Small Water tank level gauge help

stand up or sit down...to sink or not to sink...want or got gas...post your Q&A here..........

Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby BLTillson » Sun Feb 18, 2024 7:07 pm

Greetings friends,

I am in the midst (year 2 ) of designing and building my very own teardrop trailer. I am ordering the little water tank on Monday. This is a small tank, only 11 gallons installed right above the axel and under the bed. I am looking for a solution for a decent water level gauge. I can't use a simple closed tube because the the tank location. I could a tube on the side inside the compartment (see picture) but I would have to lift the bed and open the lid to see it. I need something electrical that comes in from the side. I also want to keep the cost down. The tank is from Plastic-Mart and is a model: R-RVB319. It will have the fittings installed where I choose. I have figured out my fill, vent and drain locations and wondering if I will need others for a gauge. It's not a huge issue and not a critical item, however, if I can find an easy solution I would consider it. Thanks all!

Water Tank Detail.png
Water Tank Detail.png (322.84 KiB) Viewed 11241 times


Also, since I am posting on the subject, here is my basic plumbing schematic.

Plumbing Scematic.png
Plumbing Scematic.png (77.63 KiB) Viewed 11241 times
~BLT~

Δοξάστε τον Θεό από τον οποίο πηγάζουν όλες οι ευλογίεςt
User avatar
BLTillson
Teardrop Master
 
Posts: 103
Images: 18
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2021 6:06 am
Location: Back in Beautiful Oregon

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby Nanny54 » Tue May 21, 2024 9:52 am

Hey there,

For an affordable and effective water level gauge, you might want to consider a simple float switch sensor. These sensors can be mounted on the side of your tank and connected to an LED indicator or a digital display, which you can place somewhere more convenient to view. They're relatively inexpensive and can be installed with minimal hassle.

Last year, I had some plumbing issues at home, specifically with blocked drains and a faulty hot water system. I needed professional help to sort things out. A friend recommended a great company specializing in emergency services, and they were a lifesaver. You can find out more about them here: Central Coast plumber .

Good luck with your teardrop trailer project!
Last edited by Nanny54 on Thu May 23, 2024 5:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
Nanny54
Teardrop Inspector
 
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Nov 12, 2021 11:18 am

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby OP827 » Tue May 21, 2024 4:25 pm

How about this simple DIY idea on a budget:
https://youtube.com/shorts/21nGeimdgvY?si=7yOqHu5HHCIcMTRA
The probe, the contacts, and wires will have to be made of food safe materials.
User avatar
OP827
Donating Member
 
Posts: 1568
Images: 406
Joined: Fri Apr 25, 2014 7:27 pm
Location: Bruce County Ontario
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby GTS225 » Tue May 21, 2024 9:15 pm

OP827 wrote:How about this simple DIY idea on a budget:
https://youtube.com/shorts/21nGeimdgvY?si=7yOqHu5HHCIcMTRA
The probe, the contacts, and wires will have to be made of food safe materials.


Yup......not a whole lot different than the sensor system(s) in a towable RV camper. 3 or 4 contacts molded into the side of the tank, with the right sequence of wiring, and you have a rather simple and effective level "gauge"

Roger
GTS225
The 300 Club
 
Posts: 309
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2018 2:11 am
Location: Waterloo, Iowa
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby Onajourney » Wed May 22, 2024 9:27 am

User avatar
Onajourney
Teardrop Master
 
Posts: 257
Images: 181
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2021 2:16 am
Location: Central North Carolina
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby bdosborn » Wed May 22, 2024 2:29 pm

Onajourney wrote:I have this one and it works great. They also have a propane tank sensor you can also monitor in the same app.


x2 on the Mopeka. No need to drill a hole in the tank and it sticks to polyethylene. I'm on my second year and mine is still working great. It's compatible with Victron Cerbo GX too.
Bruce
2009 6.5'X11' TTT - Boxcar
All it takes is a speck of faith and a few kilowatts of sweat and grace.
Image
Boxcar Build
aVANger Build
User avatar
bdosborn
Donating Member
 
Posts: 5551
Images: 790
Joined: Wed May 05, 2004 11:10 pm
Location: CO, Littleton
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby Tom&Shelly » Mon Sep 23, 2024 5:17 pm

Anyone else think that in a few years this forum will be all AI bots seeding messages that will eventually become links for ads?

