Remote oil tank level sensor

The wireless remote sensor for the level in my heating oil tank (A Kingspan Watchman) went into "communication error" last night. It's less than a year old, so is it a reasonable assumption that the the low temperatures have made the battery output in the sensor fall to the point where it no longer works?

Reply to
Huge
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Get the old dip stick out :-) Don

Reply to
Donwill

Quite possibly. You could try unscrewing the battery and taking it inside to warm up for a while. Keep snow and wet out of the socket on the ransmitter while you do this.

Reply to
cynic

Seems a very reasonable hypothesis to me

Reply to
newshound

They generally last about a year.

cold + low battery would seem the answer.

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

What an unfair description of his elderly service engineer. ;-)

Reply to
PJ

fairly accurate I'd say..

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Whilst this is a possibility, most battery types hold up quite well in modestly cold weather and for most location the temperatures are only a few degrees lower than normal winter conditions. Maybe the battery is coming to the end of its useful life anyway. Maybe it is a rechargeable cell with a solar charger? Nicads are one of the poorer performance types at low temps.

After some research:

I see the unit uses a lithium coin cell. These are generally good to -40C or better so either it has come to the end of its life or maybe the extreme temperature has caused some other effect such as condensation in the sender unit.

As Don has said - a dipstick to confirm that there is not a problem with the level and then wait for warmer weather to see if the problem sorts itself out. Watchman appear to be a brand leader so I would be surprised if it not a properly designed and specified unit for all normal weather conditions.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Minchin

Try pairing the tank sensor and indoor display bit again.

When you first plug in the display, line up the black dots on each unit (actually an IR link) until they say they're paired.

Then move the sensor unit up and down over a surface and see if that's reflected in the display.

I did mine a few weeks back, on first time set-up, and it seems when the devices are first paired that the sensor sends very frequent signals for the first few minutes - so you can actually see it on the display. Then I think it reverts to about every 15 minute updates.

Reply to
dom

I thought all tanks had to have a sight tube? I've not seen one without from ancient steel tanks to newly installed all in one bunded plastic things.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

In message , Huge writes

Ours does that occasionally, but seems to reset itself within a day. Have not changed the battery since it was installed about three years ago, and temperatures here have been below -15 at night.

Reply to
Graeme

Oh that you could be right but sadly no!

Reply to
cynic

Interesting. Ours is a fairly modern green plastic tank, and we had nothing but a dip stick (garden cane!) until the remote monitor was installed by our oil supplier. No sight tube, nothing.

Reply to
Graeme

How could you have a sight tube without compromising the bund?

AJH

Reply to
andrew

We didn't have a sight tube, and still don't. We now have the Kingspan Watchman remote unit, which displays a reading in the house, and also sends a signal to our supplier.

Reply to
Graeme

I should have said how can a sight tube be fitted be fitted without compromising the bund?

I too have fitted an ultrasonic meter for this very reason.

AJH

Reply to
andrew

How do you get oil out of the tank without compromising the bund? Sight tubes have a spring loaded to off press to read button these days. Ours hasn't it has a manual 1/4 turn valve, we do leave it in the off posistion though.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

In fact our "domestic heating" tank has a bottom connection with metal pipes out (and is in a secondary concrete bund because of this), whereas our "red diesel" tank has only provision for pumping out and is all plastic with bund but it is in a locked container.

The major risk (200m to a major stream) is pikeys accessing the oil by heating a steel pipe and pushing it through bund and tank and leaving when they have run out of containers.

AJH

Reply to
andrew

Same as us, but without the call to the supplier. This was all new to us when we moved in a month ago as our other tank only had a sight tube.

When we looked round the place in the summer, there was only an old metal tank. SO we thought, aha, we'll get that replaced ASAP. You might thing we're grateful that the old owners changed the tank, but unfortunately its only 1200lt.

I did wonder about whether its possible to gang tanks together, but I suppose that would compromise the bund too.

Reply to
Tim Streater

Huge used his keyboard to write :

Quite possibly. Alkaline cells are supposedly the best for low temperatures.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

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