Oil Tank Level Monitor

paulgrogan.eu · 24-04-2020 10:46am #1

Hi folks,

Just wondering if anyone has ever had any success with a digital, or smart (preferably) oil tank level monitoring system?

Any tips would be hugely appreciated.

Regards,

P.

893bet · 24-04-2020 10:49am

I use the end of the broom!

Quick and easy.

Are you trying to figure out how much you are using? Or just want to ensure you order in time?

Tweaky · 24-04-2020 1:52pm

paulgrogan.eu wrote: »

Hi folks,

Just wondering if anyone has ever had any success with a digital, or smart (preferably) oil tank level monitoring system?

Any tips would be hugely appreciated.

Regards,

P.

I use Oilpal - I find it good and fairly accurate

https://dunravensystems.com/oilpal/

wexfordman2 · 24-04-2020 7:30pm

Tweaky wrote: »

I use Oilpal - I find it good and fairly accurate

https://dunravensystems.com/oilpal/

I have oilpal, and to be honest, yes it PR idea usage and fuel level info, but beyond that is quite limited. The main limitation is alerts etc (theft, leak, sudden drop, low level) are sent via email and not some form of push. Notification.

Not much point in getting an email to say your tank has been drained due to leak or theft . A serious miss in the way the system is designed in my opinion

paulgrogan.eu · 27-04-2020 10:04am

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Yeah, OilPal sounds like it's down the road of what I'd be interested in alright.

I mean it's not the biggest thing in the world and it's down my list of priorities, but at the same time I thought at this day and age there would be something pretty smart available that could say link in with Home Asssitant for example to give data on the level etc. Of course broom handles work, but I thought that given some of the smart stuff available for houses at this stage, oil tank information would be pretty easy!

Thanks all.

Dr4gul4 · 27-04-2020 12:14pm

Tweaky wrote: »

I use Oilpal - I find it good and fairly accurate

https://dunravensystems.com/oilpal/

Use the same here, linked to my Home assistant, I find it useful as i can accurately order a delivery of oil, say when the tank hits 220 liters i can order 700.

It only gives a fairly general calculation based on the dimensions, and the drop from the top of the tank ( ultrasonic reader ) in fact, i think the App gives an automatic negative 10% figure, where as with HA, you scrape the data, and calculate what would be the real figure.

Either way, handy to have. saves a few euro.

paulgrogan.eu · 27-04-2020 5:04pm

Dr4gul4 wrote: »

Use the same here, linked to my Home assistant, I find it useful as i can accurately order a delivery of oil, say when the tank hits 220 liters i can order 700.

It only gives a fairly general calculation based on the dimensions, and the drop from the top of the tank ( ultrasonic reader ) in fact, i think the App gives an automatic negative 10% figure, where as with HA, you scrape the data, and calculate what would be the real figure.

Either way, handy to have. saves a few euro.

Hi there,

Ok that's interesting that you've got it to work with HA, which is key for me going forward with any home smart tech. Did that take much work to integrate?

Secondly, does anyone have a guide as to how much this system costs to have?

Thanks

Paul

Dr4gul4 · 28-04-2020 12:21pm

paulgrogan.eu wrote: »

Hi there,

Ok that's interesting that you've got it to work with HA, which is key for me going forward with any home smart tech. Did that take much work to integrate?

Secondly, does anyone have a guide as to how much this system costs to have?

Thanks

Paul

If i recall, there's a template you can apply in your Ha config in which you provide the static ip for the internal 'modem' part of the unit.
It's all very rudimentary, it uses a web scrape to grab the numbers from the said modem / webserver and calculates the figure off that.

Nothing fancy or difficult what so ever about it.

In terms of cost, initial purchase, and power for internal modem/webserver i guess.

fergalom · 30-04-2020 8:33pm

paulgrogan.eu wrote: »

Hi there,

Ok that's interesting that you've got it to work with HA, which is key for me going forward with any home smart tech. Did that take much work to integrate?

Secondly, does anyone have a guide as to how much this system costs to have?

