tank sensors - Montana Owners Club

Windrunner98 · 03-05-2018, 10:19 AM

I have a2016 3160 RL Montana. Like everbody's lament the tank sensors for the gray and black tanks do not indicate their true volume at any one time. I have come across replacement sensors that indicate they would ive true readings at any one time. My question is how difficult (or easy) is it to gain access to the current tank sensors.

Eagleback · 03-05-2018, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windrunner98

I have a2016 3160 RL Montana. Like everbody's lament the tank sensors for the gray and black tanks do not indicate their true volume at any one time. I have come across replacement sensors that indicate they would ive true readings at any one time. My question is how difficult (or easy) is it to gain access to the current tank sensors.

There are two kinds of sensors. Ones that fail and ones that are going to fail.
You can access them by lowering the underbelly. We have had 4 campers and all the sensors have failed after awhile, except maybe the fresh water tank.

Mudchief · 03-05-2018, 11:18 AM

On the dropped front part of the trailer if you drop the back part of the belly the sensors are right there.

scattershot · 03-05-2018, 11:24 AM

More trouble than it’s worth, to me anyway. Our black tank reads full after we have dumped it. We just ignore it, amd when we get a burp when we flush, we know it’s time. If you hang around here long enough, you will find that it’s an almost universal problem.

BuilderBob · 03-05-2018, 02:29 PM

As scattershot just said you can or change them & the problem just comes back get used to it.The only sensors that some what work are sea level sensors & that isn't a 100%.

Bob & Carol
Washington St
2017 352RL 2008 Dodge 3500 DRW CC LB 4x4 6.7L
Happy Trails

richfaa · 03-05-2018, 02:42 PM

After years of Rv'ing we know that with the two of us we dump the black tank every 4 days.We DO NOT let them burp as that means they are really full and these tanks have been known to burst standing on a lot when full.

**DQDick** · 03-05-2018, 03:55 PM

On our old unit we installed outside the tank sensors and they worked most of the time just fine. You could get a coating of grease on the kitchen one and it wouldn't read right till you got the grease off the wall of the tank. What i found though was that it was, for us a waste of money, since we know what our useage is and when to dump so i never looked at them after the first couple of times.

JohnG · 06-15-2018, 10:58 AM

I know this thread is a little old but can you explain what this "burp" is to me? Our panel has two grey and two black tank indicators, and I can't imagine I actually have 4 tanks (Mountaineer 337RET). None of the indicators seem to indicate correctly, so as far as I'm concerned they are useless. I don't necessarily want to wait until this "burp" occurs, but if it does get that full, I'd like to know what this "burp" is like so if I hit that level I'll know what it is.

BuilderBob · 06-15-2018, 11:29 AM

You would only have Two black tanks it you have Two bathrooms with toilets. The burp is just like it sounds it's kind a like the water is backing up but it's not you can kind of see it to when you flush the toilet.

**Carl n Susan** · 06-15-2018, 11:29 AM

As an economy measure and for simplicity of assembly, Montana uses the same tank sensor guage on all its RVs. Some model have two black tanks which is why the your gauge indicates there are two black tanks. Your model only has one black tank and you can ignore the second black tank indicator.

When you flush a toilet bowl of liquid, it displaces an equal amount of air from the tank. The displaced air normally goes up the vent pipe. However when the tank is near full the existing liquid gets close to the bottom of the vent stack making it harder for the dispalced air to escape. Consequently, you will experience a burp (i.e. a gust of air up through toilet) which indicates it is near time to dump.

richfaa · 06-15-2018, 11:33 AM

The indicators never work.The "burp" to me is gross it occurs when the black tank is so full that air will escape from the tank. I don't think I want my black tank filled to the brim.

If you are on hook ups why would you wait till the tank got that full.We dump every 3 or four days.It takes maybe 20 mins out of our busy retired day.

Example at Quartzsite there are no hookups however it is easy to have the honey wagon at your site to dump .

JohnG · 06-15-2018, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richfaa

If you are on hook ups why would you wait till the tank got that full.We dump every 3 or four days.It takes maybe 20 mins out of our busy retired day.