Tom
173839 170466 173366
Tom&Shelly
Palladium Donating Member
 
Posts: 2346
Images: 2168
Joined: Tue Sep 05, 2017 3:27 pm
Location: Upstate New York/New Mexico
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby bdosborn » Tue Sep 24, 2024 6:22 pm

Welcome to the Enshitifaction of internet goods and services. Tech companies won't be satisfied until every internet feed is an obnoxious digital billboard. What a shame, I remember how fun and useful the internet was in the 2000s.
Bruce
2009 6.5'X11' TTT - Boxcar
All it takes is a speck of faith and a few kilowatts of sweat and grace.
Image
Boxcar Build
aVANger Build
User avatar
bdosborn
Donating Member
 
Posts: 5551
Images: 790
Joined: Wed May 05, 2004 11:10 pm
Location: CO, Littleton
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby BLTillson » Thu Oct 03, 2024 11:22 am

Tom&Shelly wrote:Anyone else think that in a few years this forum will be all AI bots seeding messages that will eventually become links for ads?

Tom


I do. The internet is an out of control monster that is eating everything human and organic in it's wake. It used to be way more fun.
~BLT~

Δοξάστε τον Θεό από τον οποίο πηγάζουν όλες οι ευλογίεςt
User avatar
BLTillson
Teardrop Master
 
Posts: 103
Images: 18
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2021 6:06 am
Location: Back in Beautiful Oregon
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby FischAutoTechGarten » Thu Oct 03, 2024 4:33 pm

our brave new world... remember when the internet existed simply for sharing ideas and collaborating? (well that was probably never really true... I'm sure military applications were considered from the beginning).
unfortunately the world view now is if you can't monitize it, then it has no value. the Bots and AI are a way to 'service' the audience.

Level is tough.. cheap ultrasonics work well (like those bumper sensors), but they need a bit of dead space prior to the actual interface.. which would mean installing a cone or some such thing above your tank... not practical...
I've found a series of inexpensive discrete level sensors, like those you might find in a brake fluid resevoir, arranged diagonally in relation to one another, can be somewhat useful for crude measures... (i.e. Near Empty, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, Near Full).
User avatar
FischAutoTechGarten
Teardrop Inspector
 
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2024 8:06 pm
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby bobhenry » Sat Oct 05, 2024 10:15 am

Your tank needs a vent to allow air in to avoid vacuum locking your tank as the water is pumped out right! So add it near the bottom of the tank. Now extend it to the exterior wall and using clear tubing extend the vent outward and up the exterior wall. As you start to fill mark the low point and fill to the top and mark the full right on the side of the trailer. A cabinet cup pull could be added as a protective awning over the end to divert falling debris or a simple cane hook return you now have an ultra simple combination vent with overflow protection. While adding this put a tee in at the lowest point and a valve to dump the tank and as a rinse out or drain for winter.
Growing older but not up !
User avatar
bobhenry
Ten Grand Club
Ten Grand Club
 
Posts: 10359
Images: 2623
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:49 am
Location: INDIANA, LINDEN
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby bobhenry » Sat Oct 05, 2024 10:23 am

https://www.mcmaster.com/products/clear ... -fittings/

CLEAR PVC COMPATABLE FITTINGS AND TUBING
Growing older but not up !
User avatar
bobhenry
Ten Grand Club
Ten Grand Club
 
Posts: 10359
Images: 2623
Joined: Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:49 am
Location: INDIANA, LINDEN
Top

Re: Small Water tank level gauge help

Postby BLTillson » Sat Oct 05, 2024 11:47 pm

bobhenry wrote:https://www.mcmaster.com/products/clear-pvc-pipe-fittings/

CLEAR PVC COMPATABLE FITTINGS AND TUBING


Thank you for the response. However, my project has been cancelled for health reasons. More if you look at the last post on my build log.
take care
~BLT~

Δοξάστε τον Θεό από τον οποίο πηγάζουν όλες οι ευλογίεςt
User avatar
BLTillson
Teardrop Master
 
Posts: 103
Images: 18
Joined: Sun Jun 27, 2021 6:06 am
Location: Back in Beautiful Oregon
Top


Return to Plumbing & Propane Secrets

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests