Kingspan tanks and their level monitoring.

[Cowabunga]

I'm confused. I'm installing two new bunded fuel stations. A 2500 and a 3500 litre in the 'Advanced' specification.
There are many reasons I'm confused.
The 2500 tank comes with the Kingspan Sonic system, which is fairly straightforward and has a transmitter that just screws into the inner tank top with no power input. It is meant to transmit to a receiver that is to be plugged into a standard leccy socket within 50m or so of the tank and it incorporates the gauge. Don't see any issue with pairing or calibrating this to the tank size. It also comes with a separate mechanical gauge which shows the level, so that the user can see the level on-site. Great, a belt and braces approach.

The 3500 tank comes with the more advanced Uniwatchman that has a far more comprehensive display and is wired to a pressure sensor which is connected to an identical transmitter to the one in the 2500, but the electrical wired device is connected to this by a short capillary tube. The control box has an aerial though, and is fixed inside the tank's cabinet. In this case there doesn't seem to be any remote reading capability. And neither does it seem to use the wireless part of either the sender or receiver, although both are present, because these are connected by wire and the capillary tube on this installation.

Anyone shed any light on this? The electricians are here now wiring the things up.

Yours in confusion

The Cowduck

 

[7610 super q]

Bamboo canes aren't expensive.

 

[Cowabunga]

Bamboo canes aren't expensive.

These are bunded tanks, fuel dispensing stations actually. Double skinned and a total faff to dip, as indeed were the previous tanks mounted 1.8M up for gravity feeding. As you know, bunded tanks are now mandatory for passing farm assurance.
Had these a few months ago but it was a long faff to ensure that all three previous tanks were empty at the same time and having enough time without needing to fill tractors to do the concreting and swap over. The electricians were phoned first thing yesterday morning after concreting the base on Friday, and they were here yesterday afternoon. A good day and a half's work for one electrician.

It would have been less bother to just join an extension lead to both tanks myself but not really compliant with electrical safety regulations .

 

[7610 super q]

My bunded one had some sort of mechanical gauge which didn't work from the word go. CH tank had an electrical one which lasted 18 months. The bunded one has a meter, so I just zero it after a delivery to give me some idea of contents left. Checked using a cane every so often. A pain, yes, but I'm too old to spend / faff about with modern tech with a limited lifespan.

@Adeptandy installs CH tanks IIRC ??

 

[Cowabunga]

A picture is worth a thousand words.

The previous installation below. Those plastic tanks were due to change anyway due to sunlight degradation.

Both left tanks are tilted up here to empty them as best as possible after settling time overnight. No need for so much storage these days as my contracting days ended years ago. Those two plastic tanks were a terrible design with the lid and its attaching flange never being able to be water-sealed 100% on either. The cylindrical tin one hidden on the right hasn't been used this century. Still in good condition and could hold 250 gallons. As a child I remember it being the TVO tank for the Standard Fordson [Forden Fach].

 

[Hilly]

Why two ? Why not one big one or is one derv ?

 

[Cowabunga]

Why two ? Why not one big one or is one derv ?

Yes the smaller one is for DERV.

 

[Hilly]

The new set up looks good .

 

[Cowabunga]

Anyone have experience using the Watchman UNI, or Uniwatchman as it's sometimes called?
There's a heck of a lot more wiring to install these than anyone here thought. The electrician has been here a day and a half already and it looks like it will be a full two day job. A professional electrician is doing a professional job, fair play. I would have just bought a length of extension lead type cable, a couple of three pin plugs and a four in one socket placed inside the first cabinet with another cable extending to the second and wired three pin plugs. After the initial cost I probably won't regret getting it done properly though, with wire armoured cables and waterproof switches and circuit breakers.

 

[Cowabunga]

The new set up looks good .

It will see me out.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

The tank I got from Caegwyn farm supplies seems to have some sort of mechanical gauge, inside that just gives a %age, mind you I did ask for the cheapest tank that fitted the criteria. I was told that Oil4Wales would not fill up a non bunded tank now, as if there was a leak, they could be liable as they supplied the diesel! Gary the Electricman said he had been wiring them up for about 20 years.

 

[grainboy]

View attachment 980236
A picture is worth a thousand words.

The previous installation below. Those plastic tanks were due to change anyway due to sunlight degradation.

