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Old 04-21-2020, 06:25 PM   #1
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Tank (black, Gray) indicators on newer Winnebagoes

Hi all.
I just want to ask what everyone with newer Winnie's think of the black and gray tank sensors. My Intent tanks indicators suck. And we don't even put TP down the black tank, and even use grease cutting dish soap. But they are so erratic that really can't believe them. Even done an electrical trouble shoot check and yep they are reporting properly. Just the sensors are not cleaning themselves.

So if yours are working properly, what's the secret?

Thanks
Denny
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Old 04-21-2020, 06:35 PM   #2
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Hi Denny - It can be many things, but a couple of quick thoughts on what we have personally run into... If you have anything up against the tanks in your storage areas it can fool the sensors. If you run too much dish soap through the tanks (black or gray), the bubbles (suds) can fool the tanks - particularly after driving. When we have had that happen, we had to flush the tanks multiple times to get everything working normally again.
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Old 04-21-2020, 06:35 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by K9AEG View Post
Hi all.
I just want to ask what everyone with newer Winnie's think of the black and brown tank sensors. My Intent tanks indicators suck. And we don't even put TP down the black tank, and even use grease cutting dish soap. But they are so erratic that really can't believe them. Even done an electrical trouble shoot check and yep they are reporting properly. Just the sensors are not cleaning themselves.

So if yours are working properly, what's the secret?

Thanks
Denny
Hey Denny,
We had the same issue. Grey water tank sensors always showing 2/3rds full, when empty.
There are a lot of home remedies out there, that some say work well.
This worked for us. One treatment and all tanks read empty now.
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Old 04-21-2020, 08:29 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by IOS 3 View Post
Hi Denny - It can be many things, but a couple of quick thoughts on what we have personally run into... If you have anything up against the tanks in your storage areas it can fool the sensors. If you run too much dish soap through the tanks (black or gray), the bubbles (suds) can fool the tanks - particularly after driving. When we have had that happen, we had to flush the tanks multiple times to get everything working normally again.
ISO3, I don't think any of the above qualifies for my problem. Nothing is near sensors and we usually dump twice a week even before driving the unit. Thanks though for your input..
Denny
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Old 04-29-2020, 04:13 PM   #5
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They usually don’t work correctly. Get a SeeLevel system by Garnet Industries and you can even use the existing wiring. I did this several years ago and they work perfectly. Don’t waste your time trying to fix a system that has never been reliable. The only thing it has been is cheap and trouble prone. This is one of the most commonly brought up questions. There are thousands of posts about this.
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Old 04-29-2020, 04:48 PM   #6
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They usually don’t work correctly. Get a SeeLevel system by Garnet Industries and you can even use the existing wiring. I did this several years ago and they work perfectly. Don’t waste your time trying to fix a system that has never been reliable. The only thing it has been is cheap and trouble prone. This is one of the most commonly brought up questions. There are thousands of posts about this.
Will check into this Harley... thanks
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Old 04-29-2020, 04:49 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Wyatt View Post
Hey Denny,
We had the same issue. Grey water tank sensors always showing 2/3rds full, when empty.
There are a lot of home remedies out there, that some say work well.
This worked for us. One treatment and all tanks read empty now.
Thanks Wyatt. Will look at this...
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Old 04-29-2020, 05:08 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by 09 harley View Post
They usually don’t work correctly. Get a SeeLevel system by Garnet Industries and you can even use the existing wiring. I did this several years ago and they work perfectly. Don’t waste your time trying to fix a system that has never been reliable. The only thing it has been is cheap and trouble prone. This is one of the most commonly brought up questions. There are thousands of posts about this.
Interesting, how does one use the existing wiring? This looks like a whole new system?
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Old 04-29-2020, 05:52 PM   #9
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I gave up and upgraded to See Level sensors. Not cheap or easy upgrade but they work. I know within a gallon or two just how much is in my tanks; gray, black, fresh and propane. I mounted the panel over the existing one after doing some metallurgic precision surgery on the old panel and had to do some rewiring of the water pump and water heater LEDs. Not recommended unless you are pretty handy with tools or want to hire someone who is. They would not be cheap labor either.
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Old 04-30-2020, 07:05 PM   #10
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I am fed up as well with the inaccuracy of the holding tank sensors. I am going with Seelevel sensors. But in regards to the installation, did you cut out the LED panel ad mount the new seelevel panel there? Did you go with the new water pump and Hot water switches or use the old ones? Trying to figure out the best way to go. Thanks if anyone has any inputs. Glad we went to Alaska last year. What a trip!
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Old 04-30-2020, 07:32 PM   #11
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I gave up and upgraded to See Level sensors. Not cheap or easy upgrade but they work. I know within a gallon or two just how much is in my tanks; gray, black, fresh and propane. I mounted the panel over the existing one after doing some metallurgic precision surgery on the old panel and had to do some rewiring of the water pump and water heater LEDs. Not recommended unless you are pretty handy with tools or want to hire someone who is. They would not be cheap labor either.
I like this system, from what I’ve read about it. Thank you. Kinda makes my toilet paper test moot if we don’t have to worry about internal sensors getting clogged...
https://vimeo.com/409959812
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Old 04-30-2020, 08:09 PM   #12
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Be cautious, be careful...

