Testing & Comparing Wireless Tank Monitors for Water 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

[@keithvertrees9008]

I’m only 15 mins in but it’s driving me crazy that you aren’t trying it from the 2nd or 3rd floors of the house where you’d have line of sight.

[@JohnSmith-ug5ci]

Why would you pump water up hill at least a hundred feet away to a cistern that needs to be monitored when all you have to do is install an 80 gallon pressurized tank at the well?

[@watermanone7567]

Why are you still screwing around with cisterns??? Hook the well up to a pressure tank in the garage and use a pre-filter and your water softener. Done.

[@MaximumChips]

You went with the most expensive fancy bells one? Shocker!

[@swamprat69er]

What a load of BS to go through! Just plumb a pressure tank into the line from the well pump and plumb the house into the tank. Save the cisterns for irrigation and car washing.

[@maykevin5]

I don't understand why you don't use your new expensive deep well. Feed that in to a bladder tank with a pressure switch. Use the cistern for emergency or garden

[@TheMot616]

Can we get that house moisture wrapped and on to the finish siding ❄️will be back ☃️

[@theluckybeaver]

Why not just have a float switch in the tank so the well keeps it full all the time would be a lot easier on the pump and softener to filter 5 gallons at a time then 1000 all at once

[@Desert2GardenLV]

I guarantee they eventually do this but you know Jesse and Alyssa they like to discover things from every angle before jumping right in the deep end.

[@gsyguy1]

said it before simple but always works a FLOAT SWITCH ,it really is that simple.Float detects level says its low calls pump pump turn son fills until float switch says FULL ,simple always works" don't complicate the simple"

[@pbertlin6194]

FYI, The sensor is a Pressure Transducer that measures in Inches of water column. There should be laser etched markings on the side of it that has the calibration, usually (0-12 ft). Don't rest on bottom it will get contaminated from any silt , leave it 6" or better up from the bottom. They will sometimes install inside a perforated 2" PVC pipe attached to the side of riser.

[@roberthamilton9730]

Good to know

[@timgarlanger6093]

Are you going to work on your house this summer?

[@hansroemerszoonvanderbrikk7626]

I'm old school and I'd preferred a plain old floating sensor connected to a relay switching on and off the pump (and maybe a valve to avoid return). The only limit: it needs a cable. I was in fact wondering why you didn't put any cable conduit alongside the water pipes toward both the well and the tanks.

[@shanehaws3828]

Jesse you need to not try and ear that radio when your trying to talk into it, its no different then a cb or ham radio when using them, you hold the mic or in your case radio away from your mouth about 6" so you don't sound like you have a mouth full of mash potatoes.

[@northfielder1789]

you should have tried recieveing signals up on the main floor. Wouldn't that be closer to line of sight. Or even the top floor.

[@margarettt7675]

I gotta say I've been waiting for news of that baby's arrival :) I know after the birth it might be a little challenging for Alyssa to work on a video, but hoping a work around for that is in the works. I'm sure I'm not the only one anticipating the happy, happy event.

[@mirandabruning3953]

My thinking!

[@DevinHeaps]

All I heard was: "...spent $120 for this chunk of fiberglass. Now watch me destroy it... and no, there is no possible way scrap lumber could work here..."

[@fredericrike5974]

A plastic kitchen cutting board bolted onto the down face of the "cheap" cover with SS or galvanized nuts and bolts. Think several commenters may have a thought re cold weather ops, as I have had winter probs even here in Texas with electronically controlled devices. Best of luck Alyssa!

[@Eskears2]

I really love watching your content but I’m a plumber and I am extremely confused why you don’t just set up s pitiless adaptor and dig a trench into the house and get a standard well tank also the softener is designed to kinda be hands freee and run and regen on its own if you would get a standard well tank this whole system seem extremely over complicated I would keep the tanks up the hill as reserve for when the electric is out but should be valved off in the house so you can fill or use water from them with the flip of a valve and a turning the power off to the pump

[@waynebaird3539]

I am so surprised you have not connected your house to your water well, directly. I have a well and use the water straight from the well and have no problems what-so-ever. And... I never run out of water.

