grey tank sensor issue thoughts.

[robert9999]

Had it in for warranty & was told it needs a cleaning. Bought sensor cleaner & used as directed, It did Jack. problem is it always reads 1/3 full when empty & will go to full when about 2/3. I did notice that after the picking up the Trailer from storage that it read empty. Tank was dry at that point as it was sitting for over 1 month. As soon as I put 5 gallons of water in with sensor cleaner it jumped to 2/3 full. I drove it for 2.5 hours & when I set up camp I emptied it right away. Still shows 1/3 full after draining tank. It seems that as soon as the sensor gets wet it will read faulty. I think its a bad sensor. I have enclosed underbody so its a PIA to get to it. I had previously used hot water & dishwashing soap to try & clean it but it didn't work either. I may just give up & use common judgement to figure out when tank is full. (overflow into bathtub certainly works).

[Cosmik Debris]

Originally Posted by robert9999

Had it in for warranty & was told it needs a cleaning. Bought sensor cleaner & used as directed, It did Jack. problem is it always reads 1/3 full when empty & will go to full when about 2/3. I did notice that after the picking up the Trailer from storage that it read empty. Tank was dry at that point as it was sitting for over 1 month. As soon as I put 5 gallons of water in with sensor cleaner it jumped to 2/3 full. I drove it for 2.5 hours & when I set up camp I emptied it right away. Still shows 1/3 full after draining tank. It seems that as soon as the sensor gets wet it will read faulty. I think its a bad sensor. I have enclosed underbody so its a PIA to get to it. I had previously used hot water & dishwashing soap to try & clean it but it didn't work either. I may just give up & use common judgement to figure out when tank is full. (overflow into bathtub certainly works).

They all are like that. There are better, after market, sensors that can be added that are external to the tanks and "sense" through the sides. We have gotten used to knowing the levels and ignore the readouts.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by robert9999

Had it in for warranty & was told it needs a cleaning. Bought sensor cleaner & used as directed, It did Jack. problem is it always reads 1/3 full when empty & will go to full when about 2/3. I did notice that after the picking up the Trailer from storage that it read empty. Tank was dry at that point as it was sitting for over 1 month. As soon as I put 5 gallons of water in with sensor cleaner it jumped to 2/3 full. I drove it for 2.5 hours & when I set up camp I emptied it right away. Still shows 1/3 full after draining tank. It seems that as soon as the sensor gets wet it will read faulty. I think its a bad sensor. I have enclosed underbody so its a PIA to get to it. I had previously used hot water & dishwashing soap to try & clean it but it didn't work either. I may just give up & use common judgement to figure out when tank is full. (overflow into bathtub certainly works).

Fellow campers, tank sensors on RVs are cheap junk and ARE NOT RELIABLE. You can't fix them so ignore them. There is nothing you can do to make them work.

Best practice we have found is to develop a norm as to how many days you can go before filling your grey tank. In our case its 5 days or more since we don't use onboard showers if the bath houses are in good shape. I built a frame in the shower out of 2x4's so we can raise stored items up off the floor. Wife tends to store the vacume and dirty clothes basket in the shower stall. Your grey tanks will back up in the shower drain first when it is overfilled. We almost never let it get that far but a check now and again will tell you if you're overfilled.

[robert9999]

This is my first camper so I am getting that feeling that they are junk. I usually drain every 2 days (we both use the shower). I think I'll buy a grey tank tote that holds about 12 gallons & use that when no sewer hook ups are available (just a dump station). If I am in a no sewer site we get real conservative on the water & can go up to 4 days without draining the grey. Black much longer.

[herbd]

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

Fellow campers, tank sensors on RVs are cheap junk and ARE NOT RELIABLE. You can't fix them so ignore them. There is nothing you can do to make them work.

Best practice we have found is to develop a norm as to how many days you can go before filling your grey tank. In our case its 5 days or more since we don't use onboard showers if the bath houses are in good shape. I built a frame in the shower out of 2x4's so we can raise stored items up off the floor. Wife tends to store the vacume and dirty clothes basket in the shower stall. Your grey tanks will back up in the shower drain first when it is overfilled. We almost never let it get that far but a check now and again will tell you if you're overfilled.

The longest we have dry camped so far is 8 days and was getting worried about the grey tank level. How do you "check" your level? Crawl under?

[2nOZ]

I've read on the forum that when it backs up into the shower, you're full.

[robert9999]

Originally Posted by 2nOZ

I've read on the forum that when it backs up into the shower, you're full.

That's how I know

[robert9999]

This method is much more accurate than those stinking sensors. "We don't need no stinkin sensors "