Peggie:

I've got a SeaLand Tankwatch 4 monitor system for my holding tank. Lately,
the sending unit for the 1/2 full reading has become unreliable. When the
tank is half full, the gauge will read as such sometimes, but just as often
will not. When I know the tank is more than half full, I can rap on the top
of the Tankwatch cap with the handle of a screwdriver, and the 1/2 reading
will come to life.

The unit is acting as if either the float switch is being restricted from
its natural movement by grunge, or perhaps an unreliable electrical
connection. Due to other unrelated problems with the Tankwatch system, I've
had to replace the entire assembly twice in prior years. If it was an easy
job, I'd just remove the cap and examine and clean the reed switches to fix
this problem. The problem is that the manufacturer of my boat has buried
the holding tank in such a way that major surgery is required to access the
Tankwatch system. Having done it twice in the past, it's a several hour job
to gain access. A number of components have to be removed so the holding
tank can be moved to gain access. It's a big job.

I spoke this morning with Bill Friedman (great guy) at Dometic. He
suggested as a preliminary approach, to try and break up any debris that
might be restricting the movement of the float switch. He thinks there
might be dedicated chemicals to do such a thing, but couldn't recall any by
name. His recommendation was liquid laundry detergent. Fill the tank just
above half full, flush a small bottle of detergent into the tank, and let
things slosh around a while. Sounds like a reasonable approach to me,
rather than immediately committing myself to performing the surgery required
to gain access to the tank.

The boat is about six and a half years old, I've only used K.O. as a
treatment in the tank, and after pumping out the tank, I always fill it with
water half full and pump it again as a rinse. The head is a Vacu-Flush. Do
you have any thoughts to add or recommendations for an approach to this
issue?

Thanks,

Russ

RG wrote:

Peggie:

I've got a SeaLand Tankwatch 4 monitor system for my holding tank. Lately,
the sending unit for the 1/2 full reading has become unreliable....

It's not any chemical buildup--you haven't used any chemicals. The
sender(s) are coated/clogged with the animal fats that are present in
waste. Detergent is the right cure, but it'll take a strong
detergent/water solution, not just a small bottle of it...and while it's
only the 1/2 sender that's malfunctioning now, the 3/4 and FULL are sure
to be next...so you'll need to fill the tank to do the whole job. I'd
use 2 gallons in a 40 gal. tank. Take the boat out and do what it takes
to agitate the solution for an hour or more...then let the solution sit
in the tank for a few days. If anything short of removing the sending
unit to clean 'em manually is gonna work at all, that's the only that
will. And it may not.

So my suggestion: bite the bullet and do what it takes to gain access to
the tank one last time and replace the guage with this one:
http://www.ferriellosales.com/ The sender--unless your tank is
metal--goes on the outside of the tank, so it can never get clogged.

A little background on this company..it's new. Dennis Ferriello was the
national sales manager for Snake River Electronics for a number of
years...he and Snake River came to a parting of ways recently...Dennis
started his own competing company. He also took both the Snake River
engineers with him. Their website is a bit "woofy" (painfully obviously
homemade)...but don't be put off by that...he's put his $$ into
designing and making tank level monitors that are far superior to Snake
River's instead of paying for glitzy web design. And it's paying
off...he's already captured a major segment of the OEM market, and word
of mouth is already creating a growning market among boat owners. I've
known Dennis for about 10 years. He's always been committed to quality,
and I'm glad to recommend his products.



--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
. com...
RG wrote:

Peggie:

I've got a SeaLand Tankwatch 4 monitor system for my holding tank.
Lately, the sending unit for the 1/2 full reading has become
unreliable....

It's not any chemical buildup--you haven't used any chemicals. The
sender(s) are coated/clogged with the animal fats that are present in
waste. Detergent is the right cure, but it'll take a strong
detergent/water solution, not just a small bottle of it...and while it's
only the 1/2 sender that's malfunctioning now, the 3/4 and FULL are sure
to be next...so you'll need to fill the tank to do the whole job. I'd use
2 gallons in a 40 gal. tank. Take the boat out and do what it takes to
agitate the solution for an hour or more...then let the solution sit in
the tank for a few days. If anything short of removing the sending unit to
clean 'em manually is gonna work at all, that's the only that will. And it
may not.

So my suggestion: bite the bullet and do what it takes to gain access to
the tank one last time and replace the guage with this one:
http://www.ferriellosales.com/ The sender--unless your tank is
metal--goes on the outside of the tank, so it can never get clogged.