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Originally Posted by Westy67 View Post
I am fed up as well with the inaccuracy of the holding tank sensors. I am going with Seelevel sensors. But in regards to the installation, did you cut out the LED panel ad mount the new seelevel panel there? Did you go with the new water pump and Hot water switches or use the old ones? Trying to figure out the best way to go. Thanks if anyone has any inputs. Glad we went to Alaska last year. What a trip!
I removed the original panel and cut a rectangular hole in it to accommodate the mounting of the SeeLevel II panel. I only got the basic sensor panel and kept the original water heater and water pump switches and LED lights, which needed rewiring as they were fed power from the old sensor panel. I had to put resistors in series with the LEDs (I think 1.2k ohm, check with the original resistor values) to drop the voltage from 12 to 3 volts and keep from blowing the LEDs. I have a picture of the finished project and you can write to me (private message) for it as I don't know how to post a .jpg file here, sorry. It blends in fairly well with the original panel but very careful measurements (measure 5 times, cut once) are necessary. Yes, I was a little nervous on this project as it was a bit complicated, even for an old retired electronics engineer.

Best wishes, good luck, and happy camping.
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Old 04-30-2020, 08:23 PM   #13
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Glad we went to Alaska last year. What a trip!
Our plans for Alaska this summer were crushed by COVID-19. I've been planning this 3+ month trip for more than a year and modified the RV to be boondock ready; solar, lithium batteries/charger, inverter, battery monitor system and compressor refrigerator. Maybe next year.
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Old 05-01-2020, 07:57 AM   #14
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I have a picture of the finished project and you can write to me (private message) for it as I don't know how to post a .jpg file here, sorry. .
Its super easy to post photos here or any forum for that matter.

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...st-355670.html
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Old 05-01-2020, 08:32 AM   #15
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Its super easy to post photos here or any forum for that matter.

https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...st-355670.html
It may be easy, but it's not intuitive because the icon for images is only for web links. And they way you do attachments is not one of the other icons in the same row. Rather sloppy web design.
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Old 05-01-2020, 08:37 AM   #16
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Tank monitor panel picture

Sorry, I wasn't able to get the photo oriented properly. The source is correct, but the upload orients sideways. I even rotated the source right 90 degrees and it still shows up on its left side.

If you measure carefully, because there is little room for error, you can position the new panel so it looks like it was part of the original except for a slight color mismatch. On the inside, I preserved the connectors wherever possible.
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Old 05-01-2020, 08:40 AM   #17
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It may be easy, but it's not intuitive because the icon for images is only for web links. And they way you do attachments is not one of the other icons in the same row. Rather sloppy web design.
I agree. It's not an intuitive process and rather convoluted. Lots of room for improvement.
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Old 05-01-2020, 08:42 AM   #18
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Our plans for Alaska this summer were crushed by COVID-19. I've been planning this 3+ month trip for more than a year and modified the RV to be boondock ready; solar, lithium batteries/charger, inverter, battery monitor system and compressor refrigerator. Maybe next year.
Yes am sorry your Alaskan plans are on hold. Your the 2nd person I've talked to with Alaska on hold.

I kinda have my Intent setup for dry camping. As a matter of fact, dry camping now for 6 days on the Arizona Rim.

So far, have 800 w. solar with 2 lead-acids and 2 AGM's. Seem to do well, but ultimately will do Lithium.

Intent comes with compressor refrig. Pulls about .8 amp. Seems to run alot as our compressor refrig's at our house. But during winter months here in Arizona, I unplug from the grid, and only a few time when cloudy rainy days, I have to plug back in.

I monitor everything... Solar panels, refrig pwr consumption, battery volts and battery draw. Nice to know what's going on with the systems.
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Old 05-01-2020, 09:05 AM   #19
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So far, have 800 w. solar with 2 lead-acids and 2 AGM's. Seem to do well, but ultimately will do Lithium.

Intent comes with compressor refrig. Pulls about .8 amp. Seems to run alot as our compressor refrig's at our house. But during winter months here in Arizona, I unplug from the grid, and only a few time when cloudy rainy days, I have to plug back in.

I monitor everything... Solar panels, refrig pwr consumption, battery volts and battery draw. Nice to know what's going on with the systems.
I put a timer on my compressor and logged how many hours of run time I had over a given amount of time using Excel spreadsheet. In short, the fridge runs about 70% of the time with normal usage.

You will LOVE the lithium batteries after converting. Only caution, use a known name brand vendor. There is a lot of cheap product out there and offer inferior capacity, power management and functionality. I chose Relion. They have a fabulous selection of product, good reputation and have been around for long time. I chose the -HP version as the batteries my be needed to start the V-10 and are used to start the generator which can draw 260 amps. I wanted to ensure my 3 batteries would not be overloaded in any circumstance. 1C or 100 amps peak load is typical for 100 ah batteries. Too close for my comfort. The -HPs can supply 800 amps each for 2 seconds. They are a bit more expensive, but when spending thousands, I felt was worth it for the confidence that they would handle any known task without damage.
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Old 05-01-2020, 09:42 AM   #20
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I put a timer on my compressor and logged how many hours of run time I had over a given amount of time using Excel spreadsheet. In short, the fridge runs about 70% of the time with normal usage.

You will LOVE the lithium batteries after converting. Only caution, use a known name brand vendor. There is a lot of cheap product out there and offer inferior capacity, power management and functionality. I chose Relion. They have a fabulous selection of product, good reputation and have been around for long time. I chose the -HP version as the batteries my be needed to start the V-10 and are used to start the generator which can draw 260 amps. I wanted to ensure my 3 batteries would not be overloaded in any circumstance. 1C or 100 amps peak load is typical for 100 ah batteries. Too close for my comfort. The -HPs can supply 800 amps each for 2 seconds. They are a bit more expensive, but when spending thousands, I felt was worth it for the confidence that they would handle any known task without damage.
I have begun to like the compressor refrig. When I initially bought this rig, I was going to change it out for gas/electric. But after weighing everything, I decided to spend the extra money in panels etc. The plus side of compressor type is you have more usable room inside.

Thanks for info. I will do some research on them.
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