Holding Tank Monitoring System - Maxum Boat Owners Club

SummerBreeze · 08-03-2011, 06:21 PM

I don't know about the rest of you, but my '98 SCR3200 did not come with a blackwater holding tank monitoring system. With the traffic on the boat, it's gotten so that I think I'd benefit from some sort of monitor system so that I can spend my pump out money most efficiently. Anyone had any success with an aftermarket system?

Thanks,
Jeff

dronthelake · 08-04-2011, 02:08 AM

Ours has a little red "oh Sh*#" light next to the toilet. Tell you when you are almost full. Better than nothing. We are fortunate that I can easily remover the velcro attached panel to the utility room and see the tank. We are also lucky that we don't have to pay for pump outs.

shrew · 08-04-2011, 04:45 AM

Guessing is part of the adventure. Or, try something like this. It uses an external sensor for a plastic tank:

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?...488&id=1249539

jeffmeans · 08-04-2011, 07:09 AM

Summer Breeze; I too have wanted a black water holding tank sensor. We don't pay for pump-outs either, like dronthelake... but dread wondering if it's full or not (it's impossible to ascertain by simply looking at it, even if you could crane your neck down in the engine compartment to check it).

In fact I remember the first season we owned Endless Summer (funny story here)... our VacuFlush toilet ran constantly (I didn't realize the leaking seal in the toilet bowl caused incessant pumping as a new cruiser owner). The tank got full, and when we took the waste tank cap off to go pump-out, sewage spewed twenty feet out the back of our 2900 SCR for 10 seconds or so! No kidding, it was about the most gross thing I think I've ever seen. Not only was the tank super full, but the pressure from constant pumping for a week or more in a sealed tank sent a stream of brown liquid two inches thick in a solid stream once the cap was removed. That baby shot 20 feet out into the marina, easy... we all just stood back and watched it fly! I'm LMAO right now as i write this... and now every time we do a pump-out we (the Admiral and I) do what we call a "spew check" out in the lake prior to the actual pump-out to make sure we don't pollute the marina with flying waste! Talk about a total clusterflub that first pump-out was... it would have been nice to know if the tank was full or not for sure!

Enough of my story, let me know if you get this tank monitor and how it works.. post pictures, too!

shrew · 08-04-2011, 01:58 PM

OMG, that is both funny and disgusting at the same time!!!! I gues vacuflushes don't have vent tubes like a standard electric or manual pump head. usually, you'd see it coming out the tank vent, though that is not really desirable either.

jeffmeans · 08-04-2011, 04:58 PM

Agreed, it was disgusting. Never happened since, and now that you mention it... the vent HAS over-flowed once or twice... but no "spew-age" like that first time. Wonder how that happened?

SummerBreeze · 08-08-2011, 03:39 PM

Yeah, I'm going to opt for the Profile Solo tank monitoring system. This vendor seems to have a very competitive price.

http://cruisermarine.com/Profile-Sol...ct-sensor.html

It comes with two options, a flush mount option where you build it into your breaker panel and an under the counter option. I think it might be a little time consuming to get the wiring done properly, but a good upgrade for sure.