Yesterday we (my marine certified electrician and me) finished wiring up my AcuGages that Phil and Peggy talked me into. They twisted my arm so to speak. Of course I listen to what Peggy says without fail and Phil said it was a good price so I purchased the kit that was on sale a few months back on this web site. Now no one told me I'd have to take the entire forepeak apart to get to the watar tank. Thank heavans it was plastic. If you're going to do this project, be sure to have a battery screw driver. Lots of screws to take out. I did that part while John, my electrician ran wires from one tank to another. Be sure to have three (3) wires to each tank. The silver tape is great stuff until you take off the backing paper and then it sticks to everything except where you want it. Of course I forgot to use the glue that came with it. It's ok , you can brush it along the sides of the tape after you get them on. On a Hunter 380 there was little space to work on the water tank. So what else is new? However, the waste tank and the fuel tank was another problem. Getting in the stern hatch required three days of starvation. I think doing a head dance would be easier (standing on my head). But I finally got all the silver tape stuck on with two to four inches between the strips. Then we wire it all up correctly or at least we hoped we did it correctly. The wiring instructions ought to be on the SAT test for high school students. But it is doable. We turned the power on and by gosh, the damn thing worked. Evan without adjusting, they seem to be pretty accurate. You will need to get a special sensor for the fuel tank so don't forget to order it when you order the entire system. Mine is for four tanks (I only have three) but it is working. Hot damn. Only 93 more projects to go before April. Since it does show four tanks on the panal, I intend to copy the style of the labels and make one that reads, "Hot Tub". And when someone says what is this for, I'll push that button (it will say empty) and say, "Oh, that is for our hot tub under the aft berth only it is empty right now. Come back some time and join us for a soak." "You mean your Swan doesn't have a hot tub? Pity." Anyway the AcuGage works! Thanks Sailowners website.
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And it'll keep on working for years!
Btw...despite your best efforts
, you actually ended up using the "glue" the way it's supposed to be used--'cuz it's not glue...it's a sealant to keep moisture from getting under the tape. How much are you charging for a soak in your hot tub? ))
Btw...despite your best efforts
, you actually ended up using the "glue" the way it's supposed to be used--'cuz it's not glue...it's a sealant to keep moisture from getting under the tape. How much are you charging for a soak in your hot tub? ))Thanks, Les!!
Yo, Les! Thanks for the confidence builder! We are facing the same task over the next several weeks, and it is good to hear from somebody who has actually done it. We took a look at the V-berth area where the water tank is and decided that we were not going to disassemble the entire structure up there (sheesh!); we are planning to cut a hole in the panel under the aft end of the V-berth to access the tank. For the waste and fuel tanks our 340 appears to have a bit of an advantage. Both tanks are directly and easily accessible by taking down the wall paneling behind the rear berth. For wiring, we are hoping to re-use the two existing sender wires on each tank for power and signal and run a third wire for ground. Did you do this? We are both "electrically-challenged" and agree that the wiring directions could use some improvement. We are planning on doing it ourselves. Again, thanks for the positive experience report. Any other advice and counsel from your experience would be much appreciated! Carl and Jule H340 s/v 'Syzygy'
Yo, Les! Thanks for the confidence builder! We are facing the same task over the next several weeks, and it is good to hear from somebody who has actually done it. We took a look at the V-berth area where the water tank is and decided that we were not going to disassemble the entire structure up there (sheesh!); we are planning to cut a hole in the panel under the aft end of the V-berth to access the tank. For the waste and fuel tanks our 340 appears to have a bit of an advantage. Both tanks are directly and easily accessible by taking down the wall paneling behind the rear berth. For wiring, we are hoping to re-use the two existing sender wires on each tank for power and signal and run a third wire for ground. Did you do this? We are both "electrically-challenged" and agree that the wiring directions could use some improvement. We are planning on doing it ourselves. Again, thanks for the positive experience report. Any other advice and counsel from your experience would be much appreciated! Carl and Jule H340 s/v 'Syzygy'
Carl and Juliana,
Let me first congratulate you on your Hunter 340. It's a beautiful boat--there is one just down the dock from our Hunter. Let's see if I can give any other advice on the AcuGages. Yes, you can do it yourself. But it will take two at times getting the wire through from one place to another. Since you will need three wires anyhow from the tank to the panel, you might as well run a wire that has the three wires embeded inside. All our marine stores seem to carry it. And it won't be any harder than a single wire. We used a wire snake (that he has and uses) that can be bought or rented. Once the wire is through, we tied a thin line onto the end of the wire and then taped it with duc tape. Once we pulled the line through we attached the line to the wire and pulled it, essentially back to where we needed it. Where you tie the knote to the wire, be sure it is as smooth as you can get it--we even added some lubricant to help it past the tight spots. Adding the silver tape to the tanks is really no big deal if you can get to them. I"m glad I took the forepeak apart as I was able to vacuum a lot of construction debris that Hunter thought I should have. Then we added the modules, connected up the wires with the end pieces (not sure what electricans call them, but they are in the bag of stuff that you get) by crimping them once on each end. I put the presentation plate above the navigation locker but then I already had other data displays there. You will need to cut a small retangular hole for the display. Bring your wire up behind the panel and go nuts reading which wire goes where. If one of you reads and the other looks for the wire, it works. We also tied the power wire to the one for the tanks that was already there on the electrical panel. Essentially, I now have two indicators for water and fuel, the old and the new. The old head indicator always says full whether it is or not. Now that I'm done, it is a lot easier than I thought. But I'm a worrier and I could see before I did the job all the problems and then some. Turned out to be easier. Good luck.
