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Topic: Behind the Water Heater Access Port (Read 13515 times) previous topic - next topic

Behind the Water Heater Access Port

I have recently been working on installing SeeLevel tank monitor kits.  On my '93 GV, after I removed the carpet covered "beauty" panel, sticking the sensors on the black and gray holding tanks is very easy.  The fresh water tank, however...not so much.  The water heater blocks most of the room in front of the tank.  The water pump (mounted below the water heater) also gets in the way.  I didn't really want to remove the water heater, so I decided to cut a access port through the bay wall.

First, I measured from the front of the bay opening to the water tank and the rear of the water heater.  Then I measured from the bay floor to the top of the water tank and the bottom of the water heater.  This gave me the rough locating coordinates for the hole.  Using a magnetic stud finder, I was able to "map" the steel frame members in the wall so I could avoid them and fine tune the cut location.  I found out there was JUST room enough to make a 6" x 9" opening that would miss everything.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Johnson-Stud-Finder-Plus-160/100212033?MERCH=REC-_-SearchPLPHorizontal1_rr-_-NA-_-100212033-_-N

Photos below show the cutting process.  The wall skins are a thin but very strong fiberglass sheet material.  I drilled 4 corner holes, then cut the fiberglass with a very sharp knife.  The void is filled with blue foam insulation which of course is easy to cut.  After the hole was cleaned up, I used a plastic drywall access panel from Home Depot to finish the opening.

6 in. x 9 in. Access Panel with Frame-APD69 - The Home Depot

Working through the access port made it possible to attach the sensor strips to the fresh water tank, and required only moderate contortions on my part.  The port also gives me easy access to the rear of the water heater, so I can work on repairing leaks, etc.  When it finally comes time to replace our OEM water heater, the port will make that job a lot easier.

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #1 –
What a great idea! I might just knock it off so I can stick my head in there from time to time. Inexplicably, my original tank gauges are still working!
jor

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #2 –
Quote from: jor –
Inexplicably, my original tank gauges are still working!
Ours were working fine up until our last trip this past January.  Then the B&W dash CRT monitor died, which forced me to upgrade to SeeLevel.
I also used one of the Home Depot access panels on the other side of the coach, in the wet bay.  They are pretty neat!

What did you do to your coach today VIII

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #3 –
Well done Chuck, nice job👍

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #4 –
Oh how I wish our floor plan would allow that option! Our fresh tank is up against the bulkhead...
Don

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #5 –
Great solution Chuck to a tight space problem. We just had leaks on our new water heater and really could have used the access.

Leaks can happen anytime but ours were because the shop super wanted crimped connections to the pex over my suggestion of using SharkBite connectors and standard stainless braided supply lines used in stick homes for appliances. He said that wasn't necessary because that isn't how the coach was built. After the leaks he had to redo it according to my original suggestion. He's a great guy, made it all good and then some, didn't argue about it.

Later I found out that one of the techs working under him would have used SharkBite connectors. Still, having that access hole you made would have made everyone's day a lot easier.

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #6 –
Just an FYI for you Chuck.  The See Level guy told me when I installed ours that I may want to cover the fresh water strip with a 1/4 rubber pad ( Home Depot ) to prevent  (possible)  interference if there is metal fittings  buy it. 
There is and I did and no problems thus far.  I think other forum members have had problems in this situation.  (Roland)

  Ps. Nice job on the hole.  Ours came with one, makes changing the electric water element possible......

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #7 –
Quote from: Bob & Sue –
The See Level guy told me...that I may want to cover the fresh water strip with a 1/4 rubber pad to prevent interference...
Thanx Robert.  As is my usual habit, before diving into this project, I scanned the Forum for helpful tips.  I did see reference to covering the strips to prevent interference.  I figured since I (now) have easy access to all of my strips, I would just wait and see if the insulating pads are required.  So far, they do not seem necessary, but time will tell.

I conducted my first operational test of the system yesterday.  First I filled my fresh water tank.  I can see the sloped end of the fresh water tank from the street side utility bay, behind my hose and electric reels.  If I open the wet bay doors on both sides, and the light is just right, I can observe the rising water level through the translucent end of the tank.  Right after we purchased our coach I drew approximate level marks on the tank that corresponded with the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and "full" levels on the old Audit level monitor.  As the tank filled, I noted that the SeeLeveL readings are pretty close to the old Audit marks on the tank.  One of the BIG advantages to the SeeLeveL system is improved resolution.  When the Audit said "full" there was still 4" of room left in the top of the tank.  The SeeLevel indicated 100% at exactly 1" from the top of the tank.  PERFECT!  This leaves just enough air space to avoid overflow, but lets me fill the tank to full capacity when that is important (extended dry camping).

I tried to figure out how to test the black and gray tank readings.  I came up with a plan based on the advertised capacities (from Beamalarm.com) of my three tanks, which are 102 gal (fresh), 110 gal (gray) and 54 gal (black).  Rounding these numbers off (remember, I'm a English major and thinking too hard about numbers makes me woozy) I decided that to fill the gray tank to 10% would require pumping approximately 10% out of the fresh tank.  Likewise, putting 10% into the black tank would mean pumping approximately 5% out of the fresh tank. 

Starting the test the gray tank showed empty, and the black tank showed 6%.  I keep a small (?) quantity of soapy water in both tanks while our coach is parked between trips - probably less than 5 gallons each.  The SeeLevel manual says the readings will be unreliable until the first time each tank is filled past 25% and they are right.  My readings jumped around as they filled, and the gray tank seemed to initially be reluctant to post a reading.  But by the time I got to 25% in both holding tanks they had settled down, and the numbers seemed to make sense.  I terminated the test at 40% in both holding tanks, and the fresh tank shows 46%.  Theoretically it should be closer to 40% but since I started with a little water in each waste tank I guess this is close enough for government work.

At any rate, all the sensors and both monitor panels seem to be working, so I'll call this a "WIN" for the home team.

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #8 –
Knocked off Chuck's nifty access door project. Our 300 had the same 6" porthole access to the water heater area which I used to install SeeLevel. This little door would have made that job a lot easier. The inboard side of the hole is 1" from the water tank, plenty of room. I used a saber saw and screwed the door down. Also, I had to trim the carpet covered plywood wire covering that runs along the wall.

I was just thinking when we had our 320 I put one of these in the wet bay panel to view the area behind the panel. Knocked that project off too from the the Steve and Michelle.
jor

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #9 –
Great job Chuck. The pics are excellent!

This thread is in my bookmarks and on my bucket list for future projects!

Jerry

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #10 –
I read the manual. No codes. I looked thru my port hole and sensor is still stuck on tank. I'll fill the tank back up and see. Thanks for all the info

Re: Behind the Water Heater Access Port

Reply #11 –
Quote from: dans96u295ft –
I read the manual. No codes. I looked thru my port hole and sensor is still stuck on tank. I'll fill the tank back up and see. Thanks for all the info

Dan, you have jumped to a different thread than the one you started, "Sensor II fresh water quit registering". 

This thread is about an inspection port thread.  I posted a response in the thread you started.