I won't be waiting until they are full by any means, this stuff is all new to us so I'm just trying to learn. We are also boaters and our cruiser has a 55 gallon black water tank in it. We can go a LOT longer than 3-4 days and the tank won't be anywhere near full. I'm just trying to arrive at a level that is enough to adequately flush the tank when dumped, but not so full that I get more than about 2/3-3/4 full before dumping. And of course I'm trying to figure this out without working sensors. Thanks for the input everyone, I'll monitor it and see if I can arrive at a reasonable usage for us before dumping.

jeffba · 06-15-2018, 12:46 PM

on our SOB witha smaller tank we could go 11-12 days on the black tank. I and figuring we can go 14-15 days on our Monty. which is right at about the length of a vacation.

richfaa · 06-15-2018, 12:57 PM

You get a feel for it after you use the Rv for awhile.If you are new to it everything is a learning experience.There are just the two of us and we do not skimp on water usage as that is a major cause of tank problems IE: the poop pile. We are on hookups 98% of the time so we can dump anytime we want to. We leave the gray and galley tanks open and only fill them for a good flush about once a months or so.We of course leave the black tank closed. We Know that after 4 days we need to flush the black tank and it is not near full. Experiment with your usage and you will find a dump schedule that meets your needs. We are long timers so we use the Montana a lot and live in it for long periods of time

CaptnJohn · 06-15-2018, 02:21 PM

JohnG I worry less about the tank in my boat. Main reason it is pumped out, not gravity slid out. I have to watch the gray tank as my wife will run the washer, loves her separate washer and dryer. Black is every 4 - 5 days and making certain there is a good amount in the gray as I leave the galley gray open.

Ishler · 06-16-2018, 04:26 AM

You can replace the existing sensors with Horst sensors. They make replacements for both black and gray tanks. The fit the existing holes and don't give false readings.

snowtrax · 06-16-2018, 04:59 AM

I am replacing my tank sensors with the SeeLevel system from Garnet Instruments. They are non contact, mounted outside the tanks and easy to install. These are standard equipment on the VanLeigh Vilano fifth wheels (made by Tiffin). I have talked with several Vilano owners and they report very high accuracy on the gauges even after 2 years. Most RV towable manufacturers use the KIB system which is an internal, contact based system that is inexpensive and generally very inaccurate. In other words "you get what you pay for". I purchased my SeeLevel system from RV Upgrade for about $238 (complete system for 4 tanks - 2 black, 1 gray & 1 fresh). Will be installing between camping trips this summer.
See link: https://www.garnetinstruments.com/rv-shop/

jeffba · 06-16-2018, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowtrax

I am replacing my tank sensors with the SeeLevel system from Garnet Instruments. They are non contact, mounted outside the tanks and easy to install. These are standard equipment on the VanLeigh Vilano fifth wheels (made by Tiffin). I have talked with several Vilano owners and they report very high accuracy on the gauges even after 2 years. Most RV towable manufacturers use the KIB system which is an internal, contact based system that is inexpensive and generally very inaccurate. In other words "you get what you pay for". I purchased my SeeLevel system from RV Upgrade for about $238 (complete system for 4 tanks - 2 black, 1 gray & 1 fresh). Will be installing between camping trips this summer.
See link: https://www.garnetinstruments.com/rv-shop/

What size sensors did you get?
thanks

snowtrax · 06-16-2018, 05:43 PM

I got the standard kit (709-4) which includes 12" sensors. The sensors can be cut to smaller tanks.

jeffba · 06-16-2018, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowtrax

I am replacing my tank sensors with the SeeLevel system from Garnet Instruments. They are non contact, mounted outside the tanks and easy to install. These are standard equipment on the VanLeigh Vilano fifth wheels (made by Tiffin). I have talked with several Vilano owners and they report very high accuracy on the gauges even after 2 years. Most RV towable manufacturers use the KIB system which is an internal, contact based system that is inexpensive and generally very inaccurate. In other words "you get what you pay for". I purchased my SeeLevel system from RV Upgrade for about $238 (complete system for 4 tanks - 2 black, 1 gray & 1 fresh). Will be installing between camping trips this summer.
See link: https://www.garnetinstruments.com/rv-shop/

Also interested to see how you install the panel.

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