View attachment 980239
Both left tanks are tilted up here to empty them as best as possible after settling time overnight. No need for so much storage these days as my contracting days ended years ago. Those two plastic tanks were a terrible design with the lid and its attaching flange never being able to be water-sealed 100% on either. The cylindrical tin one hidden on the right hasn't been used this century. Still in good condition and could hold 250 gallons. As a child I remember it being the TVO tank for the Standard Fordson [Forden Fach].

A bit prone of damage by machinery don’t you think, bunded or not, the contents will be flowing through that doorway on impact,

 

[Cowabunga]

The tank I got from Caegwyn farm supplies seems to have some sort of mechanical gauge, inside that just gives a %age, mind you I did ask for the cheapest tank that fitted the criteria. I was told that Oil4Wales would not fill up a non bunded tank now, as if there was a leak, they could be liable as they supplied the diesel! Gary the Electricman said he had been wiring them up for about 20 years.

The only problem with wiring them up is paying for it.
It's the Watchman that has me scratching my head. The smaller one with the Watchman Sonic seems simple enough and since I'm getting a three pin plug wired in the cabinet, I'll have the option of leaving it connected there or moving the receiver into either the shed or farmhouse. I'm inclined to leave it in the tank.

What really puzzles me is why the far more expensive UNI system on the bigger tank doesn't seen to use its wireless system, which it obviously has, but is permanently wired to the sender. The result is, unless I'm missing something, is that it does not have a remote monitoring facility that the small tank has. I was expecting something like an app on my phone to make use of its aerial.

 

[Cowabunga]

A bit prone of damage by machinery don’t you think, bunded or not, the contents will be flowing through that doorway on impact,

It has 18" of brick at the base and the tank is well back from it. Never hit the wall of the other tanks and the steel one was right on the end. Also the cabinet provides a two foot crumple zone before even hitting the bund, let alone bridging the gap and hitting the inner tank. Would you have them built in a 2ft thick reinforced concrete bunker?

What sort of drivers do you think we are around here? We're not that bad.


Touch wood!

 

[Fraserb]

Is this your receiver?

 

[JeepJeep]

Do they not just both transmit to the mickey mouse plug in gauges? And one maybe sounding an alarm if the level drops?

We had similar on 10k and 38k Derv ranks.. absolute crap and wrong readings.

Ended up with both in a Triscan set up linked together.. That'd ping you if the level dropped too quick in either tank.

 

[grainboy]

It has 18" of brick at the base and the tank is well back from it. Never hit the wall of the other tanks and the steel one was right on the end. Also the cabinet provides a two foot crumple zone before even hitting the bund, let alone bridging the gap and hitting the inner tank. Would you have them built in a 2ft thick reinforced concrete bunker?

What sort of drivers do you think we are around here? We're not that bad.


Touch wood!

Never say never,
just take a look in the wreckers thread,

 

[Gedd]

I'm confused. I'm installing two new bunded fuel stations. A 2500 and a 3500 litre in the 'Advanced' specification.
There are many reasons I'm confused.
The 2500 tank comes with the Kingspan Sonic system, which is fairly straightforward and has a transmitter that just screws into the inner tank top with no power input. It is meant to transmit to a receiver that is to be plugged into a standard leccy socket within 50m or so of the tank and it incorporates the gauge. Don't see any issue with pairing or calibrating this to the tank size. It also comes with a separate mechanical gauge which shows the level, so that the user can see the level on-site. Great, a belt and braces approach.

The 3500 tank comes with the more advanced Uniwatchman that has a far more comprehensive display and is wired to a pressure sensor which is connected to an identical transmitter to the one in the 2500, but the electrical wired device is connected to this by a short capillary tube. The control box has an aerial though, and is fixed inside the tank's cabinet. In this case there doesn't seem to be any remote reading capability. And neither does it seem to use the wireless part of either the sender or receiver, although both are present, because these are connected by wire and the capillary tube on this installation.

Anyone shed any light on this? The electricians are here now wiring the things up.

Yours in confusion

The Cowduck

Passed my farm assurance in the spring with non bunded tanks x 2

 

[vantage]

Passed my farm assurance in the spring with non bunded tanks x 2

Inspector not wearing his/her glasses?

 

[Cowabunga]

Is this your receiver?

View attachment 980265

That's the one. It has an antenna on the top but I can't see any use for it as mine is cable connected to a sort of limpet-mine looking thing on top of the tank which is, in turn connected to the sender by a short plastic tube.