Tank level system sensors

[Vtxbiker]

I am having problems with the tank level sensors not reading correctly especially the black and grey water tanks. These tanks are hard to access and looks like the sensors are external and may be taped to the tanks. I cannot find any info as to the manufacturer of these sensors or the indication panel. Any info on the tank level system would be appreciated.


Thanks
Paul

[thebings]

I have Seelevel tank monitoring system that uses sensors that are taped to the outside of the tank, maybe thats what you have.https://www.garnetinstruments.com/wp...System-web.png

[Jim A]

I don't remember who made the sensors that came with the coach. They were applied to the tank with adhesive, and rather poorly at that. Mine were falling off. I replaced mine with SeeLevel gauges, and have been happy ever since. For one thing, you get much more resolution with the tank level changing in 3-4% increments instead of the 25% increments. When the 1/4 full light went off on the fresh water tank, you know you had somewhere between 25 gallons (mine is a 100 gallon tank making the math easy) and 0 gallons. BIG difference between having 0 and 25 gallons if dry camping. SeeLevel fills that gap with more readings.

The old sensors have 3 wires each. The SeeLevel sensors have two wires each. WRV used what appeared to be 9 conductor sprinkler system wire cable to wire the sensors. Easy to reuse.

The sensors on the grey and black tank are mounted behind the panel in the service bay. Not easy to get to, but doable. However, the other side of the tank compartment has a door that is screwed shut. If you open that side up, you have easy access to the other sides of the tanks. I wish I had known that when I replaced my sensors!

[Jim A]

P.S. You can find the installation manuals for the SeeLevel gauges online, so you can see what it takes to do the installation.

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by Jim A

I don't remember who made the sensors that came with the coach. They were applied to the tank with adhesive, and rather poorly at that. Mine were falling off. I replaced mine with SeeLevel gauges, and have been happy ever since. For one thing, you get much more resolution with the tank level changing in 3-4% increments instead of the 25% increments. When the 1/4 full light went off on the fresh water tank, you know you had somewhere between 25 gallons (mine is a 100 gallon tank making the math easy) and 0 gallons. BIG difference between having 0 and 25 gallons if dry camping. SeeLevel fills that gap with more readings.

The old sensors have 3 wires each. The SeeLevel sensors have two wires each. WRV used what appeared to be 9 conductor sprinkler system wire cable to wire the sensors. Easy to reuse.

The sensors on the grey and black tank are mounted behind the panel in the service bay. Not easy to get to, but doable. However, the other side of the tank compartment has a door that is screwed shut. If you open that side up, you have easy access to the other sides of the tanks. I wish I had known that when I replaced my sensors!

Hey Jim How difficult was the install?

Access to the tanks for gauge application?
Were you able to use the existing wiring or did you need to run new wires to the display?

[Jim A]

Originally Posted by paul65k

Hey Jim How difficult was the install?

Access to the tanks for gauge application?
Were you able to use the existing wiring or did you need to run new wires to the display?

Paul,

I did the 709 install over 10 years ago, so all of the bad things are blocked out of my memory! Only the joys of using the monitor remain.

Access to the fresh water tank is easy. The grey and black tanks are behind the panel. Not a lot of room to work, but not impossible. If you look in there you will see the old gauge strips. The biggest problem was removing the adhesive residue from the tank. Putting the new sensors on was pretty easy. It seems to me that the wiring connections were pretty easy to get to, except for the mile of electrical tape used on each sensor.

But like I said above, I would work on the other side and just leave the old ones in place. Just cut the wires and splice them to a new cable going to the other side. Wide open space to work on the other side, and easy to run wires across to the connection points. You can see the connections behind the panel when you remove it.

I used the existing wiring. All of the wires terminate at the back of the existing gauge. Easy to get to when you remove the gauge. I have a WRV wiring diagram with all the color codes and the Larsen (that name was hand written on the diagram) panel wiring.

[Barbaraok]

After 13 years of fulltiming in the coach, I pretty much know what the level is by when we last dumped. Our black tank is good for 12-16 days (depending upon how much running around we are doing) and grey, depends upon what's going on. If at park with no sewer at site, then we go into 'navy' shower mode and do laundry in the laundromat and we are good for 12 days on the grey. The black tank lets me know when it is time - that "burp" is the signal that we've only got a couple of days left.

