Cheap vs Expensive Wireless Water Level Monitors Unboxing (Rain Harvesting & Cisterns)

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rain water, rain barrel, water level gauge, cistern level gauge, water level indicator, water level monitor, wireless water level monitor, wireless water monitor, tank level indicator, rainwater tank gauge

[@PlanetPresident]

I'm going blind and my hearing is improving, at 15:38 You slipped and said you're having twins, Congratulations

[@joshs6857]

I love you guys but i couldn't fathom sitting thru this one guys

[@markwallace3181]

I had a large amount of information typed out about how your dogging these devices and asking for them to perform tasks that you might need on the space shuttle, but not on your property there. You need something that will tell you if your tank is full, 3/4 full, 1/2 full, 1/4 full, etc. You don’t need to know how much water was used 9 months ago on a Tuesday, who cares. You have a well, for some reason you aren’t hooking it up straight to the water purifier and then back to the tank so you have unlimited water. Your playing around with garden hoses, having to run them in and out of your garage to possibly fill your tank. Pick one, take the monitor into the house, the sensor up the hill, if you have a connection, great, install it and use it.

[@raymondhinds3539]

Having installed similar systems there are some things to consider. ultra sonic will not read or read correctly if the water is turbulent, water is dumping in from the top creating waves, or something else is causing waves. To correct or compensate for this you can use a vertical pipe to create a smooth surface. Most recommend 4 inch or larger but 3 inch sometimes works. A hole drilled at the top is needed so the water levels inside and outside of the pipe can equalize. The bottom of the pipe is recommended to be 3 to 6 inches above the bottom of the tank. You can also do this for a round tank if you have a flat surface or pipe fitting for mounting. These were recommendations from the MFG for our conditions.

[@AndyFromm]

Sorry... 2:59 "heating oil" IS a flammable liquid, placard 1993...

[@timothyhansen7905]

When Are you going to start on the Inside Upstairs Framing? That's what I want to see, ya finish the interior...

[@Greengate777]

Jessee, you are gonna be a great dad, but you're gonna drive the kid crazy with the way you explain things... there's gonna be a lot of eye rolling and sighing, accompanied by "oh boy, dad is at it again". :D

[@tomhyland861]

Drill a hole on the top lids. add a 1/2 "X 1 ft. pvc on the top lid hole. add a rubber seal on top of the pvc. a wood dowel with a foam float inserted in the pvc pipe. Paint lines on the stick.

[@m1t2a1]

My old school system has wires. A pair of Flygt float switches. Turns on a light when the tank is empty, turns on a light when the tank is full. Originally meant to control the pump, on and off, then be changed to a Milltronics level sensor. So easy for me to flip a switch once in a while that the upgrades never happened. Those products were chosen because they are the primary level sensors in the twenty something water treatment plants I operated. Reliable. Small towns and big cities. Everything was Flygt or Milltronics for level sensing. You have pipes in the tank. A float switch isn't a big deal.

[@geoffreykail9129]

You don't want to be using treated water from the tanks for the garden. It's expensive because you did the softening and anything else to the water. It is not good for the plants with the higher salt content. You should pull direct water of the water line before you treat it for your plants. This might require another storage tank above the garden and a pressure tank or auxiliary pump to feed your bushes. Keep the treated water for in the house and maybe washing the vehicles to reduce water spotting.

[@BraxxJuventa]

Very interesting how this turns out... Thanks Jesse! 👍😁

[@rudolfsarromaa6597]

First a Wranglerstar video and then this, Awsome!

[@normjacques6853]

"...let's listen for the ultrasonic..."

[@sfasr32t432tfg43etfg]

If you're using 8 smaller containers for rainwater harvest, just connect them together and the water level will always equalize between them so you still only need 1 sensor.

[@stephendunning892]

"can be used for any non flammable liquid, fuel oil for example" ... must be a cold house heating with non flammable fuel oil.

[@JCJC650]

Can't wait for install video :)

[@carsontait7338]

Why complicate everything? A simple float switch could keep water in your tanks. You set the empty/fill parameters when you install the switch. One and done at less than 25 dollars.

[@djvorac]

You can get extension cables for those wifi antennas. Easier to get them in line of sight.

