Water tank float

[Silent Flight]

Hello all,

 

Moved my gas locker and managed to get access to the water tank. 
 

It has a float inside with two wires leading to the bulkhead. Is there a simple way of connecting something back so I can have a water tank meter? Have attached couple of pics. 
 

Also it looks like it has been painted inside, which I wasn’t expecting. Anyone know what kind of paint might have been used?

 

 

[PaulJ]

Im guessing it would connect to something like this (subject to it still working and then  being correct resistance)

https://www.asap-supplies.com/products/kus-water-level-gauge-with-stainless-bezel-black-euro-resistance-ky11004

 

My gauge,like many,  is the line on the hull -more I can see the emptier the tank is. When the sink always puddles to the left hand side I know my tanks really empty. Never fails either..😀

[Silent Flight]

Awesome thanks for the link. 
 

I have been looking at the waterline but would like to have a gauge if half the setup is there already . 
 

Why when puddles to the left hand side of sink you know your tanks empty tho ?

[ditchcrawler]

If you connect a multimeter to the two wires set to the resistance range you should see it change as you refill the water tank

[PaulJ]

14 minutes ago, Owls Den said:

Awesome thanks for the link. 
 

I have been looking at the waterline but would like to have a gauge if half the setup is there already . 
 

Why when puddles to the left hand side of sink you know your tanks empty tho ?

Because when the tank is full the boat sits more level and the sink drains 100% down the plughole.

When the tank is empty the  bow rises and sink is then slightly on the pee- so get a tiny puddle left on the lefthandside. 

Im not knocking gauges btw- just from experience gauges do sometimes lie whereas marks on the waterline rarely do..

[Silent Flight]

On 05/04/2023 at 16:04, ditchcrawler said:

If you connect a multimeter to the two wires set to the resistance range you should see it change as you refill the water tank

 I’m guessing the gauge works in the same sort of way? Guess a multimeter would run off battery’s which would be easier but not as permanent.

 

I’m thinking of bridging the gauge off the horn or tunnel light and fitting somewhere inside the bulkhead wardrobe when rebuilding. Would be better in the at the back near the control panel but that seems like a big job for small reward. 

[magnetman]

It looks like an on off float switch to me. Maybe it has a variable resistance.

 

This item I think and probably originally wired to an LED via 12v supply to show when the tank is full or possibly a buzzer. 

 

I Might be way off with this !

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385529620886?hash=item59c35b2996:g:qBcAAOSwzklkLrWW&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4JDUD%2BFQk3kYotKiNbMcnq8Jia%2Bryvoe3DktRj65Q673BqvJ6U9iRpDQjNfUOuPuQQfhiSYUBBiOZUQZxyfu77lmucXOjeVs1e983dQ5kFjODuOgeXpt2bpOgaDKlb4KH6XHkLsHkWid2m8nYzamKNYd7U8V9BeMWdPol%2BWw1ThmX0OQOsYE4txySs%2BTsvd%2Fp1ENSnW0dgXijo72%2B1ksNut7BbCcUphaOlAhFCA1uM7FKsM9hYrGqymR%2F4dST%2Bk0j0h4wzUu6X87X%2BlmmK12hmycAw2WTP4%2BSwm1%2Fkz4IpOG|tkp%3ABFBM7vqZ-eph

Edited April 6, 2023 by magnetman

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, Owls Den said:

 I’m guessing the gauge works in the same sort of way? Guess a multimeter would run off battery’s which would be easier but not as permanent.

 

I’m thinking of bridging the gauge off the horn or tunnel light and fitting somewhere inside the bulkhead wardrobe when rebuilding. Would be better in the at the back near the control panel but that seems like a big job for small reward. 

I wasn't suggesting you leave a multimeter connected, just use it to see what happens, My first thoughts like Magnetman was a reed switched opperated by a floating magnet. but then saw the units advised elsewhere.

[Silent Flight]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

I wasn't suggesting you leave a multimeter connected, just use it to see what happens, My first thoughts like Magnetman was a reed switched opperated by a floating magnet. but then saw the units advised elsewhere.