[@joeschmoe4030]

Running out of water.....with a well on site.....seriously

[@Betty1Q]

I missed you both. Thank You for your time and update. Hugs!!

[@hutcherson77]

Glad y’all went with the pressure sensor. I’m a geotechnical engineer, and we use these types of sensors to measure changes in groundwater. They are very reliable, and like you mentioned, very easy to setup. Love the setup you have, and love your videos.

[@josutton2911]

I may be confused but isn’t line of sight mean they have to visibly see each other? So by you dropping down the hill then with height difference between house and water tank then you are losing line of sight. Only way to have line of sight to top of hill is from the upper floor of your house???

[@deanconstantine4866]

What’s going on with siding?

[@Mrkaffecod]

When will you start working on the house again?

[@larryparish5984]

Glad to see you're back, been missing you both on here. Alyssa, I have something for you. 2 INGREDIENT PIZZA DOUGH Makes a 12" round or regular size baking sheet. 3 cups / self-rising flour 2 cups / plain Greek yogurt After mixing flour and yogurt place in a floured bowl, cover with a dish towel & place in a warm place to rise for 15-20 min. (While mixing,if dough is to sticky add a little extra flour a little at a time). Pretty sure you know the rest 🍕🍕🍕. It's really good as it is but I like adding a little garlic powder to the flour. You can also roll up some string cheese in the edge of the dough. I know Jesse will probably want to try this soon. Glad you're back.

[@wb5mct]

Instrument guy here, 25 years in a chemical plant environment. You definitely got the best of the lot. Even the multi-thousand dollar industrial grade ultrasonic and radar units are really hard to make work consistently and accurately. The submersible pressure transducer type is far easier to get working correctly and consistently. That said, I'm a cheapskate and would have gone with running a piece of plastic tubing up the hill and running a bubbler. The tubing drops into the tank just like your transducer and needs to go all the way to the bottom. At the house end you put an air pump to force air into the tubing and put a pressure gauge to measure the air pressure. Air pressure == hydrostatic head (depth of water) and you're done. Get a gauge calibrated in Inches of Water. When you want to know how much is in the tank, give the air pump a couple of strokes and read the gauge!

[@super_slo]

Interesting you decided not to mount the transmitter over the wire port since you seemed to have a good enough signal. Maybe I'm missing the point, but it looked like it was possibly designed to nest above the split rubber bung and reduce/eliminate the need to caulk around the cable ...

[@KC2DZB]

No need to eat that microphone. It will sound way better if you hold it away from your mouth like Alyssa does. Trust me on this one.

[@DavidKirwanirl]

Guys I hope you get cladding or some sort of protection up before that osb just rots ;/

[@NEProject]

FYI, Smart Life Weekly is using your picture in an ad, just in case you didn't know.

[@vandwellingBrandon]

Missed u both

[@cayminlast]

We missed you guys, it's like not hearing from a family member for ages, and wondering what happened. Please keep us updated, even just a short hello video will do. We love you guys....

[@jaccurtis5789]

At 11:30, switches 1,3,4,6 out of 8 is 2x tank depth + 4 in binary.(10110100)

[@gkevineady49]

Your patience with this prepares you for parenting. As the only American who has never downloaded an app, I congratulate you.

[@timon0x31]

Right now the transmitter is sending it’s signal in all directions. If you add a yagi antenna on a pole aimed toward the house you should get a much stronger signal. Just make sure you get the right one for the device with at least 9db of gain.

[@trongod2000]

Think it will be interesting to revisit this operation next winter when it gets cold and if it gets buried in snow.

[@ducmagic]

You should use a small pipe and little larger size pipe. Then you use a floating ball to pushing the small pipe up and down to measure the water. You painted red and green good or bad low water or high water.

[@tandrerafferty]

Glad to see you back. Missed seeing you two. Was a bit worried because there had been such a quiet period from you, but realised with everything you have going on with the house & baby on the way, we'd hear from you when you were darn good & ready. ❤

[@milagrohndz65]

Aaww I was hoping that baby came already but I’m happy to see another video 😊. When is baby due ??

