The Tank is Full????

[DanE.]

Hi all,

I have my tank, a 300gal plastic tote on the edge of the woods. I can see it from the house and sugar shack, which is about 1000' away. I would like to put something on it, like a flag, that will pop up when it gets 3/4 full. has anyone done something like this or has an idea?


Thanks,

Dane.

[Jeff E]

Something like: TIP UP!

[adk1]

if it is clear just use binocculars. you should be able to tell where the sap line is

[rayi]

You may have to take a trip to the local volenteer fire dept and look at there oldest tanker truck. Think of a float sitting on top of the sap. On this float has a bright orange stick that goes thru the tank. As the sap rises the stick goes higher. If you get good you can paint stripes on it to know approximate gallons

[spencer11]

you could take a tip up or orange flag and put a float on the bottom, put it through some sort of sleve and when it goes up the tank is almost full

[adk1]

But are these things that are in contact with the sap "food grade"! hahaa

[bairdswift]

I myself like walking up to the tank and seeing the sap running in. I would walk 1/2 mile just to see this. The bigger the pipe flowing the better. Maybe it is just me tho.

[Thad Blaisdell]

Car battery and a horn......when its full beeeeeeeeeeeepppppppp.

[PATheron]

What if you could plumb in a fitting right between the valve and the tank and installed some clear milker hose straight up in front of the tank and put a bright red bobber in it. Then look at it with the binocks from the house maybe? Theron

[Sunday Rock Maple]

A surogate method could be that if you have a tree in your yard you could tap that with a bucket and that would give you an idea of how strong it's running.

[philkasza]

Walking around is good for everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If this tank was up a 30 straight rock bluff then maybe I would see the use of using all the flagging gismoes but if it is easy to get to then just walk out there. As bairdswift said I like just standing at the tank watch the sap run in, to me it is almost more fun than boiling in the sugarhouse. As far as a level indicator you would need a float system and like was mentioned it really should have increments on it so when it is really runing in fast you can see the tank filling up faster and be prepared to collect.

Sam

two months we will be tappinggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

[Tweegs]

I rigged up a gadget similar to what you are asking to keep an eye on the sap level in my head tank.

Think of a “V” lying on its side. A float attached to a piece of threaded SS rod. Take a length of 1” PVC maybe 4” long and drill a hole the side wall on one end. Pass the threaded rod through the holes in the PVC and fasten with jamb nuts.

I used a Piece of wood long enough to straddle the opening of the tank, a small block with a 1” hole bored through it attaches to the wood, the PVC then passes through the block.

With the tank empty, set the contraption atop the tank, float inside, and drill another set of holes through the PVC on the opposite side of the block as the float, parallel with the bottom of the tank. Attach another rod and your flag through these holes.
The float and flag create the “V”, the PVC is the fulcrum, or base of the “V”.

In my situation, the flag is a pointer. A piece of plywood behind the pointer has markings to indicate full, half full, empty, etc.

[heus]

Like Theron said just plumb in a site tube like on a head tank and float a bobber or something in it. Then use binoculars.

[inthewoods]

I had the same problem you did. I didn't want to walk down to my tank every half hour to see if it was full. All I did was buy a toilet tank float for under a dollar. I took a piece of quarter-inch aluminum rod and cut quarter-inch threads on both ends of it. I screwed one end into the float ball and on the other end, I cut a flag out of a piece of sheet metal and welded it to a 1/4" nut coupler. I painted the flag red, so I can see when the tank is getting full. That slips through a piece of 3/8" pipe welded to a washer, and screwed down to my cover. It only cost a few dollars total, and took about 15 minutes to make.6062

[noreast maple]

That looks like the best set up ive seen, if you put a board in back of it ,you could mark on it full, half 1/4 and 3/4 , so you would know at a simple glance. nice job congrats.

[tuckermtn]

I agree- a picture is worth a thousand words. Nice looking set-up.

[ennismaple]

Car battery and a horn......when its full beeeeeeeeeeeepppppppp.

That's a great idea! Simple, cheap and not much that can fail!

Like always, the K.I.S.S. moto wins!

Last year we rigged up something simliar to what InTheWoods has on his tank to show the level in our evaporator feed tank. After seeing his picture I have a few changes I want to make to make it better!

[adk1]

That is a sweet setup, I bet we see allot more of these in the near future. Luckily my tank is about 5' off the back of my sugarhouse and I can see it as I am boiling with the back door open..