# watertank sensors/towing



## growler57 (Aug 21, 2006)

Hi there, we have a Burstner A530 and have recently experienced problems with the fresh water tank sensors. They do not register the amount of water available but do for waste water levels. Another question we have is with regards to towing a Vauxhall Corsa. Does anyone know if (1052KG) is legal :?:


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## 92180 (May 1, 2005)

Hi, 

Is the water level indicator a multi rod sensor or a single float type. 

I have heard about the sensor being short and not reading if you have say 25% in the tank. 

Have you undone the connector and checked for contact or corrosion. 

I would think you could do a test by closing the circuit. Contact your dealer if under warranty and ask his opinion. 


As for towing --what is the Gross weight on the motorhome? 

What is the net weight of the motorhome fully loaded? 

Once you have these and take on from the other that will answer your question.


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## 100390 (Aug 7, 2006)

*water tank sensors/towing*

When you ask the question re towing a Corsa, how do you intend towing it, by frame or trailer.

Besides taking into account the question of weights as advised by Asgard, if by frame I suggest you do a search on A-Frames and make up your own mind, there is divide opinions as to the legal use or not.

If by A-frame as the weight is over 750 it will have to be braked

If you decide to take the chance do ensure you fully advice your insurance company of the intent, there is a customer letter in the September issue of MMM who has found he does not have the coverage he thought he had/

At the end of the day the decission becomes yours


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## 89323 (May 19, 2005)

growler,could be a problem with the equipment.I have a 3yr old A530 and neither of the water gauges or the battery gauges give a reading.I intend to sort the matter out on the next habitation check.


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## fdhadi (May 9, 2005)

We have the same problem with the fresh water sensors on our Burstner 747. 
The sensor has 4 pins, all different lengths. The longest pin does not reach the water until the tank is 3/4's full. The gauge then reads 1/4 full. When the tank is full, the gauge reads 1/2.

On some types of sensors, if you wipe the pins with a scouring pad gently, this can help.


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## Bagshanty (Jul 24, 2005)

Water level meters generally work off the conductanceof the water. The higher the water level the greater the conductance between 2 rods. However, this assumes a certain conductivity for the water, and seems to work fine in the UK, where there aremoderate levels of "impurity", (calcium, etc). Distilled water has a very low conductance, so a tank full of very pure water will show a very low reading.

In our recent trip to Norway the level, even when full, dropped progressively from 100% to 0%. Just to prove the point to myself, I put a small amount of salt in the tank, and immediately the reading shot back up.

Presumably, then, Norwegiantap water is pure eniough to be used in batteries. (A souvenir of my Navy days was 5 gallons of boiler feed water - very pure - for topping up batteries. That's now all gone.)


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## gandj (May 11, 2005)

On our Elegance 685 both the fresh water and the waste water gauges have always been hopelessly inaccurate and erratic. They are of the 4 different length pins type. Worse still, is that the waste water alarm occasionally sounds to warn that the waste tank is nearly full, when in fact it is completely empty! The regular beep can only be stopped by switching off the 12v system (we have one of those silly e-control boxes) which means no lights, taps etc! Barrons suggest dirt on the probes and they have on some vans insulated the upper few centimetres of each probe to prevent short circuiting. Barrons replaced my freshwater probe but it made no difference at all; it remains wildly inaccurate.
If I could reach it, I would disconnect the waste sender unit altogether. I don't find the waste gauge any use as we normally have a bucket under.
Graham


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