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Its time!!!
The RV industry addresses one of the top 4 peeves of
RVers!
Inaccurate and unreliable tank level monitors
The solution has arrived with the
SeeLevel
range of tank monitors from Garnet Industries
Field proven technology with thousands of successful OEM
and after-market installations
High reliability reduces warranty costs and improves
customer satisfaction
Advanced sensing technology: the tank sensor does not
foul or need calibration, and the lever accuracy is with
1/2 inch!
A single wire bus connects all three senders to the
display, saving wire and avoiding connection errors
Simple installation, compact size, full features,
extensive diagnostics, low price: the choice is obvious!
The History of the SeeLevel RV Gauge
A few weeks after Garnet's marketing manage,
Don Shapansky, purchased a new high end fifth wheeler,
the tank gauges began to fail. As Don travelled full
time through camp-grounds, and talked to other RV
owners, it became apparent that
this was a widespread problem with no solution. Not only
was this nuisance, but substantial flood damage to RV's
was
also occurring due to the primitive water and waste
management systems
Since Garnet was already a successful company in level
gauging for the industrial market with unique and
reliable products, it was a logical step to address the
RV market with a whole new approach to tank gauging. The
marketing and engineering teams at Garnet collaborated
to determine the features that this new gauge was to
have. They were (and are) as follows:
1. High reliability, the gauge
had to perform as well as new for many years
2. High accuracy, much better
that 1/3 or 1/4
tank that was current in the market
3. Easy to install, since it
would be aimed at both end users and manufacturers
4. Attractive user interface, to
fit the decor of both entry level and high end RV's
5. Reasonable pricing to make it
accessible to the entire industry
6. Built in diagnostics, so that
if a problem did develop, it could be found quickly
and repaired
7. Simple to operate, so that
any RV owner would feel confident using the system
Those criterion led Garnet to determine the appropriate
technology for the system:
¤
To
achieve
reliability,
the
sensing
had
to be done from outside the tank, since any internal
components exposed to
the waste
would get fouled. A special, high strength, low
surface energy adhesive was sourced to ensure long
term
adhesion to
the tank. No effort has been spared to ensure a
reliable product. An example: test tanks were lined
with a
variety of
nasty materials to simulate waste build-up, and sender
parameter were measured and documented using
custom
built test fixtures
¤
To
achieve
accuracy,
the
system
had
to be digital, since analog systems drift and need
regular recalibration. The
digital
capacitance system used is self-calibrating, with
accuracy based on the physical position of the sender
components,
not on the characteristics of the tank contents. To
display an accurate quantity, high resolution LED bar
graphs or 3
digit numerical readouts are used to show percentage
of full
¤ To achieve ease of
installation, the tank sender had to be readily
configured to a variety of tank heights, which dictate
a simple
"cut to required length" approach. No additional
wiring could be required, so the senders had to
receive
power and
communicate over a single wire. The display panels had
to be compact to fit into existing gauge spaces
¤ To achieve low cost,
advanced manufacturing techniques were required. New
manufacturing equipment was
obtained,
and new assembly techniques were developed
¤ To achieve advanced
diagnostic capability, an advanced microprocessor
based system was required. Fully 50% of the
software in the
system is dedicated to diagnostics
After much thinking, discarding and refining of
ideas, research, testing, field trials, years of
continuous improvement and
expansion of the model line, the Garnet SeeLevel
line of RV gauges stands as the ultimate solution to
RV tank gauging. Nothing else even comes close
And the process continues. Future improvements
include more advanced RV system automation, remote
communication
interfaces for the upcoming RV diagnostic bus, and
more models to fit every coach and tow-able niche
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