ColinM50 Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 The water gauge in our Eldiss 196 is notoriously inaccurate. It shows full when any more than about 20 litres are in it and empty when less than that. We've run out a couple of times which is a bit inconvenient to say the least. So, since it's winter and it's parked in my garden and I'm a bit bored, I thought I'd fit a new gauge and at the same time fit a waste water gauge and some form of access to the freshwater tank for cleaning it. Caktanks do a gauge that looks as if it'll fit the bill https://leisurelines.net/twin-water-gauge-fresh--waste-2048-p.asp Strange, our previous m/h, a Swift lifestyle, had both gauges and they were fairly accurate and you could get into the freshwater tank via a cap on the top of the tank which was under the bed at the back. Surprising the amount of crud I cleaned out, hence my wish to access and clean the tank My Eldiss tanks are all underslung and though tricky it doesn't seem an insurmountable job to drop them out and cut a hole in the m/h floor for future access. Lying under the m/h to drop the tanks isn't going to be a bundle of fun in the cold but wiring in the gauges should be fairly straightforward. (He says with a straight face:-o *-) Anyone have any thoughts or pointers before I ruin the m/h? (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 I notice that you asked about tank cleaning a few months after you had obtained your Elddis Autoquest 196 Magnum GT https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Cleaning-the-waste-and-water-tanks/48130/ (By the way, there’s a confiict in your Profile that refers to a “Elddis 167”.) Regarding cleaning (and general access to the fresh-water tank's interior) you might explore fitting the type of product shown here http://www.hendersons.co.uk/boattank/Tank-access.html As this is a ‘marine’ access panel it should be fully watertight, allowing it to be fitted in the tank’s side. The CBE gauge was mentioned in this 2017 forum thread https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Water-tank-level-reading/48141/ The contents-level ‘probes’ sensor is more suitable for inboard tanks where, if the probes need cleaning (as they commonly do!) there’s usually an access hatch in the tank’s top that allows the probes to be reached. There are alternative systems that have multiple sensing '’studs’ in the side of the fresh-water tank (Auto-Trail have used this arrangement) but I’m not sure if that type of system is marketed for retro-fitting. If you can avoid removing the fresh-water and waste-water tanks (and especially avoid cutting holes in your motorhome’s floor) it would be sensible to do so, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanb Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Colin, Many years ago our first MH, a Pilote, had a similar system to that which you are considering. The electrodes for both fresh, and waste water tanks, were shortish (25mm?) M4 stainless steel machine screws which were fitted into the sides of the tanks using "Rubnuts". Over many years of ownership, I did not have any trouble with leaks from the fresh water tank which was inboard. This is similar to the waste water sensor electrodes used by the CBE gauge. The advantage of this system was that it did not need access to, and a hole in the top of the tank. The original fresh water indication LEDs were for Empty, 1/2, and Full. In the light of experience, I decided that 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 would be more suited to our use, fitted the necessary intermediate sensors, and relabelled the LEDs to suit. As the CBE gauge, to which you link shows all five levels, no problem there. I am wondering if the fresh water indication would work with the side of tank electrodes, instead of the supplied multiple electrode unit. This seems quite likely, and it could be proved with a simple test rig in a suitable plastic container. If sucessfull, you would not need to cut a large hole in the floor, or indeed in the top of the tank. My current PVC uses a CBE PC200 system, and I had to change the sensor a few years ago because of repeated calibration drift. The cover over the hole in the floor was tatty, and worse the hole in the top of the tank was perhaps 6mm or more too large. The unit had been sealed to the tank with large amounts of sealant. Not the sort of installation that I like to see. If you do have to mount the sensor in the top of the tank, you will need a correctly sized hole saw, or trepanning tool. I hope that these comments are helpful. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 The instructions for fitting the CBE MT214 tank check system can be read here https://tinyurl.com/y9jtuen5 As it says in the following CaravanTalk thread, the instructions are pretty minimalist https://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/topic/104476-cbe-water-tank-help/ I’m a mite doubtful that the CBE system would work properly with ‘studs’ instead of the probe unit (It was a ploy I considered but rejected due to the unknown factor involved) but studs are available if Colin chooses to try this. https://leisurelines.net/set-of-five-sensing-stud-water-tank-level-indicator-6377-p.asp Although it would be ideal to have a hole in the water-tank’s top that closely matched the diameter of the CBE probe-unit’s threaded section, the time-honoured approach of drilling a circle of small holes and then sawing them together should be adequate. I guess it’s worth highlighting that the probe-unit is clamped to the tank by a plastic nut that’s fitted from inside the tank, so there needs to be an access hatch to allow the nut to be fitted and tightened up (and to permit removal from the tank’s interior of the plastic swarf that the probe-unit installation will almost inevitably produce). I don’t know what type of water-level sensor Elddis would have used on Colin’s 2017 motorhome, but the drawing of the control-panel in the Elddis on-line handbook reminds me of my 1996-built Herald motorhome that had an adjustable ’swinging needle’ water-level gauge that was usable but could never be termed accurate. I would expect there to be an access hatch in Colin’s Elddis’s water tank already, but Sod’s Law will demand that the hatch be in the tank’s top and in a position where reaching the hatch by cutting a hole in the motorhome’s floor will be impracticable. (I would have thought that a water-level gauge that reads ‘full’ across a 20% to 100% water-contents range warrants an under-warranty claim.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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