Fresh and Waste Water Gauge

[Tom Gaertner]

When I bought used 2004 31 Open in May 2016, seller demonstrated that both water gauges (located between AC / DC panel) lit up what seemed to be correctly.  Fresh water full (all green lights) and holding tank empty (1 green light)
All season long both gauges never left empty (1 green)....despite knowing we needed a pump out and fresh water tanks had been filled. Am I missing something?

[sbw1]

These gauges were one of the most frequent warranty claims for new Tiaras in 2004. My dealer said they will replace them once and then you are on your own. We had our dealer install Tank Tenders instead of fussing with the original. It is a very simple design that is bullet proof. Ours are very accurate and work flawlessly after twelve years. We really appreciate knowing when we need to pump the head with no guesswork.

[Tom Gaertner]

These gauges were one of the most frequent warranty claims for new Tiaras in 2004. My dealer said they will replace them once and then you are on your own.  We had our dealer install Tank Tenders instead of fussing with the original. It is a very simple design that is bullet proof. Ours are very accurate and work flawlessly after twelve years. We really appreciate knowing when we need to pump the head with no guesswork.

Tiara will replace once? My dealer won't....I bought 2nd owner used.

[sbw1]

These gauges were one of the most frequent warranty claims for new Tiaras in 2004. My dealer said they will replace them once and then you are on your own.  We had our dealer install Tank Tenders instead of fussing with the original. It is a very simple design that is bullet proof. Ours are very accurate and work flawlessly after twelve years. We really appreciate knowing when we need to pump the head with no guesswork.

Tiara will replace once? My dealer won't....I bought 2nd owner used.

Google "tank tender". It is an easy install and there is nothing that wears out on the device. Measurement of tank levels is VERY accurate. Fixes the problem.

[jhhall]

I had a similar problem on my 2006 Sovran.  The system I have is manufactured by Fireboy-Xintex.  They have redesigned the sensors since my boat was made.  On the top of the tanks the sensors can be found.  There will be a part number.  Contact Fireboy and they will send new sensors that are pre-calibrated .  Cost is about $100 each.  It is a 10 min install for each.  Here is the web site

http://www.fireboy-xintex.com/pneumatic-...r-systems/

Hope this helps

[johnhesch]

Check out Sensatank from levelguardproducts too.  About $160 for the system and easy to install and wire up.

[williamwalter]

Just looked at the sender for my waste tank as it had power but did not indicate properly.turns out float was all jammed in tube with waste so float couldn't move. Messey but easy job to clean tube and works fine now.might be nice to have new style without float but at least I saved some money for once.bill

---

Sounds like you have power to gauge so you may have same issue.

[sbw1]

When I bought used 2004 31 Open in May 2016, seller demonstrated that both water gauges (located between AC / DC panel) lit up what seemed to be correctly.  Fresh water full (all green lights) and holding tank empty (1 green light)
All season long both gauges never left empty (1 green)....despite knowing we needed a pump out and fresh water tanks had been filled. Am I missing something?

No. You are not missing anything. These gauges are poorly designed and have never worked on our boat. Mine are still reading as yours. We use the Tank Tender to get the true story on our tanks. The reason we like the TTs is the simplicity. No electricity. Just a thin tube that runs from the gauge to the tank and a small plunger on the gauge. One push and you get the reading for the tank. The TT is self cleaning as the puff of air dislodges any material in the tube from the dirty tank. The selling dealer for our new boat recommended this fix because it is fool proof . They mentioned that Hatteras used this device years ago and they are seeing 30 year old installs that still work without issues.

[sbw1]

When I bought used 2004 31 Open in May 2016, seller demonstrated that both water gauges (located between AC / DC panel) lit up what seemed to be correctly.  Fresh water full (all green lights) and holding tank empty (1 green light)
All season long both gauges never left empty (1 green)....despite knowing we needed a pump out and fresh water tanks had been filled. Am I missing something?

No. You are not missing something. We bought a new 2004 32 Open in 2004. This was our first warranty claim. The dealer told us that they would repair it one time and that the repair would fail again due to the poor design. We had it fixed under warranty. It failed maybe 3 weeks later. The dealer recommended that we purchase a Tank Tender monitor and be done with the issue. We did that in 2004 and the Tank Tender has worked flawlessly ever since. We can tell when the holding tank needs to be pumped pretty much to the number of flushes remaining. Also displays potable water levels very accurately. Our dealer told us that they see very old Hatteras boats from the 70s with the same monitors that are still working like new. If you Google the product name you will find the company which still makes the same gauge we have on our boat. Tiara should install these gauges as original equipment.