[@rap4trains]

I think you said you were sending soft water to your tank (from well to water softener to tank). If that's the case you don't want to use soft water in your garden. First - soft water will kill the plants. Second - it's a waste of soft water. Just water your garden from the well.

[@nitronick45]

Missing you working on the house ! And the cat in the videos is a must . All though I enjoy every video ...

[@lloyddahlen1141]

WOW, that was great, thanks for the info, I think you are with looking every month👍👍👍👍👍

[@First2ner]

"non flammable liquid like heating oil" LOLOLOL

[@craigc6626]

It was reading from the floor not off the table on the 1st unit. that is why it was saying 5 foot. Check the Cheap one off the floor not the table. I think you will find it reads just fine.

[@dtec30]

tekelek made air conditioners here in adelaide at one point and had merged with tytronics about 15 years ago but i don't know what they have done since as i got out of electronics back then

[@CDArena]

If the first sensor is ultrasonic, it is probably measuring more of the volume of (ultra)sound reverberation in a given container. You would have to stick it in the neck of a vase or closed container to test it more accurately. I suspect you wouldn't want any free standing pieces that could vibrate inside the tank and likewise no foam or sponges.

[@mikejf4377]

On any double A batteries, I would buy the rechargeable ones because they don’t leak like normal batteries when they get old, been using mine for over three years. The one with the 6V battery I would go with a few 18650’s with a device to control the voltage going to it.

[@mate31032000]

I can really recommend the pressure sensor system. It will be way more reliable than the ultrasonic ones. I have a lot of experience with measuring water levels in my well. I had a lot of problems with the ultrasonic sensors but the pressure sensor worked right away and was also more reliable and accurate.

[@Guust_Flater]

If you want it to work, stick to wired units. Like at home with your internet network, use a ethernetcable if you can and only if there are no other option use wireless. I would be happy to put in a days work to have a wired water tank level system and then forget about it and always work and don't have to deal with (wireless) connection problems and changing batteries. I think you already put wires in the trench, so the hard part is already done. Believe me, you do not want to second guess the system and losing trust in it, resulting in not using it.

[@clonefan62]

You are making it way too complicated. Just bury a line into the house, hook it to a pressure tank, and wire it to a pressure switch and relay. I've lived in rural Iowa since 1976 and that's how my system works. Keep the cistern for emergencies.

[@stan.rarick8556]

Put in a clear tube at the house that matches the height of the tank and just look at the tube! (JK!)

[@Magny80]

Makes me wonder that if you use the others that are done contactless if the signals sent to be sensed for level reading will confuse the other units. Cause otherwise you would have to really spread out the units to avoid cross confusion.

[@ellis90009]

I was just wondering if you ever figured out that the table would be acting as the liquid level while you were testing your first monitor so if you told it the depth was 6ft would holding it a foot above the table would measure roughly 5ft left

[@barbarab9849]

All I can do is give a thumb up....watched all of the video but didn't understand much...still a good video. 😀

[@johnjones5954]

My wife or I just turns the lid a 1/4 turn, comes right off. After taking a quick look. We go through the same boring process, but in reverse. The best part about this video is it made me think of a song I haven't thought of in years. So thanks for that. Oh, the song. Your in luck it's on Utube, it's received over 5 million hits. Give it a listen. (Zager and Evans - In The Year 2525). PS @ 2:30 it says it all. LMAO

[@freddien7]

Didnt realise there was soo much involved in being a homesteader!!! On TV the other day "The Homestead Rescue", team the Raineys, were in "North IDAHO" where a trucker & his wife decided to buy land Surrounded by trees and had they were afraid the trees would catch fire & burn down theyre house, Soo NORTH Idaho has Fire & Flood worries, but where you are in Idaho you dont!, you are lucky.

[@nanocofocclo440]

Great video, *head spins*. I'll be watching for the updates! I dont know if any exist but maybe poximity switch type mounted on a pole inside the tanks?

[@liamarmstrong1836]

Dude, this could have been done so much easier and simpler! You have a pipe from your cistern to your house. Put a pressure gage, with fine marking, on it, fill your tanks and boom. There is full. Mark it with a magic marker. You have the height of your tanks. 3.5 foot tall, 4’ tall, whatever. Take your tank height, in inches, and times by 0.0361. Minus that from your magic marker, and there is your empty.