[Vtxbiker]

Thanks for all the replies and glad I am not the only one that thinks the original level system is junk! I looked up the Seelevel system and was impressed with the product and the installation. I did take a look inside the bays at the tanks and agree that the fresh water is easy but will need to find a very small thin person to get the black and grey tanks done! I am neither small or thin! Ha!


Thanks Again
Paul

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by Jim A

Paul,

I did the 709 install over 10 years ago, so all of the bad things are blocked out of my memory! Only the joys of using the monitor remain.

Access to the fresh water tank is easy. The grey and black tanks are behind the panel. Not a lot of room to work, but not impossible. If you look in there you will see the old gauge strips. The biggest problem was removing the adhesive residue from the tank. Putting the new sensors on was pretty easy. It seems to me that the wiring connections were pretty easy to get to, except for the mile of electrical tape used on each sensor.

But like I said above, I would work on the other side and just leave the old ones in place. Just cut the wires and splice them to a new cable going to the other side. Wide open space to work on the other side, and easy to run wires across to the connection points. You can see the connections behind the panel when you remove it.

I used the existing wiring. All of the wires terminate at the back of the existing gauge. Easy to get to when you remove the gauge. I have a WRV wiring diagram with all the color codes and the Larsen (that name was hand written on the diagram) panel wiring.

Thanks Jim....very Helpful!!

[Vtxbiker]

Ok I did order the 709 See Level tank system and have received it. I ordered one 12" Es sensor and two SS 16" SS sensors. The 12" will be for the fresh water and the two 16" will be for the gray and black water tanks. I will cut the 16" sensors to 14" to fit the tanks The system seems to be made well and only requires 2 wires to get to the display for all the tanks. The sensors are modified by clipping tabs to let the display know what tank is being displayed. Pretty neat!
Now getting to the tanks and removing the installed sensors is where the fun begins!
I found out pretty quick why the black tank was not reading! The sensor was completely disconnected from the tank! It was lying on the bay floor!
I was able to get the fresh water tank sensor removed and new one installed today. Easy to get to and no problem just had to open bay slides and lay on my back for a while. Body is showing signs of aging!
While working on the fresh water tank I noticed the gray water tank sensor is behind a bulkhead between the cargo bay and the utility service bay. To get to it easily I removed the wire mesh separating the two and it will be easy to remove and install the sensors. But just when I thought all was good the adhesive they used on the original sensors is a PITA to remove! I had to stop and go get some adhesive remover to help! I did get it bit decided I had enough for one day so will tackle it tomorrow!
The black tank will be a bear! I still don't know how to get to it! Oh well I will sleep on it and tackle it tomorrow!
So that's it for now. I will let you know how it goes for the rest of the installation.

[DrDaveMA]

When I installed my SeeLevel system I just abandoned the old ones, they are still hanging in there🤪.

[Vtxbiker]

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

When I installed my SeeLevel system I just abandoned the old ones, they are still hanging in there🤪.

Hey Dave, I could have left the fresh water sensor but the grey water sensor was in the only place that allowed me easy access to install the new one. No problem with the black water tank as it had completely fell off the tank !
Chasing down the wiring was a chore but finally got a handle on it. They had a 9 conductor Belden cable run from tank to tank and also to the propane tank level indicator. The new system only requires 2 wires from the tanks to the monitor. The Belden cable wires are very small gauge so I doubled up on the wires and got the fresh,grey and the propane tank levels working!
The black tank I have been saving for last as it is the hardest to get the sensor mounted on! I will tackle it in the next few days.

I really think this system will be one of the best thing I have done to the Alpine! I am impressed with the quality.

[Jim A]

I should warn you that the first thing I found out using the SeeLevel gauges was how much fresh water I was really losing to siphoning! Something like 15 gallons initially just sitting there after filling until it started to overflow from the front, and a total of 35 gallons after driving a few hundred miles the next day. There is a chance you may have another project coming up!

[gmcgene]

Jim,
My 1998 Alpine 36 also loses many gallons of water after fill up. Have you solved the issue on your coach? If so, how?
Thanks for any ideas.