Idea for freshwater level

B

Beflyguy

New member
Thinking about how to know the quantity left in the fresh water tank and I came up a couple of flow meters that should keep track of the water used and water remaining. I'm thinking that as long as the tank is filled and the system reset, this would be an accurate way to keep track. I don't know if the alarms integrated into these would be useful, since they work with large volumes.

Question: Which flow numbers would be best? Both of these are under $40 and are self powered.

FM-2
Min 0.08 g/min max 1.58 g/min
This has only 1/4" fittings but that might be enough.


or

DigiFlow Meter 6000R
Min 0.45 gpm Max 4.10 gpm
This one has 3/8" fittings.
 
I just put a little red ball in the plastic sight tube....and watch it go up and down... But more important... I also put a plastic vacuum cap over the end of the sight tube end....it is much to big so it only attaches on one side of the tube....prevents dirt from getting into the sight glass and then the water tank...

Joel
SEA3PO
 
SEA3PO":77y6fi33 said:
I just put a little red ball in the plastic sight tube....and watch it go up and down... But more important... I also put a plastic vacuum cap over the end of the sight tube end....it is much to big so it only attaches on one side of the tube....prevents dirt from getting into the sight glass and then the water tank...

Joel
SEA3PO
Click to expand...

I really wish I could do that in a Tomcat. Simpler is almost always better.
 
The Tom Cat has water tanks under the floor in the hulls--not sure which side this one is on--they have been put in both the STB and Pt hull.

A float stick type of sensor could be used or one of the level sensors which are used on RV's or larger boats--such as Tank Minder.

My guess, is that since both of these flow meters are made for filters that they may not be perticularly accurate for the boat water tank. If they are not too expensive, I suspose it might be a good experiment. The senor turbines are very susecptable to fouling--so a fine mesh filter is necessary right in front of the meter (or better yet, one of the water filters--but only for the drinking water...)--I believe that your Tom Cat also uses fresh water for the head flush.

I cannot explain why--but I have yet to run out of water in a boat. I carry a 5 gallon water can as a back up--and in case for some reason I have to abandon ship. But with hundreds of thousands of miles and thousands of days at sea--it seems that you build a sence of how much water you are using. Also you do have to adapt to very thrifty showers, often only a gallon or two. Cooking?--salt water is great for most uses; same for washing dishes--even in boats which we had 500 gallons of water and a 500 gallon a day water maker.

We have a second 30 gallon water tank for our Tom cat--but never found the need for it (it was going to be for the Bahamas, where water is pricey).
 
On our TomCat, we installed a SensaTank RV100 for our fresh water tank monitor. The detectors are mounted on the exterior of the front of the tank and the tank monitor display is mounted under the helm switches were it is convenient to see and easy to install. The monitor handles several other functions such as black water, grey water, and LPG, but we only use one function.

Bought ours from the local RV store. Companies web site is:

www.touchsensor.com

630-221-9000
 
All of the level gages and sight tubes are well and good - if you can find your tank ! On my 25 it is in the bow, probably on the port side. The entire area under the v-berth is foam filled, the only reason for that, on this boat may be noise reduction or MAYBE so it will rest on it's stern if it sinks.

I have one of the flow totalizers on order, we are not as good as some at water management, we can only go about 4 days - in the boat and the RV.
 
I have to admit I never prioritized this either. I can take a look under my starboard floor hatch (accessed under the sink) with a flashlight to see the water level. I use very little on a regular basis (hand washing or dish washing) but will add water if I'm planning an overnight.
 
Here's the best way to show the water level on a 2005 CD-25:

Water_Level_2.jpg

Cut a rectangular hole, since it makes more sense. The round hole offers a smaller view of the tank, but then I was going to install an access port, a wast of time. Finally removed the trim ring. Be careful, since the tank sits only ~1/2 in behind the bulkhead.

Cheap, kinda accurate and easy to read. Level depends on the boat's attitude, so have the boat trim where it sits in the water. The tank holds 23 gal.

Boris
 
I ordered the 6000R and a basic filter unit for about $50. I think this will be easy to install and pretty accurate.

1306.jpg
2833.jpg
 
Beflyguy":exxao5le said:
I ordered the 6000R and a basic filter unit for about $50. I think this will be easy to install and pretty accurate.
Click to expand...
What made you pick that one, and how did you get access to the tank? Also do you have a link to the filter?

Warren
 
Boris, was your under berth foam filled ? How did you figure out the tank was centered instead of on the port side ?

I ordered the 8000T Digiflow from here - http://tinyurl.com/27vsm33 appears to be the same as the 6000, except for a single filter. If it works, there will be another in the Leisure Travel, if it doesn't work- oh well.
 
toyman;

Well, the water hose comes from the front and the boat doesn't list when I add 23 gal of water so I figured it was in the center. I drilled a small hole so I could see up there, being careful not to go past the bulkhead. There it was!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, there was some foam between the tank and bulkhead. How much is in the rest of the bow is not of my knowledge. I thought that maybe it was used to give the tank some stability, cause there's a lot of volume up there.

Didn't they move the water tank to the stern lazarette at some poin

Boris
 
Doryman":1udhleo0 said:
Beflyguy":1udhleo0 said:
I ordered the 6000R and a basic filter unit for about $50. I think this will be easy to install and pretty accurate.
Click to expand...
What made you pick that one, and how did you get access to the tank? Also do you have a link to the filter?

Warren
Click to expand...
Here is the link to the filter kit. It is $14.29.

I measured the amount of flow out of a kitchen faucet over a measured time and decided that the flow of the FM-2 was too little for typical use. The 6000R may not turn on with a trickle but should better match the normal faucet and shower use. As far as I can tell the only difference between the 6000R and the 8000T-G is that the 6000R monitors up to 5 different "filters" for me, read that as "tanks".

The nice thing about this idea is that you don't need access to the tank, only the hose before or after the demand pump. I think I can install in 15 minutes. That is a very big incentive for me!

I'm actually thinking of using a separate one for the head, thinking that the flow of water in is at least proportional to the black water level......Still thinking about an Airhead or First Mate composter though.
 
Jay, where is your water fill ?

Anyone with an '06 KNOW where there tank is ? Is the '06 the same as the '05 ? 'As The World Turns' so do the the questions arise. :P
 
If you have the standard Tom Cat head, you can look right into the holding tank, since it is right below the valve--nasty perhaps--but if it gets full, you will know it. The holding tanks are only about 9 gallons. So you do have to manage this. I have the same size tank on my Road Trek RV--that is kept in Calif. I can go a bit over a week with careful use--and other facilities when necessary...

It will be interesting to see how all of these work out. I have had RV's continously (except the 4 years when we were cruising Europe) since 1962--and have had my share of the RV moniters. They work fairly well--but not always. There are lots of choices--and I guess that nothing is perfect.
 
Back
Top