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Old 04-12-2017, 09:38   #1
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Tank Monitors

Greetings,

We are currently in the midst of a refit and looking at a new tank monitoring system.

What experiences/feedback can anybody offer. Do you have tank monitors? Do they work reliably? What brand do you have?

We are looking at a Philippi system.

Thank you in advance!
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Old 04-12-2017, 09:47   #2
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Re: Tank Monitors

Tank Tender. No power need. Very reliable, but they like their stuff. Same gauge and I monitor two water tanks and fuel tank. Took a total of 1 hr to install all of it. http://www.thetanktender.com
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Old 04-12-2017, 10:09   #3
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Re: Tank Monitors

Pretty, but looks expensive. $800+ for the panel, $130 for each tank sensor. Pretty soon you're talking real money.

I just needed the waste monitored, so I put in a single-tank sensor from Ferriello in Florida (https://www.ferriellosales.com/) and am very happy with the result. This was based on a Peggy Hall recommendation. They also sell multi-tank monitors. Uses extremely little power to read. All external sensing, so no cutting into tanks with the risk of leakage. Cost me about $150 for the single tank, but not much more for multiples. Ferriello makes them for SCAD as well, but other than a nicer web page and a mark-up there's no difference.
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Old 04-12-2017, 10:59   #4
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Re: Tank Monitors

+1 For the Tank Tender system. It is very accurate and reliable.
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Old 04-12-2017, 11:55   #5
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Re: Tank Monitors

Wema

Bullet proof.

Tank Level Senders, Fuel Gauges, Marine Gauges, Fuel sending units, Fuel Senders by WEMA USA, Inc.

Regards John
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Old 04-12-2017, 12:03   #6
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Re: Tank Monitors

Any of these include propane levels?

Non-standard 80 gallon size, fitting a custom internal float's too pricey.
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Old 04-12-2017, 13:29   #7
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Re: Tank Monitors

I think the only way to measure propane level is with an internal float.
There was an attempt a few years ago to do it by temperature, but had to be using the tank long enough for enough gas to boil off first before level could be read.
Although I wonder if one of Ferillo’s sensors would work with a fiberglass propane tank?
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Old 04-12-2017, 13:41   #8
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Re: Tank Monitors

Quote:
Originally Posted by a64pilot View Post
Although I wonder if one of Ferillo’s sensors would work with a fiberglass propane tank?


A flashlight works with a fiberglass tank
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Old 04-12-2017, 14:31   #9
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Re: Tank Monitors

Wouldn’t a fish scale work to weigh the propane tank?

FORCE Digital Hanging Scale 110lb x 0.05lb Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0741F2548..._rXCjAbC26MAR4
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Old 04-12-2017, 16:33   #10
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Re: Tank Monitors

80 *gallons* that's like 20x what a portable BBQ bottle holds

Need a forklift even when it's empty, plus 350 lbs more when full

Need a whale scale 8-)
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Old 04-12-2017, 16:59   #11
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Re: Tank Monitors

I went with a SCAD monitor for the holding tank.



Defenders link:
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp...306&id=1249539

SCAD Link:
Tank Monitors | Technologies LLC

Best thing about this type is that the sensors mount to the "Outside" of the tank.
So the Poopies won't get stuck on the sensor.
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Old 04-12-2017, 18:04   #12
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Re: Tank Monitors

Thank you for all of the responses. I am now combing through the data on all of your suggestions.
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Old 04-12-2017, 19:14   #13
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Re: Tank Monitors

Try this, I think it's a good system, and it will do plastic, metal, LPG, the whole shebang.

https://tankedge.com/products.html
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Old 04-12-2017, 19:46   #14
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Re: Tank Monitors

Does sound good, but for LPG it seems no external sensors for a metallic tank 8-(
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Old 05-12-2017, 04:30   #15
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Re: Tank Monitors

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Originally Posted by ColdEh Marine View Post

Not bullet proof...

But not bad.

The waste tank sender tube can eventually get clogged with accumulated uric acid crystal (I think what Peggie calls struvites)... and at that point the float won't float. Relatively easy to fix, though; even if it sounds a bit messy, it's not, really, with some appropriate tank pump-out/flush/rinse beforehand.

I think the float can also become temporarily stuck by bits of as-yet-undissolved waste (paper?). A common approach to alleviate that is to size the tube (length) so the float at its lowest point isn't really near the bottom of the tank. That can lead to times when the gauge isn't yet registering anything... when you might have expected the needle would be rising "by now." Can get a bit tense until the needle starts moving, because the symptom at that point is the same as if the float is really bound up by crystals.

After installation, it's good to get ground truth by filling the tank -- visually observing the real level -- and comparing that to where the needle ends up on the guage. Our tank is functionally full just as the needle approaches the top of the white (middle) area on the green/white/red gauge. We start scheduling our next pump-out when the needle leaves green and moves into the white area.

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