Rain Harvesting Tank Gauge

We took a risk and tried this device which we certainly do not regret. There are many bad review complaining about the guts springing out and after installing this unit, I can understand how this happens. Was easily to install, easy to calibrate, works great for our needs! This is much like setting an old manual clock! What you need to know about the face cover being difficult. The plastic cover is quite right, thin and feels like it may be a bit brittle. It has a small rubber gasket around it just under the outer lip and tiny latching grooves that hold it on well. *What you need to be careful with is don't be too rough and manly when taking the cover off. It can be temperamental but was just fine for us. It was simply to hold up beside the drums and note the position of empty and full from the small black needle that swings back and forth. It was not difficult to carefully move the green (full) and red (empty) hands around either. We installed in the center of a bung plug to make removal, cleaning, replacement or work effortless by simply unscrewing the plug. Works great!

This works good in my potable well water barrel with a pump to my ice makers which avoids city water usage. Guage is working well but the water is not moving much. No real stress on the float line.

I have an underground cistern; my method of checking has been to lift the heavy cement cover and look down. When my well went dry, and I started hauling water, I went from checking once every few weeks to checking at least twice a week. This thing's a godsend. It's sort of flimsy; the plastic indicators and front piece seem fragile and the slight string to the float is way too thin, in my opinion; I'd feel more comfortable if it were a bit heavier. Still, it was easy to guess where to set the arms, and after about a month of use, I'm very happy with it. When I fill up my cistern, the gauge follows the level perfectly. I have it set on top of the overflow pipe; if it survives the Colorado winter, I'll be pleasantly surprised. For the price (and compared to what meager other offerings I could find online) this gauge is a steal. 2014.08.20 Update - Ordered a replacement for initial one, because the string/twine holding the bobber became frayed. With an old plastic liquor bottle covering the gauge, shows no wear. Knocked off a star for the string.

I love simplicity. This gauge is very simple and works flawlessly. My only gripe is the weight. I use my "Rain Harvesting Tank Gauge Level Indicator" inside a 5-gallon bucket and because the base of the weight is FLAT, whenever the water level is extremely low, the weight just sits on the bottom of the bucket. It would be nice if the weight's base was ROUNDED so when it touches the bottom of a container then it will LIE DOWN thus providing a more sensitive measurement. Unfortunately for me, I'll have to modify the base to make it more rounded. Or perhaps hot glue something on the weight that is round. Other than that, the device works great. I also like how the face cover can be removed so the red and green pointers can be positioned anywhere on the face. I have mine at the 11 o'clock and 1 o'clock positions with the black indicator going between the two. If I ever have another tank and need a level indicator, this is the one I'm going to buy.

Horrible garbage! Just don’t buy it. Even for a time it might work, but after a couple months mine, like many others failed due to the string braking inside and dropping the device into the tank. What are these people thinking. Shame on me for believing mine would be better than others experience. Now, it’s sitting at the bottom of the tank I can’t reach. And mine is in a covered room with a roof and walls, so, no, it wasn’t from sun deterioration.

Truthfully the first one I ordered had a problem. However the company did an awesome job, quickly replacing it!! I have several tanks and plan on getting at least one more. GOOD PURCHASE

Simple product that works as advertized. Drill a hold big enough for the float to fit through, drop the float in, and secure the gauge with two included screws. Note that the amount of the gauge face that will be used for the full range of empty to full depends totally on how DEEP your tank is. You can easily change where the pointers are on the face of the gauge, but there is nothing you can do to change how far around the face the needle swings. For example, my 3,000 gallon rainwater tanks are 7 feet high, and this causes the needle to swing over about 3/4 of the total dial face from empty to full. I have mine set up with the pointers almost exactly like the item picture, with the Empty mark at the 7 o'clock position and the Full mark at the 3 o'clock position. Setting the actual position of the black needle is simply a matter of pushing it around to the Empty mark when the float is extended all the way to the bottom of the tank. The most significant drawback for me is the huge amount of condensation that forms inside the dial face, making it almost impossible to read without tapping on it to cause the water to form droplets and run down the glass. This probably happens because my black water tanks generate lots of heat in the sun, therefore lots of water vapor even though the water tends to stay quite cool. I think the price is a tad high for a totally plastic product, but still the best I could find - I know it would be stupidly expensive if it was not plastic. Update: 5 years later - I originally bought two of these. One stopped working after about 3 years; the other is still working fine. BUT, it is virtually unreadable. If these are installed where the direct sun can hit them every day, the lens quickly yellows and clouds. I would NOT buy these again unless the price was under $15!

Simple install! Drill hole in tank with hole saw to allow float & sleeve to fit into tank . Pop off clear cover. Pull out float/line to correspond to empty tank. Adjust RED arrow to match black arrow. Drop float into hole, drop gauge into hole… use 2 screws to attach gage to tank. With float at full tank Adjust GREEN arrow to match black. Press on clear cover. Very simple design that works well.

I've been knocking on my tank for years and guessing how full it is. The day I installed the tank gauge I was guessing it to be half full. Turns out its full to the top. Now I can see exactly what the level actually is. It steadily drops as I water my garden then one decent rain and we're back to full. Brilliant, stop guessing and get one for your tank.

I used it for a septic tank level indicator so I don’t have to keep lifting the lid to check the tank level. It is working very well.

Looks to be a quality item. Currently awaiting delivery of new rainwater tank so not yet installed

Simple and works well, indicator could be wider, hard to read beyond 30 ft.

Works as described. Line was only 9 feet. Had to add line to go to 12 feet to bottom. And just adjust needles for full and empty