Thanks

Paul

Another option if you're using HA and dont want the cost of oilpal and a cloud service. Depends on if you have wifi near your tank but you can use an ESP32 board and ultrasonic sensor (suitable for outdoors) for < €20. Works very reliably. 3 jumper wires and a bit of preconfigured code to cut / paste. No big hassle to setup if you've already got HA going.

dingdong1234567 · 04-05-2020 10:25pm

fergalom wrote: »

Another option if you're using HA and dont want the cost of oilpal and a cloud service. Depends on if you have wifi near your tank but you can use an ESP32 board and ultrasonic sensor (suitable for outdoors) for < €20. Works very reliably. 3 jumper wires and a bit of preconfigured code to cut / paste. No big hassle to setup if you've already got HA going.

Would you have any guides on such a project? Thanks.

fergalom · 05-05-2020 11:28am

dingdong1234567 wrote: »

Would you have any guides on such a project? Thanks.

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/oil-tank-level-sensor/96809

Can share links on items I bought + couple of pics if you like. Have had it in over a year and never missed a beat.

codie · 05-05-2020 11:41am

Most people's tanks are away from the main house. Any problems connecting to wifi? My tank is at the other side of my garage .Not a hope would with wifi connection.

paulgrogan.eu · 05-05-2020 3:33pm

fergalom wrote: »

https://community.home-assistant.io/t/oil-tank-level-sensor/96809

Can share links on items I bought + couple of pics if you like. Have had it in over a year and never missed a beat.

Would also love a few pics & links to this one please, as this looks absolutely perfect for me and what I'm looking to achieve.

Thanks a mill.

P.

webels · 05-05-2020 3:45pm

I use an Arduino board as described above with an ultrasonic sensor. Its attached to an LCD display so I just uploaded the code and it runs away plugged into a wall socket ( running great this past 2 years). Do not use WiFi. No good to try and monitor theft but great to give a reading for current oil level.

fergalom · 05-05-2020 9:46pm

codie wrote: »

Most people's tanks are away from the main house. Any problems connecting to wifi? My tank is at the other side of my garage .Not a hope would with wifi connection.

You can get esp32 in multiple configurations, ethernet Poe or rf433mhz etc. I have no issues but as you said, depends your location

dingdong1234567 · 05-05-2020 9:51pm

Tried using the esp32 with home assistant. My head's melted. No joy getting it to work. I'll give it another shot 2m.

Have a look here also:https://www.rogerfrost.com/oil-tank-level-sensor-also-water-softener-salt-level/

fergalom · 05-05-2020 9:54pm

paulgrogan.eu wrote: »

Would also love a few pics & links to this one please, as this looks absolutely perfect for me and what I'm looking to achieve.

Thanks a mill.

P.

Links:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071JR9WS9/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_cfDSEb9N8W5FE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076SWF5FV/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_NgDSEbK3AXX5P

After that, 3 jumper wires, a junction box to mount in and usb cable.

Marlow · 06-05-2020 12:18am

Oilfox is supposed to be very good.

https://oilfox.io/?lang=en

Unfortunately, it requires cloud access to work.

/M

paulgrogan.eu · 06-05-2020 10:14am

fergalom wrote: »

Links:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071JR9WS9/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_cfDSEb9N8W5FE

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076SWF5FV/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_NgDSEbK3AXX5P

After that, 3 jumper wires, a junction box to mount in and usb cable.

Amazing, thank you. I assume that board as WiFi built in?

Secondly, did you just follow the exact script on that HA post, assuming you had to modify the dimension calculation to suit your tank?

fergalom · 06-05-2020 11:30am

paulgrogan.eu wrote: »

Amazing, thank you. I assume that board as WiFi built in?

Secondly, did you just follow the exact script on that HA post, assuming you had to modify the dimension calculation to suit your tank?

Yes, wifi and bt builtin.

I modified it for my tank and its accuracy is ok for my purposes.
measure distance from bottom of tank and 100% full to sensor is all thats needed if I recall correctly.

Marlow · 06-05-2020 12:48pm

fergalom wrote: »

Another option if you're using HA and dont want the cost of oilpal and a cloud service. Depends on if you have wifi near your tank but you can use an ESP32 board and ultrasonic sensor (suitable for outdoors) for < €20. Works very reliably. 3 jumper wires and a bit of preconfigured code to cut / paste. No big hassle to setup if you've already got HA going.

I just looked that up. Your setup will also do MQTT and seemingly also has been integrated into OpenHAB by some already.

https://community.openhab.org/t/esphome/71765/11

Brilliant. I guess, that's another thing on the todo list.

