Holding tank sensors

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tweak

tweak

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Posts
94
Location
Lafayette,NY
Is there a holding tank sensor upgrade that works. Mine show full all the time with the only one that works is the fresh water. I know why the stock ones dont work however the numerious ways of cleaning  the tanks does not always work. :( :(
 
Problem with most is something sticking on the probes giving a false reading.  If you put a few gallons of water back in the tank after dumping and keep it there while driving, it may eventually wash away whatever is stuck to it. 
 
sweet...report back on your outcome.

i still do the fill and dump (site permitting) and ice cube thingy...so far so good.  the wife asks if we are ready and i say until its aquafina clean...we're not ready.  :p
 
The false readings are not necessarily caused by something hanging on the probes only.  In my case it is residue left on the walls of the Tanks, either grease (Grey Tank) or crap (Black Tank), providing a conductance path for the probes.

What has worked successfully for me is to fill the tanks about 1/4 full prior to driving and adding a small bottle of Dawn Dish detergent to each tank (about 1/4th of a big bottle).  When I arrive at destination I dump both Tanks.  Doesn't work unless you have the motion created by driving. 

Imperative that you dump shortly after you arrive at destination.

The ice-cube method sounds like it would be effective but I have no way of getting them into the Grey Tank and I have a Macerator Head so I can't get them into Black Tank. 
 
My current 5W has a SeeLevel System in it and it works like a charm. I was going to upgrade my old RV which had inside sensors but bought this new one before I got a chance to do it. Seems to me that I remember that I could use the SeeLevel sensors and display units but still used the old wiring harness which simplifies the installation.

 
As I said.. Several forum members........

The old "Harness" is a single wire,  Perhaps 2 wires (But the 2nd is a ground) Not much to it. 

That is "per tank"  Just so you know. 

 
When I was having this problem and I knew the tanks were clean, I took it in and had the sensor board on the wall checked.  It were bad and had it replaced.  Works a lot better now.
 
A thought occurs to me.. I wonder what would happen if we dumped a brief pulse of 12vdc with low resistance on that sensor line.

(This would be a SPDT momentary toggle switch)

Might boil off the crud... Might not... Don't know
 
Just got off the phone with the SeeLevel people in Canada because I had some questions that I didn't see documented in their literature.  Here are the answers and the questions.

I have a generator start and hours counter on my panel - do you have a panel that supports this  - NO, you will need to separate them

I have heard that these systems can have problems reading through tank residue - The SeeLevel system has been tested through 1 inch of caked on dog food and still worked

My LP tank meter is inaccurate - can I use a SeeLevel sensor on this tank - No, it will not read through steel you must connect to the existing sensor

How does the LP calibrate - it senses the 80% on the first fill and makes this the 100% for the sensor (no tank can be filled to 100%)

Can any existing wiring be used - yes, any wiring

How many wires - The 709 uses a bus architecture, you run sensor wires to the bus and then two wires back to the panel

The others (710, 711, 712, 713) all need one wire from the tank to the panel - any of the existing wires can be used

How do I shorten the sensors - Cut the sensor (between the modules) from the bottom.  Instructions are in the documentation
Sensors are self adhesive - 3M industrial adhesive

 
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