Fire Engine Tank Measurement

Back on the farm, we used a willow branch stuck in through the filler hole.

Why should it have any foam in it? are you re-circulating any chemicals at high pressure? are you using waste or gray waters?

Anyways, drop a wood stick (horizontally) thru the suds, it should float above the water, then use a long rule or stud and find the floating stick with the tip of it, measure the thickness of the suds and subtract it from the total depth.

Regards

No suds in the tank. He said "foam" when he should have said "foam concentrate." The foam concentrate is added, by an eductor I think, in a ratio of maybe 1% to the water being pumped so that foam comes out of the nozzle.

This would probably be for use at a fire where they would want a visual readout--no time for floating sticks. Plus the tank is probably on top--not accessible from the ground.

Thanks. Will try these. One tank has water and another has foam

Me? I'd use a stick.

But you could add a set of load cells to the tank - cheap & accurate.

You could use a pneumo gauge system and calibrate your gauge when the tank is full.

Use a low pressure Gauge , inches of water or Kpa reletive to the height of your tank,

Then interpolate your pressure to inches or mm whatever you decide to use.

Once the system is set you will have a constant reading as to the state of your tank/s.

Our Pierce fire trucks have electronic lights on the pump panel. Our fleet of 14 trucks range from a few months old to 12 years old. All the lights for both water and foam work and its simple based on a float system. If you have an old truck, the tank should be plastic and it would not be difficult to put in a plastic sight gauge off of the tank to your pump panel.

Thanks all. Was looking at having a HMI in cabin monitoring the levels. Will work with pressure sensors

Tornado gave a bunch of methods. Sensors of any sort won't be evenly spaced for an irregular shaped tank--such as T-shape for fitting between frame rails. Or elliptical in the case of most tankers.

I suspect that some sort of weight measurement would be most accurate, but would have to be translated to 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, full since the indicator lights I have seen are in those increments. Depth would not be accurate for an irregular tank. A milk truck that brings water for our antique tractor show has some sort of sensor on his suspension so he can get a decent estimate of the weight in the tank.