[@secretsix6]

heating oil is flammable

[@ayourk1]

I guess I'm more of the DIY crowd in that I'd buy a Raspberry Pi and build something with sensors to do wireless to the house and then potentially over the internet.

[@cherylsibson8457]

well, best I could come up with, is could use this equipment to determine water levels which is good, do they determine how clean the water is? no so more dollars for a different system to check the quality of water? How much for a system that can do both, check water levels, and cleanliness of water? I think advancements will come over time as water becomes more of a priority. Good video though, thanks.

[@thelyingscotsman7993]

Did you pay for all of them?

[@AndrewFrink]

@5:45, if you had (8) 55 gallon barrels, surely they are all connected to each other such that the level in one is the level in them all right? right?

[@MrEdwardhartmann]

You found every type of measurement system you could "fathom" - was that pun intentional?

[@mnshp7548]

i think a good monitor is just an accurate pressure gage. if you have all the taps off in the house, the pressure will be higher (not by much) if the tank is full. this can be in your house

[@htmagic]

Glad you're finally getting a handle on the cistern liquid levels. Ultrasonic level transmitters can be quirky. Based upon your tank dimensions, you can make a simple Excel spreadsheet which will give you a table of inches of tank depth vs gallons.

[@michaelbass6176]

Was the tree on the top of the hill bent like that when you moved in if so keep an eye out for large foot prints and big hand prints on the car windows

[@Lucky_Trucky]

Buy an Arduino and build your own thing

[@CDArena]

ah yes, the "curved tank" (A cylinder laying on its side). The Empty, Full, and 50% marks will be accurate, but not the points in between. Unfortunately, the tank will appear to empty the fastest when it is first full, or close to empty.

[@trwsandford]

I'm thinking that the systems with the coax connected antenna, that you could run a coax cable up a tree to achieve line of sight for the antenna.

[@rmojo23]

Since you are a DIY couple look at Arunino systems they are WiFi and the sensors are cheap. You can program anything you want to monitor.

[@Sqtgdog]

"She JUST had the baby and is already working!" was my first thought before I realized it was old footage. Nice one.

[@alane6555]

With commercial sonic level sensors you can see the sound impinge upon the water. Try holding them over a glass of water maybe. The one with the solar panel may be a problem for you, how much shade does your tank area get? As far as putting something in the tank, you and Alyssa were in it, did you shock your boots and tools with chlorine? When we put floats in large municipal tanks they were put in a very strong bleach/water solution for about 30 minutes to shock them before they got to go near the tank. Did the same thing to the boots we wore when working off the ladder in the tank. See if the tank manufacture has a lookup table for your tanks, this will give the gallons in the tank by the level of the water.

[@horneygeorgeforge7079]

have you considered using a toilet tank float valve to keep it full?

[@gsyguy1]

i would opt for a float switch ...as you use water it will fill tanks up,if your that concerned then any of those products will tell you how empty or full your tank/s are ,as for litres or gallons it doesn't matter ,its how much water you have ,you already know your tanks are 200/0 gals or more...i've personally have yet to see any that give actual fluids capacity ...and tbf i dont think theres any out there....remember don't complicate the simple....lift lid see how much water or use a stick with lines of measurement... or send a small boy up and check it for you ...

[@rmojo23]

I would go with the $60 one and just put the display in view of my security camera so I could view it on my phone.

[@jeffkeiper]

If using ultrasonic, you want to install it into a focus tube. That will stabilize the water level, and provide more reliable readings. It’s also sensing liquid not a solid so distance from a table is not going to be the same as distance to a liquid.

[@shawnanwo]

Wait....are you guys having twins?!?! You said "My kids will be 10 years old by then and they can check the cistern levels." Sorry. Just speculating :D

[@ludvigtande1236]

A toilet system would work for me😅

[@raymondknappJr]

Is it not seeing the wood table and going to the floor of your basement?

[@dougf94912]

Given that your basement is dug into the hillside I think you'll be lucky if any of the receivers will pick up a signal from the sensor unit.... I may be wrong.

[@oldestnerd]

Just a thought on the external antennas... the antennas can be moved away from the units and an extension cable can be used between the 2 units. Other styles of antennas may be available to extend the range between the tank and house units.

[@osposto]

Besides cleaning, you need to define what do you want. An automatic subterranean pump starter to keep cisterns full most of the time? or a manual control with some kind of alarm? Same question to fill upper tanks ( if you have those, at ceiling level). If you want, i can send you some schematics about automation systems and elements to drive pumps.