Ah okay I get ya, try and see if the float is working or not with the multimeter and go from there.
 

Guess @magnetman is suggesting it wasn’t used for measuring levels more gauging when full. 
 

Hoping can use the same float setup that’s in the tank and working in a way can hook a meter up. Fingers crossed 🤞 

[magnetman]

You can find out easily if you have a multimeter with a continuity buzzer function. Put the meter on the ends of the wires and slide the float up to the top. If the meter starts buzzing at a certain point (could be the top of the bottom of the travel) then it is a reed switch and magnet. If not then maybe it is more complex and would need a matching meter but if so why isn't there one? 

 

Does it just end in bare wires? 

 

If so it seems to me that there was some sort of DIY thing attached to it. 

 

I think it might have been a 'tank is full now" indicator. 

A gauge sender would be a much more complicated thing. 

 

This is the one for the ASAP supplies gauge mentioned earlier:

 

 

I'm sure the item in your tank is a float switch. It is either set to measure when the tank is nearly empty or when the tank is full but I don't think it is going to do anything else. 

 

 

[David Mack]

4 hours ago, magnetman said:

This item I think and probably originally wired to an LED via 12v supply to show when the tank is full or possibly a buzzer. 

If its for the water tank a 'nearly empty' setting would be more use (whereas for a poo tank you would want 'nearly full').

[magnetman]

Just now, David Mack said:

If its for the water tank a 'nearly empty' setting would be more use (whereas for a poo tank you would want 'nearly full').

I was wondering what might happen if the tank overflowed when full. It might not drain to a very good place. 

 

This would be a potential reason for having a tank is full buzzer. 

Non standard arrangement. 

I'm detecting signs of an area not naturally drained by gravity. Pooling is occurring behind the lid. 

[Silent Flight]

https://www.asap-supplies.com/products/kus-fuel-and-water-dip-level-sender-600mm-euro-resistance-js60067 
 

Think it looks more like this one?
 

It’s odd tho the wires have been cut at some point but it would be cool if could have a gauge for it. 
 

Will try with the multimeter.

[David Mack]

15 minutes ago, magnetman said:

I was wondering what might happen if the tank overflowed when full. It might not drain to a very good place. 

As long as that seal around the manhole is good then you will know the tank is full when water comes out of the inlet and/or vent pipe.

And you want the seal round that manhole to be good as otherwise muck from the well deck floor could find its way into your domestic water.

[magnetman]

Thats interesting. Of course if my theory about a nearly full sensor was right there would be no reason for the float to have so much travel. 

 

I'm probably wrong. 

 

Interesting to see how you get on with this. 

[IanM]

5 hours ago, magnetman said:

It looks like an on off float switch to me. Maybe it has a variable resistance.

 

This item I think and probably originally wired to an LED via 12v supply to show when the tank is full or possibly a buzzer. 

 

I Might be way off with this !

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385529620886?hash=item59c35b2996:g:qBcAAOSwzklkLrWW&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4JDUD%2BFQk3kYotKiNbMcnq8Jia%2Bryvoe3DktRj65Q673BqvJ6U9iRpDQjNfUOuPuQQfhiSYUBBiOZUQZxyfu77lmucXOjeVs1e983dQ5kFjODuOgeXpt2bpOgaDKlb4KH6XHkLsHkWid2m8nYzamKNYd7U8V9BeMWdPol%2BWw1ThmX0OQOsYE4txySs%2BTsvd%2Fp1ENSnW0dgXijo72%2B1ksNut7BbCcUphaOlAhFCA1uM7FKsM9hYrGqymR%2F4dST%2Bk0j0h4wzUu6X87X%2BlmmK12hmycAw2WTP4%2BSwm1%2Fkz4IpOG|tkp%3ABFBM7vqZ-eph

We use something very similar in our submersible at work in the ballast tanks. It does have a variable resistance to indicate how full the tanks are.

[Silent Flight]

31 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Pooling is occurring behind the lid. 

It’s where the gas locker was sitting. Weird it does cover the inspection hatch.

 

27 minutes ago, David Mack said:

As long as that seal around the manhole is good then you will know the tank is full when water comes out of the inlet and/or vent pipe.