[@Pauljohn696969]

When I was growing up, we had a cottage with a well basically the same as yours and a purification system almost the same as yours. Our system had a pressure tank which the well pump filled and pressurized and it automatically came on when the water was low and repeated the cycle. We didn't have any cisterns so why do you need them? It seems to me those made sense before you had the well but now they' appear to be simply redundant.

[@MichaelDawson03]

I think the plan is to move to that, right now they are using a temporary set up, until they get the permanent plumbing set up.

[@moretimethanmoney8611]

Float switch in cistern connected to well pump.

[@yeolegeezer2327]

When is that Lil' Whipper Snapper due? (Baby) :-)

[@evankooiman1988]

Maybe you’ve given the answer before, but why are you still using the cisterns now that you have the well dug? Seems like an unnecessary step.

[@d.lagumbi9230]

Because they rely on gravity to get water pressure, otherwise they'd need to use the inline well pump. Also I think they might be worried about running out of h2o during low water periods.

[@noway543]

Gravity feed the house so in case of power failure they still have water and do not require connecting the well pump on the generator.

[@oldtimefarmboy617]

To prevent the well pump motor from burning out from constantly cycling on and off every time you open faucet and the pressure drops, you either need a pressure/storage tank to handle filling up a glass or pan with water so when the well pump comes on it can pump several gallons of water. Using large cisterns on top of the hill is actually the ideal setup since they can handle hundreds of gallons of water before the well pump comes on and then it can pump for hundreds of gallons of water before shutting of and staying off until needed again. That is also one rason why cities use those large water towers to maintain pressure on their system. A system like what they have set up can last for decades before needing the well motor or pump serviced. My parents installed their system in 1973 and replaced the pump and motor for the first time in 2018. 45 years.

[@whatdowedonow4343]

Not sure Jesse's reason why but, I know that the biggest draw back of running a well system with a pressure tank and pump is that it takes quite a bit of energy, however if you have that combined with a gravity fed cistern your pressure is inherent and you can fill the tanks with a much smaller pump. Just a guess.

[@flick22601]

Evan, you're totally correct. They love to make things more complicated by over analyzing everything. Millions of houses in this country and throughout the world use submersible pumps with pressure tanks without any problems. Power goes out; start up your generator or drink some beer and wine until it comes back on. I live in the country and my system has been working continuously for over 14 years.

[@krisbowman1061]

These electronic readers seem to me more of a hassel than practical. Easy fix would be to put a meter on the hydrent when filling to get your gallons into tanks, and 1 at the house inlet to get your usage.

[@michaelanthonyburkeyared1429]

Your house is tall just run a hose up a board to get high as the top of your water level mark it at full and low or just a float with a micro switch to a light 12 volts !

[@michaelheinen8526]

DIDNT YOU DRILL A WELL,YOU HAD WELL WATER TESTED,ITS GOOD WATER,USE THE WELL AND GET A WATER SOFTNER,STORAGE TANK,WHY FIDDLE FARTING WITH ALL THAT

[@Bluuplanet]

Any of the ones that have a screw-in walkie talkie type antenna can have a coax put in between the sensor and the antenna so you could put the antenna anywhere for good reception.

[@weedygarden]

Baby, baby, baby! Anxiously awaiting the arrival of your bundle of joy!

[@BobHolowenko]

Hey, you can extend the range on those units with the external antennas. I think those are 433Mhz units and a 433mhz external antenna on both sides should help

[@cteneyck]

The problem is the receiver is down hill from the sensor. the sensor likely has a built in antenna that radiates the signal up and out. picture a reverse cone. 73 de N5CJT

[@joesharp5602]

Looks like the upgrade to the expensive unit (beginning at 30 minutes) could also be used to turn on your well pump when your systern is low. I would also, since you had extra cable above the systern, extend the cable via pvc pipe and fittings in order to get the transmitter as high as possible even though the receiver shows strong signal. You talk about this in your video so I believe we are in agreement with those ideas. Keep the great videos coming... You and you family are awesome... Joe

[@davemoss586]

You might get more bars on the monitor if you add an extension cable for the antenna on the tank monitor and move the antenna higher. Like attach the antenna to your vent pipe on top of the tank lid. Just a thought.

