New water pump and tank sensors

[Denis]

This weekend I am installing a new fresh water pump. It has a variable speed control so it only pumps as hard as you need. The diaphram pump that is standard now, hammers the water and it drives me crazy. Last year I installed a one gallon bladder tank and that helped but did not cure it. Now with this pump that water hammer should be gone, I'll let you know after I install it.
I also bought a tank sensor kit. I have two fresh water tanks and a black water tank but no way to know how full they are. These sensors attach to the outside of each tank and read through the tank to give you a visual of the level in each tank.
These should make staying on the hook more pleasant.

Denis

[AlMar]

Denis, are these just viual readings (Ie off the tanks) or do they give a readout on a remote readout. I'd like to hear more about them. Good Luck.
AlMar

[jcollins]

Denis,
I too was surprised by the fresh water pump noise and uneven flow at the sink. What make/model are you replacing with? Let us know how it works out.

[Denis]

I installed both the tank sensors and the new water pump this past weekend and both went well.
The water pump I installed is a "Sensor Max VSD" water pump I think PAR makes it. It's a little larger than the one I took out but it makes almost no noise and it installs very easily. I got the higher volume pump that pumps 4.5 gpm.
The tank monitor that I used was made by Raritan and it checks three tanks. It uses four sensors mounted outside each tank and displays the level in each tank when you push a button. I put the display panel on the side of the fiberglass pedestal below the helm seat. By selecting that site, I was able to get all the wiring to each tnak and run a 12vdc line easily. The panel mounts flush and causes no interfelence at all.
So far so good.
One other problem I found this weekend was that the vent system on the waste holding tank was clogged. It uses a very fine mesh to keep sea water out but the salt spray clogged it and built up pressure inside the tank. It's important to keep sea water out of the fuel and fresh water tanks but I pulled out the mesh on the waste water tank and you could hear the pressure release when I did. It's worth a check on your boats.
Hopefully we'll get good weather next weekend so we can start to have some fun. Denis

[jcollins]

Denis,
Thanks for the update. I'm going to save this information for future reference.