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Old 01-18-2018, 07:57 AM   #1
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City: Spring Park
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1990 45' Calif. Water Tank

Of course, your results may vary, but this may help some here.
I put in a new water maker system and decided that I was only going to put RO water in the tank. Since the tank is 28 years old, I decided it was time to clean it and repair/replace the tank level gauge.
Tank is under the bed in master suite. To access it the top of the bed platform has to be removed. There are about 6 screws with collars around the edge that retain the panel. Don't bother removing the dozen or so screws around the edge. They only retain the edge trim.The real fun is the screws at head of the bed. There are a row of about 6 screws on both sides at the head that are screwed in from the bottom and are accessible from the night stands. The nasty screws are only accessible from under the bed at the headboard. Get someone small to squeeze through the access hatch on starboard side. There's a 1x1 board along the bottom of the head board that has a number of hoses and cables anchored to it. cut the ties and you're good to go. At this point you can see the screws and they're easily removed. The decorative headboard is held on with 5 automotive type press in fasteners. You can remove it by simply pulling firmly on the headboard toward the foot of the bed until it pops off. However, there's no real need to remove it.
At this point you should be able to lift the foot of the bed and pull it toward the bow. If you didn't remove the two sets of screws at the night stand locations, don't worry. They don't seat very well into the bed platform and a firm tug will break them loose.
At this point, you've got great access to everything under the bed.
The tank is well built and has anti-slosh partitions to create 6 different containers. In order to get access you need to cut 6 holes for 4" Beckson ports. Once you're in, if your tank is like ours, you'll find a fair amount of hard water lime build up. I scooped, scrapped and vacuumed about 10-15# out of the tank.
Once this was done and the ports installed I turned my attention to the water level gauge. The sender was shot. The gears were stripped and the whole thing looked ugly. Ours had a VDO gauge/sender combination. The replacement sender is unique to VDO and costs about $250. It's not worth it at half the price. After doing a lot of research I ended up with a gauge/sender package from "WEMAUSA" in Ft Lauderdale. It cost $100. The company and gauge are fantastic. Two day delivery and the build quality can't be beat. It used the existing wiring and after a bit of color matching the whole thing went together and worked better than the original.
When I put the bed back together, I felt that the screws at the head board and night stands weren't necessary so I left them out. I screwed down the half dozen screws around the perimeter and can now get access the area in minutes.
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Old 01-18-2018, 08:07 AM   #2
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I tried to attach a photo, but it didn't work. If anyone wants pictures email me with an address and I'll forward them.
By the way, lit and specs said that my tank was 185-195 gallon. The build sticker said 165 gallons.
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Old 01-18-2018, 08:14 AM   #3
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MK
What materials are the tank, sender unit and screws? Thanks, nice writeup.
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Old 01-18-2018, 08:40 AM   #4
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Tank is heavy 12ga aluminum. Senders are SS and fasteners are SS.
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Old 07-16-2018, 07:22 PM   #5
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City: Pottsboro
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Thanks for the write-up! I have a 1990 48... What is the # of the water tank sensor you bought? Thanks!
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Old 12-25-2018, 11:02 AM   #6
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sensor

I know I'm late to this thread, but if your could forward the senser for your 48' I need one also. Thanks
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