[@xeroinfinity]

with all the time and money you've spent on these tanks, you could have bought a nice pressure tank for your well. i'd ditch the tanks, unless you're going to save rain water. no need when you have a functioning well. which will clear up the more you use it.

[@BossmanEight]

Virtually all of those systems are 'line of sight' so of course they won't work when you walk down the hill. The receiver is no long in 'line of sight' once you drop below the sensor "line of sight".

[@chadilac9]

What a tease on that last system and filing the tanks! Pretty cool summary though, heading the right direction on your choice

[@jamesthompson2643]

The heavy duty lid will work with the tank riser. They are designed to screw directly to the riser. You need to remove the black adapter ring for it to seat properly.

[@bcarbaugh]

Just hook up the well to pressure tank then done 👍🏻

[@smalltownwireless]

That would be boring!

[@smasica]

I was also thinking, "What's the point of filling cisterns when there's a well within 50 feet of the house?" Why not just hook the well up to the house instead of filling up 1500 gallon cisterns periodically? I've lived with wells off and on my whole life and we never used a cistern as an intermediary. Seems like a whole lot of work for nothing.

[@Mister510]

Then they'd lose all the advantages of having a cistern. Like 2000 gallons of water on hand to fight fires and (lots of) water available when the power is out.

[@barrywinters1142]

Been so long since last posting, I was really worried about you guys. Thanks for the update.

[@RockyMountainHiThere]

Even though I probably won't ever be in the market for most of the things you do comparison videos on, I do enjoy them. I'm really looking forward to when ever the radiant floor system gets "installed". Not because I'm considering it, it's just my curiosity.

[@ljprep6250]

Jesse, 3-6" from mouth to mic is cool. Anything closer distorts the audio, while Frenching gums up the mic. // Once you get the right monitor on there, you can see how many bars the tank monitor shows with each hundred gallons you pump into it, creating your own gauge measure. Flow meters on both the well and outlet line from the cistern should be all you need. www.amazon.com/s?k=water+flow+meter . Another handy gadget is an overflow sensor to show when to shut off the water from the well.

[@gordonwilloughby8793]

I expect that the signal would be stronger upstairs in the house but you may need it to work from the basement so you can tell if the tank is full while you are filling it when you are in the garage. i wonder if the snow will build up on the top of the tank beside the antenna and block the signal in the winter.

[@countrykid-lc5yv]

Surely im not the only one that thinks that when the baby arrives, all this extra effort (while honorable) to save energy will probably give way to practicality. Newborns are beautifully demanding, i have had three, limited sleep, increase in waste stream, increase in washing requirements all come into play. I admire your efforts, i just know children change everything, in a good way of course!

[@darrenmcleod8032]

Why not just use an industrial float valve with constant water flow?

[@robseg]

What happened to the quad. Would make walking the hill easier. Lol

[@mgfarmer1]

HELLO FROM OREGON; GLAD TO SEE YOU BACK!

[@AdrianHiggins83]

With the aquatel model you could use a larger antenna mount it up higher or even run coax down the hill closer to the house

[@flyinggyros9745]

It’s good to see you back again. Although I’m on the grid and have no need for this stuff I find it very interesting and I’m learning something from your efforts. You keep teaching and I’ll keep learning. Thanks. Alan

[@mike111483]

I think that if you trim some trees between the top of the hill and the house you might make it better for the reserver and the sender unit

[@mountainman4410]

Easy enough to either grind off some of the webbing from the back of the free lid, or use screws through the top and into a pc of 2x6 to make a flat mounting surface. 😉

[@martyatutube]

Complicating a very simple thing. Sad.

[@salimufari]

Is it possible when you paired the 3rd setup that it paired to the previous sensor? Since they are the same brand.

[@liamarmstrong1836]

You have a line from your tank to your house. A simple, very accurate, pressure gage would have done the same thing.

[@Desert2GardenLV]

They already tried that. The change in pressure is too small for a gauge to read.

