Control panel monitoring system

Rodbuster · Mar 27, 2012

Good morning,

I have read about quite a few people that have not been happy with the accuracy of the monitoring system for the fresh water and other holding tanks.

I was wondering if there might be a way to adjust and/or caloborate this monitor system.
I will drain my fresh water tank and it will still read 1/3 full.

Thank you
Dick

Dave49 · Mar 27, 2012

I wouldn't worry to much about them readings. I don't know of any of them that really give you an accurate reading. There may be some aftermarket ones out there that do but your going to spend a lot of cash buying them and then installing them if you don't do it yourself. We just go with the 3 day method. Every 3 days we dump all tanks and that works great for us.

Dave

JohnDar · Mar 27, 2012

About the only time my sensors are accurate is at the end of winter storage and they've dried off. Then they finally all read empty. After that, if there's any moisture within 100 miles of them, they read whatever. Before it becomes anybody's rant on HL, it's pretty much true for any brand using through-the-wall sensors. I'll dump the black tank after about 4 -5 days, whether it likes it or not. The galley tank goes when the black tank does and so does the lavatory tank. I'll open the lav tank when we run the washing machine, too.

TravelTiger · Mar 27, 2012

Check this out, a demo of why we get misleading readings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXdZgFLO4hY&feature=player_embedded#!

E

Occo · Mar 27, 2012

Mine is a KIB system and it reads something different all the time. Have tried flushing tanks, no help. Is there anything that really works and is worth the time and cost to invest in?

JohnDar · Mar 27, 2012

TravelTiger said:
Check this out, a demo of why we get misleading readings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXdZgFLO4hY&feature=player_embedded#!

E

For $90 and a face full of black tank goodies, you, too, can have accurate tank level readings.

Seriously, the hardest part looks like it would be getting at the tanks and installing them. Does anyone know if HL's sensors are bolt on or spun on?

Rickhansen · Mar 27, 2012

JohnDar said:
Does anyone know if HL's sensors are bolt on or spun on?

As far as I can tell, Heartlands tank 'sensors' are nothing more than a nickel-plate machine screw through the wall of the tank, connected to the panel with 22AWG telephone cable.

wdk450 · Mar 27, 2012

All of the standard tank monitoring systems are unreliable. You can find some better alternatives here: http://tweetys.com/tankmonitors.aspx

The Miracle Probes are an improved internal tank probe made of teflon to get rid of leakage current paths through the "crud" that lines the black and grey tanks, resulting in false readings. This "crud" isn't supposed to stick to the teflon surfaces, eliminating the problems.

The reputed best tank probe system is the SeeLevel, which uses a sensor tape external to the tank, and measures the fluid level by capacitive coupling of a signal through the tank walls to the liquid.

Both of these systems will most likely require removal of the tanks to install them. At the very least, removal of the water heater (on my Bighorn) to access the old probe sites. As you can see 3 sets of Miracle Probes start at about $75. A SeeLevel system for 3 tanks with all of the switches is over $300.

JohnDar · Mar 27, 2012

wdk450 said:
All of the standard tank monitoring systems are unreliable. You can find some better alternatives here: http://tweetys.com/tankmonitors.aspx

The Miracle Probes are an improved internal tank probe made of teflon to get rid of leakage current paths through the "crud" that lines the black and grey tanks, resulting in false readings. This "crud" isn't supposed to stick to the teflon surfaces, eliminating the problems.

The reputed best tank probe system is the SeeLevel, which uses a sensor tape external to the tank, and measures the fluid level by capacitive coupling of a signal through the tank walls to the liquid.

Both of these systems will most likely require removal of the tanks to install them. At the very least, removal of the water heater (on my Bighorn) to access the old probe sites. As you can see 3 sets of Miracle Probes start at about $75. A SeeLevel system for 3 tanks with all of the switches is over $300.

Why would you have to remove the water heater? On mine, it looks like the black and gray #1 would be accessible by removing the coroplast and coming up from below. Gray #2 is somewhere near the axles.

It would be "nice" to have accurate readings, but it's not at the top of my Roundtoit list. When the black tank needs dumping, the toilet burps or just sounds like it will. Gray #2 won't drain the kitchen sink when it's full. Gray #1 gets dumped with the other two, or when I open it for the washing machine, so it never gets full. Usually, if it's been at least 4 days since last dumping the black, I'll do it just for "fun." After a while, you get a feel for when it's time.

wdk450 · Mar 27, 2012

Re: "Why would you have to remove the water heater?"

On mine, the tank sensors are on the end of the tank, with less than 3" clearance from the wall. No room for a drill. The Miracle Probe sensors are a different hole size than the ones Heartland uses, and the existing sensor holes would have to be drilled out. I need to remove water heater to get this access, at least on the black tank.

JohnDar · Mar 27, 2012

wdk450 said:
Re: "Why would you have to remove the water heater?"

On mine, the tank sensors are on the end of the tank, with less than 3" clearance from the wall. No room for a drill. The Miracle Probe sensors are a different hole size than the ones Heartland uses, and the existing sensor holes would have to be drilled out. I need to remove water heater to get this access, at least on the black tank.

Sounds like an "easy replacement" became more of a PITA than it's worth.

jimtoo · Mar 27, 2012

My monitoring system is when you start standing in water in the shower,,,, time to drain.... when the toilet starts burping... time to dump and flush.

TravelTiger · Mar 27, 2012

I don't think you can replace the sensors on our tanks with the Miracle Probes. Have a good pic of one close up, but it's on the phone... Will try to get it posted here. There is a video of the install, they show drilling new holes, then just move the wire over. I don't think you have to remove the old sensors.

You could move sensors to the side, rather than the end of the tank, if it was more accessible.

boatto5er · Mar 28, 2012

jimtoo said:
My monitoring system is when you start standing in water in the shower,,,, time to drain.... when the toilet starts burping... time to dump and flush.

Like Jim, my black tank system consists of DW yelling, "Gus, why is the toilet making a noise?"

Hastey · Mar 28, 2012

TravelTiger said:
Check this out, a demo of why we get misleading readings. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXdZgFLO4hY&feature=player_embedded#!

E

That's a good video, I didn't know how it worked.

TravelTiger · Mar 28, 2012

The pic is at a funny angle because I was lying on my back looking up... but this is the end of the bathroom gray tank, located about 4 feet forward of the UDC, in the underbelly.

Erika

KiwiRVer · Mar 29, 2012

On our last rig I installed See-Level. The sensors stick to the outside of the tank so as long as you can get to the outside of the tank they are not difficult to install. When we upgraded to the Big Country I removed the control panel but left the sensors. I am just waiting on new sensors from the factory before I re-install the control panel in the BC.

The only thing I would say about the See-Level is that it is a little difficult to get the sensors placed exactly right so that it reads 0% when empty and 100% when full but we got used to the fact that 3% meant empty on the grey and 13% meant empty on the black. That was an installation issue not a product issue. I also placed the control panel just inside the entrance door close to floor level so I could read it inside or outside the coach. The See-Level also monitors battery level and with an additional sensor can give you outside temperature in C or F.

Control panel monitoring system

Rodbuster

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JohnDar

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TravelTiger

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Occo

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TravelTiger

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TravelTiger

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