Let me first congratulate you on your Hunter 340. It's a beautiful boat--there is one just down the dock from our Hunter. Let's see if I can give any other advice on the AcuGages. Yes, you can do it yourself. But it will take two at times getting the wire through from one place to another. Since you will need three wires anyhow from the tank to the panel, you might as well run a wire that has the three wires embeded inside. All our marine stores seem to carry it. And it won't be any harder than a single wire. We used a wire snake (that he has and uses) that can be bought or rented. Once the wire is through, we tied a thin line onto the end of the wire and then taped it with duc tape. Once we pulled the line through we attached the line to the wire and pulled it, essentially back to where we needed it. Where you tie the knote to the wire, be sure it is as smooth as you can get it--we even added some lubricant to help it past the tight spots. Adding the silver tape to the tanks is really no big deal if you can get to them. I"m glad I took the forepeak apart as I was able to vacuum a lot of construction debris that Hunter thought I should have. Then we added the modules, connected up the wires with the end pieces (not sure what electricans call them, but they are in the bag of stuff that you get) by crimping them once on each end. I put the presentation plate above the navigation locker but then I already had other data displays there. You will need to cut a small retangular hole for the display. Bring your wire up behind the panel and go nuts reading which wire goes where. If one of you reads and the other looks for the wire, it works. We also tied the power wire to the one for the tanks that was already there on the electrical panel. Essentially, I now have two indicators for water and fuel, the old and the new. The old head indicator always says full whether it is or not. Now that I'm done, it is a lot easier than I thought. But I'm a worrier and I could see before I did the job all the problems and then some. Turned out to be easier. Good luck.
Thanks, Les!
Thanks, Les! We appreciate the experience and the words of tank happiness ahead. We just got started this past weekend. It was such a gorgeous day that we first spent several hours working on the outside of the boat. It got windy and cool in the afternoon, so we went inside and started the Acugage project. Scoped out where to put the display (similar to you); pulled down panels and got access to all of the tanks (sensors up next weekend); then spent considerable time searching out the wire runs. We took apart more of the boat than we had expected to, but we now know where everything runs. Now we just have to get the new wires through. First attempts with the wire snake were unsuccessful and frustrating. But it was near the end of the day so hopefully it will go better next weekend. Remember all those nightmare stories that you have heard about running wires through the boat? Well, they're TRUE!! Carl and Jule s/v 'Syzygy'
Thanks, Les! We appreciate the experience and the words of tank happiness ahead. We just got started this past weekend. It was such a gorgeous day that we first spent several hours working on the outside of the boat. It got windy and cool in the afternoon, so we went inside and started the Acugage project. Scoped out where to put the display (similar to you); pulled down panels and got access to all of the tanks (sensors up next weekend); then spent considerable time searching out the wire runs. We took apart more of the boat than we had expected to, but we now know where everything runs. Now we just have to get the new wires through. First attempts with the wire snake were unsuccessful and frustrating. But it was near the end of the day so hopefully it will go better next weekend. Remember all those nightmare stories that you have heard about running wires through the boat? Well, they're TRUE!! Carl and Jule s/v 'Syzygy'
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