A little background on this company..it's new. Dennis Ferriello was the
national sales manager for Snake River Electronics for a number of
years...he and Snake River came to a parting of ways recently...Dennis
started his own competing company. He also took both the Snake River
engineers with him. Their website is a bit "woofy" (painfully obviously
homemade)...but don't be put off by that...he's put his $$ into designing
and making tank level monitors that are far superior to Snake River's
instead of paying for glitzy web design. And it's paying off...he's
already captured a major segment of the OEM market, and word of mouth is
already creating a growning market among boat owners. I've known Dennis
for about 10 years. He's always been committed to quality, and I'm glad to
recommend his products.



Thanks, Peggie. I'll try the detergent approach first, and see if I get
lucky. In the meantime, I've spoken to Dennis on the phone, and have
downloaded the instruction manuals on his products from his website. The
concern I have with his product is whether or not it is compatible with my
existing display and the wiring from the tank to the display. Sea Ray uses
its own display, wired to the Tankwatch sending units. From what I can
tell, Dennis' sender works on a variable voltage system, whereas the
Tankwatch system works on an on/off continuity system. My existing panel is
integrated into my electrical panel, and I'm not sure I've got room to mount
an additional readout panel elsewhere. And running new wiring from the tank
to the cabin of the boat is out of the question. But I'll study his
materials and go from there. If you have any comments on using Dennis'
sender with my existing wiring and readout panel, I'd be happy to hear them.
My existing readout panel recognizes four states of condition:

1. Empty: Just what you'd think

2. No readout (except for power on): More than empty, but less than 1/2
full.

3. 1/2 Full: More than 1/2 full, but less than full.

4. Full: Game over.

Thanks again,

Russ

I just called Dennis too...he said: you can use the existing
wiring...just take one of the existing wires and designate it as power
from the panel to the sensor, designate one as a ground, and the third
as a signal wire. The only part you'd have to replace is the display
panel--which I THINK is a little smaller than the TW panel, in which
case it becomes easy: Using a piece of wood, lexan, acrylic--whatever
matches--treat it as if you were matting a picture in a frame and put it
where the TW panel is. If it's a bit larger, mount it on top of the TW
panel. Or, there's space on the electrical panel, create a new cutout
for it.

However you solve that problem, it's easy to do if you give it a little
thought.

Peggie


RG wrote:

"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
. com...

RG wrote:


Peggie:

I've got a SeaLand Tankwatch 4 monitor system for my holding tank.
Lately, the sending unit for the 1/2 full reading has become
unreliable....

It's not any chemical buildup--you haven't used any chemicals. The
sender(s) are coated/clogged with the animal fats that are present in
waste. Detergent is the right cure, but it'll take a strong
detergent/water solution, not just a small bottle of it...and while it's
only the 1/2 sender that's malfunctioning now, the 3/4 and FULL are sure
to be next...so you'll need to fill the tank to do the whole job. I'd use
2 gallons in a 40 gal. tank. Take the boat out and do what it takes to
agitate the solution for an hour or more...then let the solution sit in
the tank for a few days. If anything short of removing the sending unit to
clean 'em manually is gonna work at all, that's the only that will. And it
may not.

So my suggestion: bite the bullet and do what it takes to gain access to
the tank one last time and replace the guage with this one:
http://www.ferriellosales.com/ The sender--unless your tank is
metal--goes on the outside of the tank, so it can never get clogged.

A little background on this company..it's new. Dennis Ferriello was the
national sales manager for Snake River Electronics for a number of
years...he and Snake River came to a parting of ways recently...Dennis
started his own competing company. He also took both the Snake River
engineers with him. Their website is a bit "woofy" (painfully obviously
homemade)...but don't be put off by that...he's put his $$ into designing
and making tank level monitors that are far superior to Snake River's
instead of paying for glitzy web design. And it's paying off...he's
already captured a major segment of the OEM market, and word of mouth is
already creating a growning market among boat owners. I've known Dennis
for about 10 years. He's always been committed to quality, and I'm glad to
recommend his products.




Thanks, Peggie. I'll try the detergent approach first, and see if I get
lucky. In the meantime, I've spoken to Dennis on the phone, and have
downloaded the instruction manuals on his products from his website. The
concern I have with his product is whether or not it is compatible with my
existing display and the wiring from the tank to the display. Sea Ray uses
its own display, wired to the Tankwatch sending units. From what I can
tell, Dennis' sender works on a variable voltage system, whereas the
Tankwatch system works on an on/off continuity system. My existing panel is
integrated into my electrical panel, and I'm not sure I've got room to mount
an additional readout panel elsewhere. And running new wiring from the tank
to the cabin of the boat is out of the question. But I'll study his
materials and go from there. If you have any comments on using Dennis'
sender with my existing wiring and readout panel, I'd be happy to hear them.
My existing readout panel recognizes four states of condition:

1. Empty: Just what you'd think

2. No readout (except for power on): More than empty, but less than 1/2
full.

3. 1/2 Full: More than 1/2 full, but less than full.

4. Full: Game over.

Thanks again,

Russ



--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304