[@martineastburn3679]

The high level of Physics and Mathematics determines volume in your tanks with the barrel with ribs and funny shapes. It isn't a can shape or a ball shape. Having a remote calculate that is over expectations sorry to say. It is much like you calculating the square inches of land you have with and without trees... Shoot the sensor off the wall - easier to get 10 feet or less. Gives more dynamic change for urgent alerts. Some of this might bluetooth and the long range is segbe or another comm link. Antenna length is bandwidth

[@hikingtochange7589]

You geeked out too much for me on this one.

[@henrygin3296]

Some ultrasonic could give fuse readings when condensation build up under sensors. Go for a pressure sensors type of you can get one

[@RVthereyetmemaw]

Wow! I think I caught that, did you mea to say that? :) Maybe you could do a rainwater catch for the garden? You do have a water tank. You have a very large metal roof? Any thoughts?

[@alane6555]

Yes, put the tank on the hill behind the house so that it has some head to flow to the garden.

[@fasteddy4929]

Bait and switch? Where's the rain water harvesting? Not even a mention!

[@Buck1954]

just a thought. Radio signals (wireless is a radio signal) don't always react that close to each other. Put them at least 20 feet from each other and see what happens. That said, I have a electronic weather station that measures everything. After 5 years of use, two of the functions no longer work. Humidity level went out first. The second, temperature is not always accurate. Asian beetles got into it last year and slimed some of the sensors.

[@rico1319]

Wow! Hope u got it figured out!👍😎🇨🇱

[@MrThuggery]

The TS FT002 is cheap and does a pretty good job. Our Sender unit shit itself after I went to change the batteries which failed post 12 months.The plastic became brittle and the holder for the batteries just fell apart, lucky for me it's cheap so I purchased another. Set it up and now I can have two monitors (The old one I kept) with the new single sender unit. The only issue with this unit is the destructions....they are bloody woeful! Only to be used as toilet paper because they don't do anything else! PS negative with the curved tank...mine is round and it measures fine I have mine off set to one side about 600mm fro the edge, measures fine.

[@zenithtb]

Thank you for the frequent usage of metric for your international viewers :D

[@swamprat69er]

You said that your kids would be ten by the time the battery runs out. Does this mean that you are having twins, triplets, quads, quintuplets?

[@jamestate7851]

Jessie that most expensive unit, A device that has a removeable antenna , should not be powered up unless you have the antenna connected, check the instructions to see what it says.

[@brucethec8150]

Could be you need to test in water.

[@timon0x31]

The Smart Water system allows for mounting the transmitter module in a location that gets a better signal to the lower part of your property. This keeps critters away from the unit.

[@garyallsebrook3493]

Your test methodology is sketchy. A better test would be to fix the sender unit, in a fixed position, and move the "bottom" closer or farther away. There could be algorithms that ignore movement of the sensor unit itself. Ultrasound works through measuring the time difference of the original and the reflected pulse. The difference is then calculated into depth measurement which can be used to calculate volume and other parameters. Do you have a water meter going into the house? Lots of off grid folks like to know their consumption rates.

[@cherylclough1804]

It is so funny. Regular posters would be hiding their appliances. In your videos it is proof you have moved into a home with full facilities :-) Washing machine, dryer, fridge/freezer... good to see.

[@michaelgrabbe2803]

Twins? Twice the fun.

[@annamaybeekman5152]

Cant wait to find out which one works for you Jesse

[@donahanak6055]

Yes, but what about Bugaboo? What does she think 🤔?

[@Tkm112093evadell]

Ultra sonic means you can't hear it lol and you probably should have used a bucket of water for you tests.

[@25subiers]

Was that a "my KIDS will be ten"?

[@curtisclark3546]

Thanks but I wonder why they all must have a dedicated display? Why not simply just a transmit sensor that uses your phone as a display?

[@garybailey618]

Not that you read comments, but why in the world are you insisting on using those tanks when you have a well? A pressure tank would be cheaper all the way around....

[@thtadthtshldntbe]

because the cisterns generate free, gravity based water pressure. Using the well would require a pump to go off every time they turned on the water for anything.

