Replacing tank gauges.

[rbpru]

Are gray water and black water gauges hard to replace or adjust?

Mine will not go below 1/3 full even when the tanks are empty and the TT is level.

Can they be shimmed or otherwise ajusted? Are they float operated.

[2Macs]

Is it the black tank that shows 1/3 full all of the time or is the gray tank also included. I had this problem on my black tank and all it needed was a good cleaning.

When we went on a camping trip, I filled the black tank 1/3 full, then dumped a bag of ice from the local convenience store into it. As we traveled, the ice and water sloshing around in the tank cleaned the sensors.

When we got to the campground, I emptied the black tank before setting up and the sensor was reading empty. Have not had a problem since.

[thib2722]

I've owned many rigs, and they all had the same sensors, which are basically short metal rods that probe into the tank. The sensors have never been reliable measurement devices. The black tank is the first to go. Any sort of trash (and there's plenty trash in that tank) that attaches to the probes will cause it to misread.

I just live with it. As the salesman at the RV place told me, they use the same sensors in some of the big RVs (that costs over $100G) and it's the same problem. Oh, well. When the toilet looks full, we dump. We rarely dry camp, so it's not a problem for us.

[MitchF150]

As long as my "FULL" level still works, I don't really care what the "1/2" or "1/4" levels say when I know I just emptied the tank.

Besides, I carry a full fresh water tank all the time (30 gal) and use it first, even if I'm at a full hookup site... My gray and black tanks are 30 gal EACH, so I pretty much know I'm not going to fill either tank with my full water tank.. 🙂

I only go on 4 day weekend camping trips, so 30 gal is more than enough for 2 of us.. No showers, as our shower is a "closet" now... 🙂 If I need to take a shower, I'll pay a buck fifty and use the State Parks facilities.. 🙂 If they don't have a shower, I'll take a nice sponge bath and be just fine...

I love taking long, hot showers... Who doesn't?? But, when I'm "camping", that's not something I really care about doing.... Heck, I'm "CAMPING", right?? 😉

Each to their own...

Mitch

[kmbernstein]

One of the warranty issues we had with our new Koala was with the tank sensors. It read full all the time. Before we took the unit in for warranty repairs, we just learned to live without using them. Within a couple of trips, I learned how the tanks sounded as they filled, and planned dumping as needed. The sensors have since been repaired, and, surprisingly, we seldom use them....we still listen for the sounds of a filling tank as we use the water and toilet.

[tvman44]

Why n9ot lengthen the cable and mount on another side of the tank? 🙂

[cekkk]

Mine work fine. All the lights light all the time! LOL

[classicdude]

I bought Horst sensors but was unable to install for reasons stated in my first post (no room to drill, too difficult to drop tanks). I think they would have been a great solution. My factory sensors were glued or plastic welded into place and required drilling new holes, so that was the killer of that project. The Horst rep did tell me they were coming out with a new type that were externally mounted, but I've resigned myself just to get by with the factory set up.

[wmoses]

myredracer wrote:
We had Horst Miracle probes in a previous TT. False readings were gone. We are just getting our dealer to install them in our new TT. I'd do it myself but it's got an enclosed underbelly.

Heheh ... until your post I was wondering if my post on the Horst installation was invisible. 😉

The Horst probes are the solution. So far I have not needed to complain about my standard button probles since the BW tank has a washing system and the readings are still pretty good. Grey water is typically not an issue (as much) but the way I look at it, if I were changing the BW to Horst I would also change out the grey water probes at the same time.

[myredracer]

False readings with the standard button sensors are normal and if you don't have false readings, then something is broken, lol.

If you look at Old-Biscuit's photo, you can see that the lowest sensor (the common) is close to the same elevation as the 1/3 sensor and it does not take much slime built up on the wall of the tank to create a false reading. The right cleaner will fix this, but not permanently. Those sensors suck.... For really stubborn buildup, consider Liquid Drano - the version that does not attack metal. It will end up like new inside. We had to use it once, and man, does it ever work.

Even if those sensors do work, they don't represent 1/3, 2/3 & full with any accuracy.

We had Horst Miracle probes in a previous TT. False readings were gone. We are just getting our dealer to install them in our new TT. I'd do it myself but it's got an enclosed underbelly.

[puravidadon]

Check out these replacements. http://www.rvgauge.com/rv.htm

[DB2BRMI]

LynnandCarol wrote:
They are all junk and destined to die. Learn to live without them. Cuz eventually you will.

________________

+1. When the instrumentation quits (and it will) you will learn to fly "visual".

DRB

[robsouth]

LynnandCarol wrote:
They are all junk and destined to die. Learn to live without them. Cuz eventually you will.

Amen to that!

[LynnandCarol]

They are all junk and destined to die. Learn to live without them. Cuz eventually you will.

[Old-Biscuit]

Easy to replace........just a rubber bung that slips into hole in tank and then the bung is compressed as you tighten screw. That's the easy part.

Access to them is the hard part.......
Underbelly of trailer covered.then that has to be removed
Tank installed up high, next to frame, next to other stuff......can be hard to get to the probes (factory guys get to install them prior to tank going into place)

Probes get cruddy.......always showing level.

4 probes
2 lower ones......ground probe and 1/3
middle probe.......2/3
top probe.........full



There are other styles available......don't protrude thru tank wall, $$$ and you still have to have access

I haven't looked at our tank level monitor for over 6 yrs. Don't care.
Toilet burbs....time to dump
Sink/shower start to drain slower than normal....time to dump