010

Bill (DX),

I have the SeeLevel system on my coach. I learned that a few other Heartlanders have supplied them to us during their unit build.

Not following you on the tank shape. Even if the percentages on the readout are only close to being accurate, they sensors will never be fouled

Jim

ChopperBill · Jul 8, 2010

If you want to just clean them use the Extreme Cleaner from this place

wyleyrabbit · Jul 8, 2010

jbeletti said:
Bill (DX),

I have the SeeLevel system on my coach. I learned that a few other Heartlanders have supplied them to us during their unit build.

Not following you on the tank shape. Even if the percentages on the readout are only close to being accurate, they sensors will never be fouled

Jim

Jim,

Which SeeLevel system did you buy? And did you just get the standard sensors, or did you need to order special sized ones?

Chris

bozo · Jul 9, 2010

Hey fellers bozo here (Newbie) I really don't mean to be stupid here. My dad always said there is never a stupid question so here goes. I know you longtimers can help. My gauges don't seem to work right either. How do I tell If the gray tank is full is there an overflow or will the tank run over inside the RV or back up in the sink or shower? I can look in the toilet and see the level of the black tank. On our last trip we had used very little water and the gray tank showed 2/3 full so we used even less water. After two days the gray tank showed full and when I went to dump there was only about 10-15 gallons came out (???) I new something seemed wrong and this thread I quess explains whats going on.

Thanks for the help Happy Camping!!!!!!!!!!

bozo

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