A boat is a self contained, sometimes self sufficient floating home. We're mobile and therefore not connected to shore based utilities at times. Not only must we carry fuel for our engines, but tanks for water and waste as well.
Drift Away doesn't have a fuel gauge like a car does, but that's OK. We carry 800 gallons of diesel, which at 5 gallons an hour at 8 knots gives us a range of 1,280 nautical miles, which is almost 1,400 statute miles. There is plenty of time to top off the tanks between marinas. Still, though, I measure the level of fuel with a dip stick and record it in a book before each departure.
Water and waste are another matter. Although we carry 400 gallons of water, we can go through it at a prodigious rate if we do laundry aboard or if a guest takes a shower (boaters know how to take navy showers- turn on the water, get wet, turn the water off. Soap up, turn on the water, rinse off, turn off the water). It's important to know when we need to top off our water tanks, and since the tank's dip stick fitting is seized up, we had to remove the cover and look inside to check every few days.
Knowing the level of the waste tank is also very important. There is nothing worse than over filling your waste tank and having poop squirting out the air vent and into your dinghy. Don't ask how I know this (Andy).
I found an ideal solution to the tank level quandry at the Annapolis Sailboat Show last November- tank monitors from a company called Electrosense. You provide them with rough dimensions and a sketch of the shape of your tanks and they send you custom made sending units. Each uses stainless steel rods of varying lengths. When liquid reaches a stainless rod, a corresponding LED lights up on the display.
Ingenious!
I ordered a water/waste system while in Atlantic Highlands, NJ and asked them to hold the shipment until I reached Annapolis, which they did. I had other projects going on when I got here and didn't get to install them until today.
The first issue was the sending units. They're designed to fit a standard 1.5" NPT fitting. My boat doesn't have 1.5" NPT fittings since Cheoy Lee didn't install off the shelf plastic tanks. All the tanks use the boat's hull for walls and have fiberglass tops. Electrosense makes adapter plates but are too big for the limited space I had to install them. I could drill and tap the holes, but I priced a 1.5" NPT tap online and at $100 or more, decided I didn't need to tap the holes to screw in the sending units. I measured the sending unit and it seemed to be about 1.75" outside diameter, so I hied myself to Stevens Hardware and bought a 1.75" hole saw for my drill. I'd just drill the holes and bed the sending units in silicone.
The water tank is full, and I didn't want to contaminate our water since the water is turned off here at Mears Marina, so I pilfered a plastic container from the galley (don't tell Pam) and floated it under where I was going to drill.
I hooked up the cat 5 ethernet cable to test. Perfect. I repeated the same installation process for the waste tank. No, I did not float Pam's container in the waste tank. That would be wrong. Besides, I didn't care if fiberglass dust got in the waste tank.
Drift Away doesn't have a fuel gauge like a car does, but that's OK. We carry 800 gallons of diesel, which at 5 gallons an hour at 8 knots gives us a range of 1,280 nautical miles, which is almost 1,400 statute miles. There is plenty of time to top off the tanks between marinas. Still, though, I measure the level of fuel with a dip stick and record it in a book before each departure.
Water and waste are another matter. Although we carry 400 gallons of water, we can go through it at a prodigious rate if we do laundry aboard or if a guest takes a shower (boaters know how to take navy showers- turn on the water, get wet, turn the water off. Soap up, turn on the water, rinse off, turn off the water). It's important to know when we need to top off our water tanks, and since the tank's dip stick fitting is seized up, we had to remove the cover and look inside to check every few days.
Knowing the level of the waste tank is also very important. There is nothing worse than over filling your waste tank and having poop squirting out the air vent and into your dinghy. Don't ask how I know this (Andy).
I found an ideal solution to the tank level quandry at the Annapolis Sailboat Show last November- tank monitors from a company called Electrosense. You provide them with rough dimensions and a sketch of the shape of your tanks and they send you custom made sending units. Each uses stainless steel rods of varying lengths. When liquid reaches a stainless rod, a corresponding LED lights up on the display.
Ingenious!
