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water meters


Sunsoup

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Hey up boating folk,

 

I'm toying with the idea of fitting a water meter so I can keep an eye on my water usage and then fill up before I get caught out, have any of you boating parishioners fitted one? If so what is the best type? And are they safe to use on the drinking water pipes, or do they harbour bugs?

 

Cheers in advance.

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Sunsoup, on 11 Nov 2014 - 4:21 PM, said:

Hey up boating folk,

 

I'm toying with the idea of fitting a water meter so I can keep an eye on my water usage and then fill up before I get caught out, have any of you boating parishioners fitted one? If so what is the best type? And are they safe to use on the drinking water pipes, or do they harbour bugs?

 

Cheers in advance.

 

I'm sure you will find that domestic (house) water goes through a water meter without any issues.

 

They are only accurate to about 100 litres.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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I use one of these to measure how much is in the tank. It measures the level by the pressure. The one I have is the liquid Crystal vertical one. Very easy to fit and if you don't have a handy electrical supply you could run it off a dry cell battery like 2 lantern batteries.

 

http://mcsboatproducts.co.uk/portfolio/fresh-water-gauge/

 

http://mcsboatproducts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fresh_water.png

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I use one of these to measure how much is in the tank. It measures the level by the pressure. The one I have is the liquid Crystal vertical one. Very easy to fit and if you don't have a handy electrical supply you could run it off a dry cell battery like 2 lantern batteries.

 

http://mcsboatproducts.co.uk/portfolio/fresh-water-gauge/

 

http://mcsboatproducts.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/fresh_water.png

 

I have one of those too. If you place it where mine is, up forward next to the fresh water pump, you'll have a ready source of 12v to the pump. Doesn't really matter if it doesn't work when the pump is electrically isolated at it's master switch, nor if the reading is affected when the pump runs when a tap is opened. With power to the pump and no demand, ie most of the time, the gauge will show your tank level. Easy to calibrate too - never been caught out yet. A similar gauge on the holding tank is a slightly less reliable beast.....!

 

ETA 'less' before reliable - it's an experience I was trying to forget!

Edited by Sea Dog
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Mine's cheap and nasty (home made) but does the job:-

 

A 'T' in the feed from the tank joined to

an elbow below where I wanted to see -

a piece of larger bore clear plastic pipe,

with a small fishing float in it.

 

Calibrate it by marking a line on the tube when the tank is empty and full. It's by the step onto the front deck so that I can see when it's full, rather than waiting for the filling pipe to gush all over the deck.

 

Cost - about a fiver (well it was some years ago)

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Mine's cheap and nasty (home made) but does the job:-

 

A 'T' in the feed from the tank joined to

an elbow below where I wanted to see -

a piece of larger bore clear plastic pipe,

with a small fishing float in it.

 

Calibrate it by marking a line on the tube when the tank is empty and full. It's by the step onto the front deck so that I can see when it's full, rather than waiting for the filling pipe to gush all over the deck.

 

Cost - about a fiver (well it was some years ago)

 

I did the same, but I didn't bother with the float. My eyes aren't that bad yet.

 

It's also possible to mark off some calibrated filling increments (1/4, 1/2, 3/4), by timing how long it takes to fill the tank at a constant rate and then the next time you fill it (from empty) you can mark off the increments on the pipe at the appropriate times. If you just marked off the pipe using equal distances you wouldn't be taking into account the irregular shape of the tank.

 

It's the most accurate water meter you can have - it always reads the exact level.

 

CAM00295_zps11038c12.jpg

 

I taped a 15mm bleed valve on top. The valve stays shut until you want to read the meter and then you just open the valve (without the pump running) and it instantly tells you the water level in the tank.

 

P1000276.jpg

Edited by blackrose
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Hey up boating folk,

 

I'm toying with the idea of fitting a water meter so I can keep an eye on my water usage and then fill up before I get caught out, have any of you boating parishioners fitted one? If so what is the best type? And are they safe to use on the drinking water pipes, or do they harbour bugs?

 

Cheers in advance.

 

We have one fitted on Melaleuca. Brilliant piece of kit. We note the reading when we fill up, and then know to within ten litres how much water we have. With a bit of observation, the meter will teach you how much water a cycle of the washing machine or a five minute shower uses, so it's always easy to answer "Do we have enough water too ....." questions.

 

I bought the meter from BES, something like part no 11356 on http://www.bes.co.uk/products/102.asp. Meters sold for "secondary metering" don't have the long-term accuracy of those used to calculate water bills, I guess, but are fine for this application and half the price. I read "Suitable for domestic applications" as being OK on the harbouring-bugs issue. If you're really worried about, start by worrying about the hosepipe you use to fill the tank.

 

MP.

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I built an electronic one that uses a pressure sensor out of a washing machine to measure the water depth. It's also got some clever software that tries to guestimate the size and shape of the tank. Works well though it can sometimes get a bit confused and needs a hard reset.

 

We also have the other system which is related to how tender the boat is in the water. We're only 40' and when the tank is nearly empty the boat is more tender than when its full.

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Couldn't you just dip a stick in the tank every few days?

Not on mine either. The dipstick would hit the inside of the hull before it reached the bottom of the tank.

 

Anyway it's nice to have a meter inside to see whether you need to go outside to do a job, rather than go outside and do a job to see whether you need to do another job (if you get my drift). Let's face it, if you're going to the bother of dipping the tank then you may as well just fill it up!

Edited by blackrose
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