An octogenarian friend of mine, in another state, has an above ground 350
gallon tank of home heating oil that is filled about once a month in the
winter.

The widow lives alone and simply asked me about how to read the tank from
inside the house. I have propane, so my RD3 tools don't seem to work on
kerosene tanks.

Do you have any suggestions for me to research that you have found work
well?

On 10/11/2016 6:21 PM, Algeria Horan wrote:
An octogenarian friend of mine, in another state, has an above ground 350
gallon tank of home heating oil that is filled about once a month in the
winter.

The widow lives alone and simply asked me about how to read the tank from
inside the house. I have propane, so my RD3 tools don't seem to work on
kerosene tanks.

Do you have any suggestions for me to research that you have found work
well?

She have a sight line to the tank? A float indicator can be attached
that just watch the flag on it.

OTOH, float level switches that could be mounted in side of tank start
as cheaply as the $15 range; one would need the associated cabling,
power, etc., to make use of the switch contact of course...I'm presuming
you'd be a volunteer in that regards???

On 10/11/16 6:21 PM, Algeria Horan wrote:
An octogenarian friend of mine, in another state, has an above ground 350
gallon tank of home heating oil that is filled about once a month in the
winter.

The widow lives alone and simply asked me about how to read the tank from
inside the house. I have propane, so my RD3 tools don't seem to work on
kerosene tanks.

Do you have any suggestions for me to research that you have found work
well?

No personal experience. The fuel level gauges I see require one
to be near the tank.
A search for remote fuel level gauge turned up stuff like this:
http://www.fuelminder.biz/
A search on Amazon turned up this:
https://www.amazon.com/Beckett-Rocket-17000-Wireless-Monitor/dp/B014MX4BG4/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1476232578&sr=8-13&keywords=remote+fuel+level+gauge
or http://alturl.com/gciqt

On Tue, 11 Oct 2016 18:42:32 -0500, dpb wrote:

She have a sight line to the tank? A float indicator can be attached
that just watch the flag on it.

Thanks for trying to help out.

Apparently the tank is 275 gallons (or thereabouts) and it's above ground
and it has a cover of some sort that negates using a stick to plumb it.

In addition, it apparently has some sort of "sonar" sensor that somehow
transmits to the house the level but it's apparently not working.

It's a thousand miles away so I asked the neighbor to snap a photo and send
it to me for the lady (who isn't technical).

I was hoping to just buy her something that screws in and tells her iPhone
what the level is.

OTOH, float level switches that could be mounted in side of tank start
as cheaply as the $15 range; one would need the associated cabling,
power, etc., to make use of the switch contact of course...I'm presuming
you'd be a volunteer in that regards???

The neighbor's husband will probably put it in for us whatever we figure
out. He's gonna snap a photo for me, I hope soon.

On 10/11/16 6:21 PM, Algeria Horan wrote:
An octogenarian friend of mine, in another state, has an above ground
350 gallon tank of home heating oil that is filled about once a month
in the winter.

The widow lives alone and simply asked me about how to read the tank
from inside the house. I have propane, so my RD3 tools don't seem to
work on kerosene tanks.

Do you have any suggestions for me to research that you have found
work well?

Would a "keep full" agreement with the fuel supplier be an option?
The local farmers coops offer them in Nebraska. My parents would
sign up putting the burden on the supplier to keep track.

On 10/12/2016 02:35 AM, Algeria Horan wrote:
In addition, it apparently has some sort of "sonar" sensor that somehow
transmits to the house the level but it's apparently not working.


My guess would be dead batteries. Her fuel oil dealer should be able to replace them.

Put an hour running time meter on the burner.
The nozzle tells you the burn rate.
With a little math you can set up a chart.
So many hours equals so many gallons burned
equals so many gallons left.
M

On 10/11/2016 9:35 PM, Algeria Horan wrote:
....

In addition, it apparently has some sort of "sonar" sensor that somehow
transmits to the house the level but it's apparently not working.
....

Well, that's a whole different kettle o' fish if it is already
instrumented...she just needs to get a tech out and repair what's
already there.

It may be as simple as another noted as batteries altho I'd presume that
wouldn't have been the only power source it's possible...

On 10/11/16 10:50 PM, Dean Hoffman wrote:
On 10/11/16 6:21 PM, Algeria Horan wrote:
An octogenarian friend of mine, in another state, has an above ground
350 gallon tank of home heating oil that is filled about once a month
in the winter.

The widow lives alone and simply asked me about how to read the tank
from inside the house. I have propane, so my RD3 tools don't seem to
work on kerosene tanks.

Do you have any suggestions for me to research that you have found
work well?

Would a "keep full" agreement with the fuel supplier be an option?
The local farmers coops offer them in Nebraska. My parents would
sign up putting the burden on the supplier to keep track.

One can't off-load the burden of responsibility for something like that
to someone else. Your tank? You're responsible for keeping it filled.
Period.

If it runs dry, you, your pipes, and your chickens all freeze. The
minimum wage clerk at the coop who neglected to send the tanker truck
out or failed to confirm the delivery stays warm and wouldn't know it
happened and wouldn't care if he did.

--
With all this “gun control” talk, I haven’t heard one politician say how
they plan to take guns away from criminals and terrorists— just from law
abiding citizens…

Wade Garrett posted for all of us...



One can't off-load the burden of responsibility for something like that
to someone else. Your tank? You're responsible for keeping it filled.
Period.

If it runs dry, you, your pipes, and your chickens all freeze. The
minimum wage clerk at the coop who neglected to send the tanker truck
out or failed to confirm the delivery stays warm and wouldn't know it
happened and wouldn't care if he did.


Oh contrare, fuel oil dealers do this all the time. They use degree days and
things like computers to map usage so they can deliver a minimum of 150
gals.

Sounds like she already has a suitable gauge already, just needs it to be
repaired. If she has a service contract it may be covered. Fuel oil dealers
usually are inexpensive, as it goes.

--
Tekkie