/M

emaherx · 18-05-2020 4:42pm

dingdong1234567 wrote: »

Tried using the esp32 with home assistant. My head's melted. No joy getting it to work. I'll give it another shot 2m.

Have a look here also:https://www.rogerfrost.com/oil-tank-level-sensor-also-water-softener-salt-level/

I'm working on similar at the moment and just got it working. Did you manage to figure it out yourself?

dingdong1234567 · 20-05-2020 6:43am

emaherx wrote: »

I'm working on similar at the moment and just got it working. Did you manage to figure it out yourself?

Yes got it sorted in the end, just persisted with trial and error.

emaherx · 20-05-2020 7:51am

Here is mine,
I went with the linear calibration method.

oil gauges by Emaherx, on Flickr

# Ultrasonic sensor - tank measurement
sensor:
  - platform: ultrasonic
    id: sensor_cm1
    trigger_pin: GPIO15
    echo_pin: GPIO16
    name: "Oil Ultrasonic Sensor"
    icon: "mdi: arrow"
    update_interval: 10s
    accuracy_decimals: 2
    unit_of_measurement: "cm"
    filters:
     - filter_out: nan
     - multiply: 100
     #- sliding_window_moving_average:
      #   window_size: 12
       #  send_every: 12

# Oil Level Sensor
  - platform: template
    id: sensor_cm2
    name: "Oil Level"
    icon: "mdi: arrow"
    update_interval: 10s
    accuracy_decimals: 2
    unit_of_measurement: "cm"
    lambda: 
      return 120 - id (sensor_cm1) .state;

# Oil Percentage Sensor
  - platform: template
    name: "Oil Percentage"
    icon: "mdi: water"
    update_interval: 10s
    accuracy_decimals: 2
    unit_of_measurement: "%"
    lambda: 
      return id (sensor_cm2) .state;
    filters:
      - calibrate_linear:
        - 0 -> 0
        - 110 -> 100

# Oil Litres Sensor
  - platform: template
    name: "Oil Litres"
    icon: "mdi: oil"
    update_interval: 10s
    accuracy_decimals: 0
    unit_of_measurement: "L"
    lambda: 
      return id (sensor_cm2) .state;
    filters:
      - calibrate_linear:
        - 0 -> 0
        - 110 -> 1300

Delboy5 · 21-10-2020 5:08pm

Anyone know anything about this:

Is it new to the market?

https://www.tanks.ie/oil-tanks/oil-tank-accessories/tank-gauges/sensit-smart-monitor.html

SouthWesterly · 26-10-2020 4:39pm

Delboy5 wrote: »

Anyone know anything about this:

Is it new to the market?

https://www.tanks.ie/oil-tanks/oil-tank-accessories/tank-gauges/sensit-smart-monitor.html

Does this just take the place of the cap?

I got an oil pal but then chickened out on boring a hole in the top of my tank.

emaherx · 26-10-2020 5:05pm

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Does this just take the place of the cap?

I got an oil pal but then chickened out on boring a hole in the top of my tank.

No, instructions show drilling hole in tank.

Clareman · 26-10-2020 8:20pm

I had 1 of the old school yokes that you plugged into the socket, I think most oil tanks have the hole put in for where to put the sensors. Personally I've the handle of a brush left beside the tank I use every 6 months or so to see if I need oil or not.

emaherx · 26-10-2020 8:39pm

Clareman wrote: »

I had 1 of the old school yokes that you plugged into the socket, I think most oil tanks have the hole put in for where to put the sensors. Personally I've the handle of a brush left beside the tank I use every 6 months or so to see if I need oil or not.

It's crude and I'm sure it works, but I'm not sure it falls under home automation though

Clareman · 26-10-2020 9:13pm

I've being toying with the idea of getting rid of the oil completely, I've a couple of Dyson heaters in the house and I'm thinking of changing to storage heaters, especially as the price of oil keeps going up and up.

davo2001 · 26-10-2020 11:04pm

Clareman wrote: »

I've being toying with the idea of getting rid of the oil completely, I've a couple of Dyson heaters in the house and I'm thinking of changing to storage heaters, especially as the price of oil keeps going up and up.

I assume you're joking? #confused

Oil Tank Level Monitor

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