[@rebeccalavell5770]

We've been watching the two of you for years. I don't know if we missed something or not. But, why aren't you just using your well instead the sisterns . We're just curious!

[@ErikPukinskis]

The well has a pump, so if they use it to fill the cisterns they get water pressure even when the power is out. I think they also still aren't totally sure how much water the well provides as they use it, as well as if it's seasonal. You might get an answer on their Instagram, but they don't answer questions here.

[@matejfoltyn]

It's actually because they need to run their well water through the water softener. As said in the previous video, they have pretty iron-y watter which can cause staining of your toilet, bath tub, sinks etc. Now since the pump has to run for the softener to run, you have to do something with the pressure. If all your faucets are closed, you can't just run the well. Additionally there is always the risk of your well not being primed well. There is always some sediment which decreases your water quality so a good 10-15 minute prime is the best thing for your water. After all that, you have to store the water somewhere, which is ehere the cisterns come in and there you go :)

[@apmountain]

The water from the well has alot of iron in it and it tastes bad and causes damage to appliances when untreated.

[@ConstantijnC]

they are using the well to fill up the cisterns. that way they don't have to run the well pump whenever they need water and they have a more constant water pressure.

[@billmacartney201]

When you start a pump, it takes a lot of power untill it runs at capacity, so if your pump stops and starts each time you turn a tap on, you use a lot of power. If you fill up your tank once over a couple of months you save a shit load of power. $$$$$$$$$ AS well they have to run there pump 20-30 minutes to get clean water. It would still be cheaper than a stop start process.

[@toshayonguard4253]

What a Min Jess she said bites of cheese cake not slices.....😜😜😜 and you know being down the hill and not up into the house affected signals on those receivers had you taken those receivers up to living space you may have had a better outcome 🙄🤪😁

[@jimmerritt7234]

i would have used a piece of scrap plywood till i figured out what will work

[@MrRuss815]

Hey, just throwing this out there. If you guys are still using that WISP for your ISP (internet), the radio on the tank might mess with your internet connection. Thanks for sharing what you do!

[@phatcowboy76]

The fancy sensor with the long cable is reading pressure I believe. Different fluids with different densities reading differently per inch of depth hence why you purchased on calibrated for water. So it reads pressure and does the math for the density of water and gives you an accurate depth. The good thing about these sensors is that they are solid with no moving parts. Very robust. They are used extensively in industry and manufacturing. I work at a carrot processing plant in Bakersfield and they use these type of level sensor on their water tanks.

[@NeworldDesigns]

I have an idea for you Guys... What about a basket That goes up and down....

[@margarettt7675]

We have had no luck using outdoor battery operated equipment in the winter cold. Winter will make a difference.

[@larrycobb3102]

I am so glad that you guys are back. I was starting to think that for some reason my phone wasn't able to receive your videos. You guys are the only one's I really enjoy watching.

[@tbrd69]

The Smart Water unit does not measure Specific Gravity (SC). It measures pressure with the pressure transducer (The part you put in the water). Water has a SC of 1.00, meaning that 1 gallon weighs 8.34 lbs. It takes 2.31 feet of water to produce 1 psi. If the SC of the liquid is higher the less liquid height it will take to produce the same 1 psi. A liquid with a SC of 1.10 would weigh 9.17 lbs. It would only take 2.1 feet to equal 1 psi. A hydrometer measures a liquids SC. Basically the same thing that you used to measure the sugar and alcohol content of your Meads.

[@robertherzog2087]

You said these were line of site, so are you in line with the transmitter at the bottom of the hill? Maybe trying the receiver on the top floor of the house will make a difference.

[@ap6553]

Wondering if anything is new on the baby front?????

