Mopeka Tank Sensors

[Mediocrity]

I've read plenty of hit and miss reviews on the Mopeka tank sensors, as well as suggestions and remedies, so I decided to give them a try for myself this past weekend.

Followed the instructions and used the included dielectric grease on the actual sensor, but couldn't get accurate readings. Syncing the sensors to the monitor and app was super easy, and was able to get readings while sitting in the trailer, as well as in my truck with the trailer connected.

Before I put them on, I weighed each of my two 30lb tanks on a digital bathroom scale to compare to the sensors:
30lb tanks hold 7.5 gallons of propane, when completely filled. 1 gallon of propane weighs 4.2lbs. So the total weight of propane is 31.5lbs.
Tank 1 weighs 25.6lbs empty, per the 'Tare Weight' stamped on the tank. That means the tank should weigh 57.1lbs when filled. Mine weighed 45.7lbs, which means it was 80% full. The monitor had all the lights on, indicating it was 100%. The mobile app showed it as 68%.
Tank 2 weighs 25.1lbs empty, per the 'Tare Weight' stamped on the tank. That means the tank should weigh 56.6lbs when filled. Mine weighed 36.8lbs, which means it was 35% full. The monitor had the red and orange light on, indicating it was 25%. The mobile app showed it as 8%.

I believe the inconsistent/inaccurate readings may be due to the tanks being rounded on the bottom, and the sensor being flat. When placed on a flat surface like a table, the actual sensor makes contact with the surface before either of the magnets on each side. When placed on the bottom of the rounded propane tanks, they tend to 'teeter' back and forth between the two magnets. I tried 'teetering' each sensor to the opposite magnet, and received different readings, but they were still off.

I contacted Mopeka, and was told both magnets didn't need to make contact for them to work properly, but I found that not to be the case. Maybe I just received bad sensors, but decided to return them.

I've previously tried propane gauges, but always had issues with them leaking. I've also tried the Flame King wireless tank scale, which was fairly accurate, but they were cheaply made and didn't last long.

[jleonard]

I have the Mopeka system and I find them "accurate enough" so far for my purpose.

[xrated]

Those sensors sometimes don't like painted bottoms of the tank. I used some coarse sandpaper and made a bare spot on the bottoms of the tanks and it helped a lot. The app also has settings for the size of the tank and that needs to be set correctly also.

[traveldawg]

I have found mine to be accurate enough.

[Second Chance]

Mine have proven to be accurate, as well. We depend on them in the winter.

Rob

[Mediocrity]

Those sensors sometimes don't like painted bottoms of the tank. I used some coarse sandpaper and made a bare spot on the bottoms of the tanks and it helped a lot. The app also has settings for the size of the tank and that needs to be set correctly also.

I'll give that a try before I return them. Thanks for the suggestion!

[MoonShadow_1911]

I'll chime in here. We had the original Mopeka sensors, the ones that are grave stone shaped, and they were okay.

I upgraded to the new round ones and DANG! So much better! I can get the tank level anywhere in the coach now and they report faster than the old ones.

[Redapple63]

Been using these for a couple of years now, they seem to work fine enough. For me though, they do seem to go through batteries.

[Ynot4me2]

Good reading for me also and accurate enough. I did get a tank swap once where the tank must of had 20 coats of paint over rust which the sensors didn't like much. But as @xrated said, scratch some loyers off with coarse sand paper and problem solved.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

[Mediocrity]

Good reading for me also and accurate enough. I did get a tank swap once where the tank must of had 20 coats of paint over rust which the sensors didn't like much. But as @xrated said, scratch some loyers off with coarse sand paper and problem solved.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

My tanks are the ones that came with the trailer (less than 2 years old) and in perfect shape. But I'll try sanding to the bare metal on one of the tanks, to see if accuracy improves.

I wasn't expecting them to be perfect, but being off 12% on one sensor and 27% on the second, just doesn't justify the price for me. I'll see how it goes after sanding off the existing paint......