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Does such a product exists?

Trustway

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I would love to find somewhere on the market some sort of digital reader that can tell me how much water is remaining in my tank. 

Much like I will view my fuel gauge to see when I’m running low I would love to install a water gauge to see from the front of the vehicle how much water is remaining in my tank so I can quickly work out how much work I can still do before I need to fill up with more water again.

So is there such a device that exsists yet?

 
They sell them for IBC tanks and also bundled oil/fuel tanks - I’ve not seen one yet that looks like it would be a simple accurate fit though


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@Dave B is right on the money. But there are also several digital options, and I've looked into most of them.

The ones that would fit best, relies on the conductivity of the water to sense the resistance between two points and thus calculate the water level. You'd put in two electrodes in the tank, and measure the resistance between them. It doesn't work with purified water though, as it's not very conductive to say the least.

Another option is to have several float switches installed so you could see when it's below half, when it's below 20% and so on. But that would mean either a lot of holes in the side of the tank (not optimal) or somehow building a long rod one with several floats one one rod, or several single rods of various lengths.

I've built a system with an ultrasonic sensor that connects to a arduino and shows the level on a screen. It works fine for my stationary storage (though I don't use it at the moment since it's really not needed). It wouldn't work in the van though, as it's not waterproof. You could install it in a pipe over the tank or something, but there could still slosh water on it. Some sort of lid that closed before the module while driving could work, but it's starting to be a bit too overengineered.

Another option I have bought but have yet to try is an infrared sensor. It's neat and waterproof, but it doesn't work when the water gets very close to the sensor, which is but a small issue.

My conclusion? I'm going to frame the tank with plywood and insulation, and I'll drill a few holes in the plywood so I can see the water level. A LED light on the top will illuminate the level quite fine.

 
@Dave B is right on the money. But there are also several digital options, and I've looked into most of them.

The ones that would fit best, relies on the conductivity of the water to sense the resistance between two points and thus calculate the water level. You'd put in two electrodes in the tank, and measure the resistance between them. It doesn't work with purified water though, as it's not very conductive to say the least.

Another option is to have several float switches installed so you could see when it's below half, when it's below 20% and so on. But that would mean either a lot of holes in the side of the tank (not optimal) or somehow building a long rod one with several floats one one rod, or several single rods of various lengths.

I've built a system with an ultrasonic sensor that connects to a arduino and shows the level on a screen. It works fine for my stationary storage (though I don't use it at the moment since it's really not needed). It wouldn't work in the van though, as it's not waterproof. You could install it in a pipe over the tank or something, but there could still slosh water on it. Some sort of lid that closed before the module while driving could work, but it's starting to be a bit too overengineered.

Another option I have bought but have yet to try is an infrared sensor. It's neat and waterproof, but it doesn't work when the water gets very close to the sensor, which is but a small issue.

My conclusion? I'm going to frame the tank with plywood and insulation, and I'll drill a few holes in the plywood so I can see the water level. A LED light on the top will illuminate the level quite fine.
Your post me thinking, what about a submersible pressure sensor:http://www.omniinstruments.co.uk/level-distance-sensors/submersible-depth-sensors-water-level-sensor/ptm-n-programmable-submersible-depth-sensor.html

Although this one isn't sensitive enough there may be ones that are.

Maybe by calculating the full tank pressure vs almost empty tank pressure you could work out the water level. I am not very good with this sort of stuff tho.

 
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I saw one of these just now as I was searching for ebay links for the other stuff.

Didn't know it was pressure based, looks interesting. The one I found with a quick search is 220v only though.. Like this one which looks pretty neat. But the sensor itself is 5-24v as far as I can tell. Could be an issue as the temperature for us is changing constantly, as well as the pressure you create when pumping out the water might throw the sensor off. Needs some more research..

There is also this contactless option but I guess it only triggers at some levels. Less intrusive though.

 
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