[@benjaminmellingen5340]

the one with the weird switches is probably just using a binary value to read what the depth is in the tank. So if there are 6 switches that gives you 63 different possible depth readings. Pretty easy and clever solution. That and I hope you actually test the different ones again with some of the advice that I have seen here in the comment section. Like testing it from the top floor in your house and using range extenders to boost the signal. The problem for the signal that goes to these readout panels is the big hill and trees that the signal has to pass through making it very unlikely that they are just going to work out of the box. Also the first product you tested I found very interesting and maybe it just needs some Macgyvering to make it work. Cheap products often come with the added benefit of hours of trial and error ;) So it would be awesome if you tried again :D

[@atomiczombie22]

I've been waiting for a new video. Yay! Can't wait for the bambino to arrive! Much love to you both and God bless.

[@michelerucker3755]

It was nice to see Bugaboo😇😇😇 thanks❤️❤️❤️

[@awesomearizona-dino]

Good to see you back posting vids...I was a bit concerned for mom.

[@ilikebigcats21]

one of the reasons you probably not getting any readings on the cheaper systems is that the monitor is below the sensor. They probably would work just fine in a straight level line of sight setup.

[@frankdeegan8974]

We all know they do not read these , but I believe the cheaper monitors all were line of sight so when he could not see the top of the tank the monitor lost contact. There are obviously places in the upper house where the device would stay in contact with itself and work just fine.

[@chuck7298]

You. Have a well you don't need the tanks

[@Brandon-qr8zz]

chuck hakes it’s a low flow well and they Fill the tanks with the well. The tanks act as “water towers”

[@MikeC19100]

Nice review and the results are a little surprising too. The cheap-O units seem to have more negatives than positives and the top two look to be a better starting point for anyone with a water storage unit that’s situated farther away like yours is. Since you installed the Smart Water unit and if you want to elevate the remote transmitter you may want to consider using a mini-tower stand built from PVC pipe with flanges on both ends to 1) attach it to the tank and 2) mount the transmitter onto. While the tank vent is made from smaller pipe, for rigidity you probably want to use at least a 2 inch stack for your elevated sensor mount. This was a very interesting and informative review and thanks for taking the time to document it.

[@lucvandecasteele7696]

that was a huge workout you got that day.

[@roberthamilton9730]

What is it about being first on commenting? You want the world to know that there’s nothing in your life more important than waiting for the next video? COOL!

[@davemoss586]

I'm sorry I commented before seeing the end of the video. I see that the last one allows you to do what I was saying without the extra antenna cable. My bad!

[@johnkrim8377]

If you cut the cheese cake in 1/2 it's two slices.

[@andrewdeming141]

This may sound too simple, but why don't you measure the water that goes up the hill when you are pumping so you know how much water is in the tanks. Then as you use water and it comes down the hill you measure that and subtract it from the amount of water in the tanks. If you know someone who knows how to program an Arduino micro controller they could build a simple display that could display gallons of water in the tank based on signals from 2 or more flow sensors. With 3 flow sensors you could measure water going up the hill, domestic water used, and garden water used. You could also put a LED indicator in each bath the kitchen and the laundry that would indicate a low water level. No radio transmission problems, no electronics out in the weather, no animals chewing on the wires. One last thought: If you put a solenoid valve in the garden water line you could easily control how many gallons of water each watering would be, when the watering would occur, and how many per day. Total cost should be $60 to $120 depending on what you decide to do.

[@juraposp]

Na gravitační vodovod mu stačí mít nádrže pár metrů nad nejvyšší výpustí. Bude mít problém s přetlakem, mimo to, že ho to umístění na kopci bude stát spoustu energie, kterou by mohl využít jinak. A protože je v síti, tak to bude drahé. Už si naříkal nad vytápěním té garáže s průvanem v zimě, vytápěl ji přímotopem. Je to boháč, rád plýtvá penězi a elektřinou. Je to osvěžující v tomto spořivém světě.

[@mikelollar657]

why not just use a float switch

[@gsx750esd]

Smart Water...made in little old New Zealand..another Kiwi innovation :)

[@mikeherbert643]

You should go and visit your local water distribution plant and see what technology they use. I know they use high and low level floats switches that are wired to a control panel that gives you accurate readings. Cheers

[@I3randed4life]

Keep it simple if you have your fill line separate from your house feed. Just add a pressure gauge in your house and do the math to convert PSI to feet. If you're not using any water in the house static PSI will equal feet of head in the tank.