BigGuy82
Well-known member
OK - we all know the water on the side of the tank trick or how to set the valves so that when one tank dies we can run outside on a cold rainy night and switch the valves over. We all know that pressure gauges are meaningless. What to do? Try something new, which is what the MOPEKA Untrasound sensor is. This setup accurately tells you how much propane is in each tank at any time by using ultrasound technology to measure the actual liquid level. I know it works because I installed it and while it's only been in a short time, it accurately read one full tank and the other that was a little less than 3/4 full. Anyone can install this thing, it uses bluetooth wireless and requires absolutely no wiring. It costs less than $100 on Amazon. You can use a SmartPhone app to monitor the level or, as I did, you can use the wireless monitor that fits easily with two small screws into your coach control panel. It works with 20, 30 or 40 LB tanks.
Installation:
Operation:
Cheap and easy to install. In my book, this is a little bit of technology that can't be beat. Reliability remains to be seen, but the manufacturer did tell me that the CR2032 batteries should last about a year, depending on environment. If you want to read a review and see a bunch of pictures, the February 2017 issue of Trailer Life covered the product on page 53. Here's the web page: www.mopeka.com .
Installation:
- calibrate the sensors to the receiving device (SmartPhone or monitor) - took all of two minutes - literally
- remove the tanks from your coach and mark one tank 1 and the other tank 2 - doesn't matter which side they are on, as long as you know where the numbered tanks are
- flip the tank over and install the magnetic sending unit to the bottom, squarely in the center. The better it's centered, the more accurate the reading
- the sensor sticks out just a tiny bit from the bottom of the tank, but it's enough to crush it. To solve this, the manufacturer provides three hard plastic/rubber feet that slip over the bottom rim.
- (I don't like these as I don't think they are robust enough. Instead, I went to Home Depot and got some white flat plastic strips that are about 3/16" thick and an inch wide. I made a square plastic frame that just fit inside the bottom angle iron mounting bracket for each tank. It is just large enought to fit inside the angle iron and they were easy to build with a little epoxy)
- Put the tank back in the coach and hook it up
- mount the monitor (if you use it instead of a SmartPhone) on the panel of your coach
Operation:
- send a read command from your phone or a push button on the monitor. This sends a signal to the sensor on the requested tank, causing an unltrasound pulse to measure the liquid level which is then sent back to the monitor or phone
- LED's for each tank (on the monitor - a graphics display on your phone) indicate the level
Cheap and easy to install. In my book, this is a little bit of technology that can't be beat. Reliability remains to be seen, but the manufacturer did tell me that the CR2032 batteries should last about a year, depending on environment. If you want to read a review and see a bunch of pictures, the February 2017 issue of Trailer Life covered the product on page 53. Here's the web page: www.mopeka.com .