Has anyone used the Tech-Edge iSeries Tank Monitor?

[BrentB]

Has anyone used the Tech-Edge iSeries Tank Monitor? https://tankedge.com/products.html I have used a SeeLevel monitor and liked it, but after only a couple of years it is becoming erratic in it's readings, so I am considering switching to this brand. Anyone have experience with the iSeries?

[Mustang65]

This type of sensor is an externally mounted (on the tanks) capacitive sensor, which the top of the line RV's use. They are very accurate, and if you keep them out of the elements will give you excellent readings.

Don

[RVhiker]

I installed a SeeLevel system on my trailer about five years ago. I had one problem with the monitor display, and found Garnet very responsive in solving the issue. If you have not contacted Garnet about your erratic readings it might be helpful to do so.

[BrentB]

Originally Posted by RVhiker

I installed a SeeLevel system on my trailer about five years ago. I had one problem with the monitor display, and found Garnet very responsive in solving the issue. If you have not contacted Garnet about your erratic readings it might be helpful to do so.

I sent them a message this morning. It's past the one year warranty so I'll see what they say.

[BrentB]

Well they suggest checking the ground to see if it's corroded. I'll start with that. But again, has anyone used the Tech-Edge iSeries Tank Monitor?

[RVhiker]

What sort of erratic readings are you having? Is it that you push the button to get a read on a tank, and the display % varies up and down on the monitor? Or do you sometimes try to get a reading from one tank, and it is actually a reading from another tank? Or do the readings just seem wrong - you know the tank is almost empty, and you get a reading of, say, 50%?

If I remember correctly, when I installed our system the instructions specified that the ground for the sensors and the ground for the monitor had to be exactly the same; ie, connected by wire together and then to battery ground. Is that what they asked you to check?

By the way, it doesn't sound like their advice was very thorough or especially helpful.

[BrentB]

Here is a list of the issues I am seeing, and what I wrote to Garnet:

"Hello, I have a your SeeLevel II RV tank monitor model 709-4 in my RV and it has functioned well for several years, however lately it's operation has become very erratic and inaccurate. The first problem I noticed is that when I filled my fresh water tank it showed only 17% full. Then we started a trip and the grey and galley tanks would show erratic numbers, jumping up and down with different button presses even though the tanks levels were rising. Ironically the black tank sensor seems to still be accurate, but the freshwater tank sensor shows either 0%, 17%, or 25%, even though the actual level has remained at 75%. If I press the grey and then galley buttons, instead of changing numbers, its triggers the hold mode. These problems occur regardless of whether or not it is connected to AC power. I ran diagnostics and it shows no problems. Fresh tank shows P78 and H3. All other tanks show P67 and H3. Do you have any advice on how to correct these issues?"

And their response:

"The first thing I would check is the ground that is being used. Just make sure that ground is still a good ground and the connections to ground are good. If that’s the problem, then fixing the ground should fix your problems."

[RVhiker]

Checking the ground makes sense. By the way, I checked my install directions and there is some stress on the importance of the display and all the sensors being connected to the same ground.

Originally Posted by BrentB

... If I press the grey and then galley buttons, instead of changing numbers, its triggers the hold mode....

This makes me wonder if the display itself is flaky, because as you know pressing and holding an individual tank check button is supposed to trigger hold on the display of that tank, not a sequence of pressing different buttons.

In case you don't have it, Garnet's contact phone number is 817-587-8601. I had to call them when my display got flaky to explain the problem. I forget which buttons were flaky, but for example when pressing the Grey tank button the Galley tank level would display.

[BrentB]

So were you able to repair yours?

[RVhiker]

Originally Posted by BrentB

So were you able to repair yours?

Yes. Mine was just a bad display - the guy at Garnet said that "a reed had dropped" - something to do with the switches mechanically not working properly. All I had to do was to take it loose from the wall, unplug the connectors, and put the connectors back on the new one and re-install it onto the wall. It may have required me to re-program the display, but that is in the instruction book and is no big deal.

[BrentB]

Yeah I think my display may have gone bad. They are closed for the weekend but I will call again on Monday.

[BuddyRay]

So we never got any feedback on the Tech-Edge sensors. I'd still be interested in any evaluation of those since they seem to be a LOT cheaper than the SeaLevel

[BrentB]

Originally Posted by BuddyRay

So we never got any feedback on the Tech-Edge sensors. I'd still be interested in any evaluation of those since they seem to be a LOT cheaper than the SeaLevel

I did get these responses from other forums...

"I have had and used the iSeries in 2 different campers. I love the unit and plan to put it in my new camper this spring. One of the very good points I would like to make is tech support. I had a power surge of some kind and shorted the board, I sent the panel in and for $25 the repaired it and sent it back to me. A down side to the system is it does take some time to run all new wires from each tank to the panel. You can't really use the existing wiring because the existing wiring is 1 wire from each tank and the iSeries needs 2 wires from each tank back to the panel. The iSeries system was always 100% accurate. Also you can custom set alarms for what ever setting full or empty you want. i.e. Black tank you want to alarm at 80% full but grey tank you are not as worried about maybe so you set that one at 87% full and your fresh tank you set at 20% until empty."

"I had one in my KZ MXT20 for about 3 years, loved it since it was pretty accurate as far as I could tell. I sold the MXT20 last month and got a KZ MXT2920, I ordered a new iSeries the day after I closed the deal even before I took delivery.

I installed it last weekend, the 2920 has an enclosed underbelly so it was a pain to get to the tanks to install the foil and sensor, but do-able. It's a hassle to calibrate the tanks, but worth it.

I fill the fresh and calibrate the full Fresh reading, then run the faucet until I fill the gray, then run the toilet until I fill the black. I had to run the outdoor sprayer to get the fresh down and then calibrated the empty fresh reading (couldn't just drain the fresh, I wanted the reading when it wouldn't supply water to the system, not when empty).

I then calibrated black full, then dumped black and calibrated empty (I have a dump station at my home, I live out in the country and have a septic system). Then calibrated gray full, dumped, then empty. Total time on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, about 4 hours.

Only issue I ever had was on the MXT20, the black tank sensor faced forward and if I drove through heavy rainfall it would get wet and give me a false reading for about an hour after I stopped. Soon as it dried it was fine. Won't have the issue with this one since it has a covered underbelly."

[BuddyRay]

That's great feedback BrentB - thanks for sharing!

[BrentB]

Well I thoroughly checked all my wiring and it was fine. Turns out the monitor panel itself had become faulty. Bought a new one and all is good now.