Fresh water tank gauge

[Jim Riley]

2 hours ago, Puffling said:

I'm looking at something like this, seem compatible with 15mm Speedfit, just need to add an extra T junction and shut-off valve.

I used flexible pipe, 12mm ID, push fit onto 15mm plastic waterpipe or copper, with a jubilee clip. Same at top, into plastic waterpipe with a straight valve tap. 

Edited June 6, 2022 by Jim Riley

[koukouvagia]

The simplest and cheapest method I found was to use one of these garden hose meters.  I reset the counter when I've filled the tank then I watch the meter count down.  When the guage reads 250l I know it's time to fill up again.

No 12v needed.  Dead simple.

 

 

[David Mack]

10 minutes ago, koukouvagia said:

No 12v needed. 

Internal battery? Or does it generate its own power from the flow of water?

[Stilllearning]

Either use a dipstick, or judge the way the bow comes up as the water goes down in the tank. It’s much cheaper and won’t break.

[koukouvagia]

3 hours ago, David Mack said:

Internal battery? Or does it generate its own power from the flow of water?

No external or internal power source needed.  There's a sort of  turbine which moves the counter.

Edited June 6, 2022 by koukouvagia

[David Mack]

42 minutes ago, koukouvagia said:

No external or internal power source needed.  There's a sort of  turbine which moves the counter.

A mechanical counter? It looks like an electronic display.

[koukouvagia]

30 minutes ago, David Mack said:

A mechanical counter? It looks like an electronic display.

Hmm.  You may be right.  However, I've had this fitted for about five years and I've never had to change a battery.  There may be a button battery;  I'll check at the weekend.

eta Just looked it up.  It does have a battery.

Edited June 6, 2022 by koukouvagia

[Peugeot 106]

4 hours ago, koukouvagia said:

The simplest and cheapest method I found was to use one of these garden hose meters.  I reset the counter when I've filled the tank then I watch the meter count down.  When the guage reads 250l I know it's time to fill up again.

No 12v needed.  Dead simple.

 

 

Topargee is the same as this except you can mount the display remotely which I find handy. I fill up and set to 312 litres. It then counts down to zero

 

[GUMPY]

I've never felt the need for a guage on the water tank,  water use doesn't vary that much and I know on my present boat the water lasts eight days so I just fill up every 7 days of use. On the previous boat it was 9 days and the one before that it was 14 days. The only time this wouldn't work was if I had guests to stay which is the last thing I would do.

 

[Jim Riley]

Topargee gauge, £100 to £140 ! Bit of clear pipe and some push fit connectors and clips £15. Hmmm. 

[Peugeot 106]

42 minutes ago, Jim Riley said:

Topargee gauge, £100 to £140 ! Bit of clear pipe and some push fit connectors and clips £15. Hmmm. 

Well I’m sure you are as happy with your tube and clips as I am with my Topargee. It all depends on your layout, access etc and of course your pendant for toys though l’m sure you can have plenty of fun with a clear pipe and some clips Hmmm!

The choice is up to the OP we are only offering alternatives

[blackrose]

11 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

I had a problem with the clear tube turning green and yucky inside, even with the site tube behind a cupboard door and in the dark for most of the time.

 

I just use a soft pipe cleaner. I installed my clear tube about 15 years ago and it's only needed cleaning twice in that time. 

[blackrose]

This is mine. It's the most accurate water tank gauge you can install. Calibrated by timing the time to fill the tank. 

 

I don't bother with the floating bead. It's easy enough to see the water level without it and you don't need to worry about anything getting sucked into the pump strainer if you inadvertently leave the valve open. 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2022 by blackrose

[Peugeot 106]

Very nifty. The only slight downside is that you are only measuring depth of water in the tank not quantity. My tank gets a lot narrower at the bottom so i would need to calibrate your gauge to suit. It depends how accurate you want to be. I also wouldn’t have space for your way of doing it although I did think about it before I fitted the Topargee 

[Jim Riley]

8 hours ago, blackrose said:

This is mine. It's the most accurate water tank gauge you can install. Calibrated by timing the time to fill the tank. 

 

I don't bother with the floating bead. It's easy enough to see the water level without it and you don't need to worry about anything getting sucked into the pump strainer if you inadvertently leave the valve open. 

 

 

A small roll of stainless mesh, from a defunct cafetiere, stops the bead being sucked away from the clear tube. It's just loose in the bottom of the tube. 

[Rich834]

Has anyone tried something like this £26 float gauge fitted in the water fill cap:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304714585317?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D246214%26meid%3Dd8f4220c10514660931553cf640e0df8%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D292282845764%26itm%3D304714585317%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithRevOptLambda85KnnRecallV1WithCassiniImageSim&_trksid=p2047675.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum%3A304714585317d8f4220c10514660931553cf640e0df8|enc%3AAQAHAAABIBTnULwZvkwwvWb54Sp3TESux6kFTXxeByyFeTbBEJTAHELVvJ%2BnpiRCZsaEJO6SgqSsQIHvbg9YL2jxELBYJZWPAuIRQj6%2FC29lmsqlxuBA9PCv01MDlo%2Bdx01OQe9%2BUQqxnReHJPNyOB8KqV%2BHWR6jNmC6Z0FJbJZcP5obYzEn0jCsW9WZwOly93Ao6ZEYouzgt5gvyVnqPVw1l%2FK4pblsk3zQxw17QxgzTzWKM84HapjZzsjdbSSEtn6isCaEk44U5do6h2pf%2FC8rg23sOzIJP%2FPGOtHyJhaPne%2BL%2B57fP7Yy0Z2jiVq4ddMq47Z2inU5U10YF8jwE%2FX4q%2FlertJ8HGEUUL8xVdNgx2cl0YT0yMab986%2Bmnt5Zq7h7XKxqw%3D%3D|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2047675

My plan is to slide a plastic tube down the water inlet pipe for the float to travel up and down.
 

[Puffling]

First, a shorter URL:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304714585317

 

Don't think there is a place for a device such as this on a typical narrowboat. From the photo it appears to be a spring balance mechanism with the movement of the float pulling the dial hand around as it falls or lift. This dictates the gauge being directly above the float. It would mean you'd need to read the guage outside in most boats.

[PeterF]

Also a lot of boats do not have a straight filler pipe to pass this down.

[David Mack]

I have a similar gauge on my domestic heating oil tank at home. It doesn't work very well. 4 feet of float movement leads to several rotations of the spool on which the support string winds, and theres quite a lot of internal gearing to translate that to half a turn of needle movement. After a bit of wear the internal friction is too much for the spring to overcome, and you get false readings - too low after filling up and too high when the tank is nearly empty.

[system 4-50]

I used 3 x Wema sensors (not cheap) which fit in the top of tanks so don't pose an added leak risk, and an Teensy (Aduino-type micro) and a 3.5" TFT screen, showing the level of all 3 tanks.