Description

Pneumatic Tank Guage

The problem:

Most boats suffer badly from unreliable tank level gauges, this is a particular problem with dirty water tanks. The main problem is the corrosive nature of the salt water in the tank and the fact that float meters are damaged in the tanks.

The solution:

The measuring device must not be effected by the movement or the corrosive nature of the fluid it is measuring. The best way to achieve this is the way ships and other quality tank meters work by using pneumatics. This has always proved too expensive to miniaturise for leisure craft use until now.

How does it work?

The new Sterling gauge works on a very simple principle. If you put a small tube to the bottom of any liquid, then pump air through the tube to remove all the fluid from it, then the atmospheric pressure or back pressure on the liquid is directly proportional to the depth of the fluid (taking density into account). For this to work, we need a simple pipe (approx 2-3 mm diameter) from the top to the bottom of the tank, then pump air through the pipe and measure the back pressure of the air (the transducer) and display it on a display panel. Simple?
Well not that simple, we need a compressed air pump with a complex software program control to reduce power consumption to milliamps and to return a highly accurate reading, all at a sensible cost.

The Sterling Tank Gauge is a fully programmable system, where you program in the following information, 1) tank depth 2) fluid density (water, diesel, dirty water, petrol)  3) operation mode (i.e. a water or fuel tank would require the alarms etc to go off when the tank is empty, but a dirty water tank would require its alarms when it is full) with these three pieces of information simply connect the unit to a pipe which is about 10 mm off the bottom of the tank and the L.E.D. display will give a good indication of the depth.

For a more accurate analysis the L.E.D display can be connected to the optional L.C.D display which will scan up to 8 tanks and display the depth in % full in rotation, when the fill button is pushed on the tank, for example tank 6, then the L.C.D. display will lock onto that channel.

The system must only be used where the pump sensor unit can be fitted above the level of the highest point on the tank system, i.e. above the height of the deck filler system or a U bend in the tube going above the filler, i.e. in an over fill condition liquid must not run into the unit.

Quick check list

No moving parts in the tank
No electricity in the tanks
Cannot stick corrode or jam up
Not affected by any corrosive fluid
Easy to replace or repair if faulty
No need to test (set up in software program)
Very accurate
Alarms adjustable both ways
Set for water, diesel, petrol, sea water
Voltage 8-32V
Self cleaning
Local and remote readings.

Product	Size L x W x D mm	Weight	Part Number
Tank L.C.D Display Scanner Unit	90 x 60 x 20	0.2 kg	TGM
Extra 10m cable for pumps			TGL10
1m stainless steel tank tube		1.0 kg	TGT
Tank Gauge System Pump Package and LED Display	145 x 90 x 40	1.0 kg	TGS

 

Multi tank guage kit includes:

1) 8 tank LCD reader / scanner panel

2) Selection of sticky labels with tank names.

3) 2 x 10m cables for 2 tanks (extra cables can be purchased)

 

Pump package includes:

1) Air pump and transducer box

2) LED output display

3) 1 meter plastic pipe from pump to tank

4) 5 meter cable from pump to LED display

5) Full instruction set.