I ordered a water/waste system while in Atlantic Highlands, NJ and asked them to hold the shipment until I reached Annapolis, which they did. I had other projects going on when I got here and didn't get to install them until today.
The first issue was the sending units. They're designed to fit a standard 1.5" NPT fitting. My boat doesn't have 1.5" NPT fittings since Cheoy Lee didn't install off the shelf plastic tanks. All the tanks use the boat's hull for walls and have fiberglass tops. Electrosense makes adapter plates but are too big for the limited space I had to install them. I could drill and tap the holes, but I priced a 1.5" NPT tap online and at $100 or more, decided I didn't need to tap the holes to screw in the sending units. I measured the sending unit and it seemed to be about 1.75" outside diameter, so I hied myself to Stevens Hardware and bought a 1.75" hole saw for my drill. I'd just drill the holes and bed the sending units in silicone.
The water tank is full, and I didn't want to contaminate our water since the water is turned off here at Mears Marina, so I pilfered a plastic container from the galley (don't tell Pam) and floated it under where I was going to drill.
This is looking down into my water tank with the cover removed. I slid the container under the hole location and drilled the hole.
I carefully shop-vac'ed up the dust outside, and stuck the nozzle inside to vacuum up the dust in the bowl. I removed the lid and slid the bowl to the side and inserted the sending unit. It was too big and wouldn't go in. I grabbed my Dremel with round sanding attachment and made the hole bigger.
Side note- please notice that the tank lid is labeled "water". None of the tanks were labeled, and when I bought Drift Away I spent many hours removing lids to see what was inside. Also note how many nuts hold down the lid.
The unit now fit. I gopped it up real good with clear silicone and stuck it in.
I hooked up the cat 5 ethernet cable to test. Perfect. I repeated the same installation process for the waste tank. No, I did not float Pam's container in the waste tank. That would be wrong. Besides, I didn't care if fiberglass dust got in the waste tank.
Next came the job of running two cat 5 cables from each tank up to the helm station. I was going to mount the display in the forward stateroom (which is now my workshop/attic/place to put things that have no place) but I know that one uses things inversely proportional to the effort required to use it, and so decided the helm station would be best. I don't need to get into the details here. Suffice to say that it took about an hour of drilling holes and sticking an unbent coat hanger with cables taped to it through various holes.
Finally, both cables were in the helm station. Now, where to put the display?
I hate drilling and cutting holes unless absolutely necessary. I looked around and saw an unused control switch for the old Sat Nav. This is an obsolete piece of electronics that I tossed last summer, but I kept the switch to cover the holes in the helm cabinet. I removed it, and it looked close. I stuck in the Electrosense display and it was a perfect fit!
The display would be mounted vertically instead of horizontally, but since I'd have to be on my hands and knees to read it anyway, it works.
I plugged the two cables into the back of the unit and tested it again. They were backwards, so I swapped them. Tip to Electrosense- cat 5 cables are available in different colors. When shipping a combo water/waste unit like mine, send two different color cables. It's a little thing, I know, but as a computer guy, I like order to the universe.
You might notice the 9 volt battery on the display. It is also available in a 12 or 24 volt hardwired unit. I opted for the battery display because I didn't know where I would mount it. As it turns out, I should have ordered the hardwired unit because it's right next to the electrical panel. but the battery should last for about a year, and replacing it is easy since the display isn't screwed in place, it's held with magnets.
I'm checking the water in the pic above. Note that the LEDs start at 50%. I carry 400 gallons of water. I don't really care when I'm down to 300. This display shows full, 50%, 30%, 20%, 10%, and empty.
The waste display is different. This unit shows empty, 10%, 50%, 70%, 80%, and full. Full is bad. Tip to Electrosense. Make the 80% LED yellow, and the full LED red. Or maybe brown.
Another victory, another victory beer.
Next up- replace the seized holding tank deck fitting and frozen holding tank gate valve. Yuck. I might make Sunday a lazy football day. Pam is still in Norwalk waiting for Ruby's bandages to come off her leg, so I can sit around in my underwear, drink beer and eat junk food and scratch anywhere I want.
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