Does anyone have any idea where I can get a level sensor for my Aladdin system?  I own a 2006 Patriot Thunder.  i have calle Catcon, the original supplier, several times and they do not return my calls.  I have contacted Monaco national parts and they referred me to Catcon, they cannot get these things either.  Maybe another sensor will work,  Anone have any idea on this?

05 Beaver Monterey 34 -I purchased a Aladdin compatible See Level system.  http://www.rvgauge.com/rv.htm Easy to install and I will never ever have to deal with sensors that fail or debris interference ever again. Plugged into my existing Aladdin system ...Easy at home 2 hour installation. Works perfectly.

The numbers for Beaver Coach Sales are:

Sales: 800-382-2597 Local: 541-322-2184
Service: 800-843-2967 Local: 541-317-3669
http://www.beavercoachsales.com/

Gerald

Hi LarLee,

I have been considering the Seelevel system. How was the wiring done on the installation? Did you have to run any new wires into the coach, or did you use just the original Alladdin wiring? Did you mount the Seelevel panel, and where? Or are you only using the Alladdin display?

Marc Rodstein
03 Monterey

Quoted from MarcRodstein

Hi LarLee,

I have been considering the Seelevel system. How was the wiring done on the installation? Did you have to run any new wires into the coach, or did you use just the original Alladdin wiring? Did you mount the Seelevel panel, and where? Or are you only using the Alladdin display?

Marc Rodstein
03 Monterey

I installed both the original SeeLevel system and then the SeeLevel system with the Aladdin interface in our coach.

I had to run new wiring from each new tank sensor to the SeeLevel displays. I installed one display in the kitchen and one in the wet bay. I had to run 12 VDC to each display as well. I picked up the 12 VDC from nearby light switches.

With the Aladdin interface model, it is still necessary to run wiring from each of the SeeLevel tank sensors to a SeeLevel display unit, because the display contains all the electronics for the SeeLevel. That display, though, can be located down in a tank bay if you are never going to look at it, relying on the Aladdin system for display of the tank levels. That avoids the necessity of running new wiring from the tanks to the living space, where you would normally want a display.

Using the Aladdin display has limitations, though. It does not display accurate values at the upper end of the scale when you using the SeeLevel sensors. I.e., the tank readings will be spuriously high once the tanks are over about half full. For example, currently our fresh water tank shows 69% on the SeeLevel display and 74% on the Aladdin. When the level reaches 85% on the SeeLevel, the Aladdin will show 100%. I have talked to the folks at SeeLevel about this, and there is no solution.

I called Beaver Sales and Service in Bend and they have a whole bin full of the sensors.  I ordered three in case another goes bad.  $35 each which I don't think is bad.

Thanks for the report Dave. I am curious as to why you first installed the system without the Alladdin interface, and then installed it again with the Alladdin interface. What did you gain by adding the Alladdin? It seems like the Seelevel interface is more accurate, so why bother to hook up the Alladin to it?

Quoted from MarcRodstein

Thanks for the report Dave. I am curious as to why you first installed the system without the Alladdin interface, and then installed it again with the Alladdin interface. What did you gain by adding the Alladdin? It seems like the Seelevel interface is more accurate, so why bother to hook up the Alladin to it?

I installed the SeeLevel system before the Aladdin interface was available. I agreed to beta-test the Aladdin interface when they were developing it. I sent them wiring diagrams of the Aladdin tank monitoring system, and they provided the system to me without cost.

So Dave, if you were doing it again, would you choose to use the Alladdin interface? It seems redundant and unecessary to me.

Marc:

A few minutes ago, I would have responded "No, I would not have installed the Aladdin interface."

Then I saw this reply to a post of mine in another forum: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/sea-level-gages-58472.html

He says that his Aladdin and SeeLevel system displays read the same. Perhaps the inconsistency that I am seeing between the two was fixed later in the development process.

If the Aladdin display accurately reflects the values transmitted by the SeeLevel sensors, I would definitely install the Aladdin interface. It puts all the data in one place, updated dynamically, unlike the SeeLevel 709 system, which requires that you press a button to see the level in each tank. I would install the required SeeLevel display in the wet bay (where I installed a second one anyway), which is a lot easier to get wiring to than is the interior of the coach. It is nice to have one SeeLevel display easily accessible in order to run diagnostics on the system.

In the case of our coach, I needed a display in the wet bay mostly to monitor the fresh water tank while filling it. It takes over 35 minutes to fill from empty.

Great answer, Dave. Thank you. Now I think I understand.

It seems to me that by putting the SeeLevel panel in the wet bay and using the Aladdin harness, there is no need to run any new wires into the coach living area. That alone makes for a much simpler installation.

When looking for parts its a good idea to use the forums search feature.  I searched for the word sensor and got this old post.

Aladdin system for holding tank monitoring

The sensing probes for the holding tanks can go bad over time.  They are expensive through Monaco, but can be purchased through the manufacture,  Cost is 25.00 each at time of posting.

The source is

http://www.catconproducts.com/

You should look under RV products and scroll down to RV Sensor.

Look for the probes at the end of the holding tanks usualy on the passenger side, its the one with the phone connector and wire attached.

For me the key point for installing the Sea Level system is it uses an exterior tank mounted sensor strip that adheres vertically to the outside of your holding tanks. (This eliminates sensors that take a reading from inside a tank that are subject to failure from debris) It has a solid state waterproof circuit on each strip that sends a signal back to your Aladdin system. All three of my holding tanks are in the same vicinity so it was simple to run the wires through the bay over to the outside hookup bay. Here all the wires converge and plug into the existing Aladdin system in the bay next door. A handy exterior display was included which I mounted in the hookup bay. No calibration necessary. You still view tank capacities with your Aladdin system.

Have 06 Monterey and will be replacing the black and grey water sensors.  thought they were located on the passenger side near the Rj11 phone connectors.  didn't see them there.  I assume they are near the bottom.  Do I need to remove the main service panel on the drivers side?

I replaced mine on my 2003 Monterey last year and they were on the drivers side behind the panel with all the water controls. Not a real bad job, but make sure to empty your tanks, flush your black tank and raise your drivers side with your jacks. Use plenty of teflon tape to prevent and leaks.
Jim Shaw
2003 Monterey

Tim, it appears that CATCON is no longer in business. Will not answer phone calls or e-mails. Thanks for the info anyway.

Yes, my waste tanks are mounted on a slant.  They sit on wedges of Styrofoam, with the passenger side elevated for good drainage.

I mounted the SeeLevel sensor strips on the passenger side of the black and gray tanks.  Since it higher than the driver's side, they don't see the first few gallons of material, and except when the tank is exactly half full they are off by a bit.  

I carefully added a gallon of water at a time to the gray water tank and recorded the level indicated on the SeeLevel monitor.  It is off by 2% through most of the range, but 5% in the first and last 10% of the range.

I'm happy with that.  Of course, the fresh water tank is not mounted on a slope, so the SeeLevel sensor gives very accurate reading there.

My tanks are not mounted on a slant, but have slanted sides. Viewed from the side, they are a trapezoid, with the across-the-top measurement of the tank about 3-4 inches more than the across-the-bottom measurement, making the sides go down on a slant like a pyramid in reverse.

That would certainly affect the SeeLevel readings, but I would still install it anyway.

When I added a gallon at a time to our gray tank and recorded the SeeLevel readings, I created a spreadsheet of the results. I printed out the results and taped it to the wall above the display.  At a glance, I can tell that what the actual level is for each reading of the displayed values.  

The system displays in increments of three or four percent.