Waste level indicator

H

Hugo

New Member
Jun 30, 2008
44
montreal
Boat Info
360 Sundancer 2005
Engines
T-VD-8.1 S Horizon MerCruiser® Gasoline V-Drives
My waste level indicator (light) always show empty (green light)...it never go 1/2 or full...any ideas why it does'nt work ?
I just changed my vent filter...thanks, Hugo
 
Previous posts indicate that you probably need to clean the poo and poopaper off of your sensors of which there are three. You can go the nasty route by pulling them out and cleaning them up close and in person. Or, you can pump out then fill with clean water and put Cascade dish washer soap in the tank and then drive around banging your own wake until you've disolved the poopaper mess. Some even put ice cubes in the tank for a little more "action". This is a process I'm in myself. Got the Cascade in the tank, been driving about as crazy as the Admiral will allow but still don't have anything registering on the tank monitor.
 
I hate to tell you, but this happened to us. The sending unit in the holding tank is stuck. It will need to be replaced (a crappy job) or somehow freed. Some have suggested putting ice down the head and running the boat to shake it free. I am not sure if that would work or not, not for us.

We ended up having the float and sending unit replaced.
 
Hugo said:
My waste level indicator (light) always show empty (green light)...it never go 1/2 or full...any ideas why it does'nt work ?
I just changed my vent filter...thanks, Hugo
Click to expand...


most likely sending unit inside tank is "stuck"
Fill up your holding tank with soapy water, take boat for a ride and hope that it will clean sender inside tank, if not - it is a smelly job.
 
Are you adding holding tank treatment after every pump out? The chemical will break down the poo and toilet paper. Do you flush the holding tank with fresh water a couple times after each pump out? Also, I told my family no more poo ing on the boat. Walk to the bath house. So mean !
 
i got tired of those lame SR indicator lights that never seem to work. installed the smart mini...

http://www.snake-river.org/Products.asp

completely EXTERNAL (so no more snagged sensors) and a much better indicator of how many flushes left til you OVERFLOW! you pick up power from the existing sensor wires at the tank and leave the old sensor for dead inside the tank. no muss, no fuss. cant beat it for the money.
 
Any precautions , beside try to keep your breath if I want to remove the caps and clean them ?
 
rondds said:
i got tired of those lame SR indicator lights that never seem to work. installed the smart mini...

http://www.snake-river.org/Products.asp

completely EXTERNAL (so no more snagged sensors) and a much better indicator of how many flushes left til you OVERFLOW! you pick up power from the existing sensor wires at the tank and leave the old sensor for dead inside the tank. no muss, no fuss. cant beat it for the money.
Click to expand...

Excellent Post! Plus 1.
 
As for the smell, you could go to a local safety house and buy "nuisance odor masks". You'll probably have to buy a package of 10. These are like dust mask respirators except they have a layer of activated charcoal. With one of these babies, you won't be bothered by the smell.

Dennis
 
How important is adding holding tank treatment? I have never had an issue so never felt the need to add another chore to the list but that dosn't mean I shouldn't be. Thoughts?
 
not sure how impt it is but i always dump in the prescribed amount. when i changed my duckbills and there were a few drops of spillage from the hoses, the only odor was ammonia. it literally smelled like some household cleaner. if that's b/c of my use of treatment, i dont know?
 
Hugo said:
My waste level indicator (light) always show empty (green light)...it never go 1/2 or full...any ideas why it does'nt work ?
I just changed my vent filter...thanks, Hugo
Click to expand...

My indicator is blank except for the red Power light. My tank is near 1/2 full without any indication. MM told me that you do not get an indication until you are half full or above. Is this true? My fresh water has indications every 1/4 increment, seems the waste should have a similar sensor & display....I am off in left field??

Mike
 
Jack380AC said:
How important is adding holding tank treatment? I have never had an issue so never felt the need to add another chore to the list but that dosn't mean I shouldn't be. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

All we ever add is a small laundromt size box of Tide without beach during a pump out about once a month. Other than that, we add nothing after pumping out. This has been our procedure for years and we've had no issues. I do change our vent filter every year because we live on the boat much of the summer.
 
Mike, while my boat is older than yours, the indicator is working exactly the same.

Over the last Month since the empty light went off, I thought it was busted. Being anal retentive, it bugged the heck out of me. So I started checking it out.

Here's what I had and found.

At spring launch, it read power with "empty", which soon went off, leaving only power. I went checking all the connections. All visually checked out tight. Then I removed the indicator tubes and started shaking them. They would cause the panel to flicker the 1/2 and full indicators. Then I got it :smt115

When the empty float is "hanging" in the tank, it illuminates the panel bulb for empty. Once the tank fills, and the empty float actually floats it turns the empty light off. You then only see the power light. Meanwhile, the 1/2 full float is normally hanging, which for it is "off" until it floats and it then illuminates that bulb. Same as for the full light.

To confirm, I have continued to fill the tank (Coors Light). Just last weekend, the 1/2 light came on which I visually confirmed by looking at the holding tank itself.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
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i have a plastic translucent tank. when i place a handheld spotlight behind it and shine it through the tank, i can make out the level. not good enough. so i put in the snake river canyon indicator, which i love! i also bought a "stud sensor" at home depot, thinking maybe it'll read the resistance of the fluid (and i use the term loosely) in the tank and light up when it goes over the level. didnt work.
 
Lake Erie Boater said:
Mike, while my boat is older than yours, the indicator is working exactly the same.

When the empty float is "hanging" in the tank, it illuminates the panel bulb for empty. Once the tank fills, and the empty float actually floats it turns the empty light off. You then only see the power light. Meanwhile, the 1/2 full float is normally hanging, which for it is "off" until it floats and it then illuminates that bulb. Same as for the full light.
Click to expand...

Absolutely right, when using the TankWatch three-probe system. There are variations, but this one is common on sport cruisers. When I did not trust mine, I had a SeaLand service tech take the cap off and he found nothing wrong with the probes at all. His service fee was my tuition for the lesson.
 
RonF said:
Absolutely right, when using the TankWatch three-probe system. There are variations, but this one is common on sport cruisers. When I did not trust mine, I had a SeaLand service tech take the cap off and he found nothing wrong with the probes at all. His service fee was my tuition for the lesson.
Click to expand...


I get no indication empty or otherwise on nearly a 1/2 tank, just the red Power indication when the Head breaker is on. Per the inputs for everyone (thanks), I've sent off a service request from MM.

Thanks for the help....again,

Mike
 
I bet the dealers love these kind of service calls!! :smt043

Mine is brand new..I "think" the first couple of times we used the boat it read 1/4 tank...then 1/2...
I'm noticing now it just goes from empty to 1/2...I guess it's good enough for me...(Too much Information):lol:
 
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