[@MattOGormanSmith]

You coulda gone lo-tech with a float, a pole in a hole, and a flag on top.

[@lkennett]

No PTLevel? Too bad.

[@zw2much]

Why not just use cameras?

[@sindrome303]

Put a piece of electrical conduit onto a float, and run it through the lid Low tek, battery free and dependable just look out the window. for night reading mode wrap reflective tape at 1/2 way and 1/4 marks shine torch, count marks. pretty easy also if your a smart guy you could put a float switch in your tank to auto swich your bore pump on, if it goes mote than half way

[@4philipp]

First device: replace batteries annually - or with other words you might just as well inspect the tank/fill level yourself.

[@4philipp]

Device 2: bare bones, wall display not ideal

[@4philipp]

Device3 : set up seems simple enough. Plenty of useful features. Like the USB adapter

[@4philipp]

Device4 : it’s the basic sensor and display with the intention of expanding it. As in, got another tank, purchase this expansion pack

[@4philipp]

Device5 : great accuracy, good display and versatility. Overpriced

[@4philipp]

Preliminary conclusion: Device # 3 is the winner but only because it’s much better then #2 at just 20 bucks more. But even # 2 is overpriced. In this day and age of $300 iPads, any company trying to sell you their own display is just making money for an inferior product. You have two options - simple measurement of fill level, do the math yourself and put a cheat sheet next to the monitor - go for a sophisticated model but only the ones using an app on your smart device. Keeping actively (your own spreadsheet) track of consumption (water/power/fuel) will give you a much different sense of your habits. Ideally you want to do a fall and spring inspection and top off of your tank anyway. I don’t think you need a monitor for that.

[@watchthe1369]

Toilet tank float on the end of the well feed. A cattle water tank float valve would do it too.

[@Fireball573]

If you want to be frustrated go with wireless technology. If you want to know how much water is in your cisterns use multiple floats and copper conductors, the way a municipal water system would.

[@CDArena]

one DIY tip: you can convert any battery powered system to wall-powered by buying an inexpensive transformer and soldering the output wires to the battery contact pads. It is just a matter of buying a transformer of the correct voltage and sufficient amperage.

[@yankey4]

WHEN you going to take use flying dad?? Hehhee Love it guys. God Bless..

[@bryonrykard1560]

If you want something to control your well pump, you need "Liquid Level Controls". Years ago they required wires, I don't know how they are connected today.

[@muddawgkomm9642]

I really liked your "shame on you Dewalt" video, maybe once you test the monitors you can do another 'shame" video on the worst one based on what stated capabilities were and actual performance?

[@stephboeker7835]

You said, 'your kids would be 10yrs old & can check the water level'. Are you guys having TWINS ?

[@zweibrucker]

Interesting problems, each one different.

[@aneb2002]

It's not specific gravity that last sensor measures, since the density of the fluid isn't the thing that's changing. It's a straight up pressure sensor that's measuring the pressure or weight of water above it.

[@python3574]

Thank God somebody picked up on that. Unless Idaho has some kind of unique water that has variable specific gravity based on depth!

[@jrbpa5775]

I unscrew the fill cap and put my 10 ft piece of wood trim which I marked every foot. When I’m down to around 15 inches, I call the hauler for water. Pretty simple.....

[@thtadthtshldntbe]

that might be tough in the middle of a multi day Idaho bilzzard

[@johnjones5954]

Jrbpa 57, Your post inspired me and there is already 149 comments. So I didn't want you to miss mine, thanks. My wife or I just turns the lid a 1/4 turn, comes right off. After taking a quick look. We go through the same boring process, but in reverse. The best part about this video is it made me think of a song I haven't thought of in years. So thanks for that. Oh, the song. Your in luck it's on Utube, it's received over 5 million hits. Give it a listen. (Zager and Evans - In The Year 2525). PS @ 2:30 it says it all.

[@alane6555]

Or they could check how Dorthy Ainsworth did it on her cistern, i think she used a bucket and lid, a round pole with a flag on it and a sleeve in the roof of the cistern. When the flag is low she needs water and she can tell from about 300' away. Saw it in backwoods home magazine several years ago.

[@timbailey4069]

Usage meter on your softner tank. Add another meter outside add the two together equals total water usage. Easy

[@dawnbaker9274]

Where's the rain water harvesting? Just heard about the cistern. 😕