And you want the seal round that manhole to be good as otherwise muck from the well deck floor could find its way into your domestic water.

Will put some new foam seal around the inside of the hatch once finished working. It had gaffa tape around the the outside and then painted in after. Will likely do the same, the gas locker then bolts back over the top. 

21 minutes ago, IanM said:

We use something very similar in our submersible at work in the ballast tanks. It does have a variable resistance to indicate how full the tanks are.

Sounds promising!!

[David Mack]

6 minutes ago, Owls Den said:

It’s where the gas locker was sitting. Weird it does cover the inspection hatch.

 

Will put some new foam seal around the inside of the hatch once finished working. It had gaffa tape around the the outside and then painted in after. Will likely do the same, the gas locker then bolts back over the top. 

Sounds promising!!

If you have a freestanding gas locker how does its drain work?

[Silent Flight]

7 minutes ago, David Mack said:

If you have a freestanding gas locker how does its drain work?

It works like most drains. Rather well when water is around. Doesn’t do so much when it’s dry. That type of thing 

[David Mack]

40 minutes ago, Owls Den said:

It works like most drains. Rather well when water is around. Doesn’t do so much when it’s dry. That type of thing 

Integral gas lockers drain directly through a hole in the hull side. Presumably yours has some sort of pipe or hose connection between the gas locker and a skin fitting.

[Silent Flight]

9 hours ago, David Mack said:

Integral gas lockers drain directly through a hole in the hull side. Presumably yours has some sort of pipe or hose connection between the gas locker and a skin fitting.

I was joking, but yeah it drains onto the deck. 

[MrFish]

By any chance do you have a Cerbo GX fitted? If you do then you can connect the resistive gauge to the Cerbo to get a tank level display.

[blackrose]

Some of these ideas and bits of kit seem too complicated for the job. If you just want to know how much water is in your tank there are simpler solutions.

 

Here's mine, clear acrylic pipe fitted between the tank and the pump which is higher than the maximum water level in the tank. It's perfectly accurate and only required calibration once when I first fitted it 15 years ago. That meant timing how long it took to fill the tank from empty and then next time filling from the same tap and marking off 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 increments according to time - because my tank is integral and a bigger volume at the top. I don't bother with a float in the pipe as I can easily see the water level (it's just under the full mark in this picture as I filled the tank today).

 

It has a 15mm dia brass bleed screw taped to the top of the pipe which has to be kept closed otherwise the pump would suck the water out of the pipe (another reason I don't have a float, just in case I forget to close the bleed cap). To get an accurate level reading you just open the bleed screw when the pump isn't running. Once every few years I take the bleed cap off completely and use a plastic pipe cleaner to remove a small amount of green algae inside the pipe. It really doesn't grow that fast. I think I've probably cleaned it 4 times since I fitted it.

 

Edited April 7, 2023 by blackrose

[magnetman]

Why are the marks related to time rather than gravity? 

ETA got it. Irregular shaped tank. OK. 

[MrFish]

39 minutes ago, blackrose said:

Some of these ideas and bits of kit seem too complicated for the job. If you just want to know how much water is in your tank there are simpler solutions.

 

Here's mine, clear acrylic pipe fitted between the tank and the pump which is higher than the maximum water level in the tank. It's perfectly accurate and only required calibration once when I first fitted it 15 years ago. That meant timing how long it took to fill the tank from empty and then next time filling from the same tap and marking off 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 increments according to time - because my tank is integral and a bigger volume at the top. I don't bother with a float in the pipe as I can easily see the water level (it's just under the full mark in this picture as I filled the tank today).

 

It has a 15mm dia brass bleed screw taped to the top of the pipe which has to be kept closed otherwise the pump would suck the water out of the pipe (another reason I don't have a float, just in case I forget to close the bleed cap). To get an accurate level reading you just open the bleed screw when the pump isn't running. Once every few years I take the bleed cap off completely and use a plastic pipe cleaner to remove a small amount of green algae inside the pipe. It really doesn't grow that fast. I think I've probably cleaned it 4 times since I fitted it.

 

Used the exact same technique in building for years