Anyone using propane tank level monitoring app?

[Horace Algier]

Have you experience with using a remote propane monitor on your phone?
http://support.tankutility.com/article/9-getting-started

My thousand-gallon propane tank just ran almost dry (down to 20%) because
the propane company forgot to fill it on schedule at around 30%.

I had to make an emergency call, but I'm considering adding a $15 Rochester
Remote Ready (R3D) compatible level dial
http://www.tankutility.com/r3d-compatible-gauge-faces/

And then I can connect the remote-sensing wifi hardware:
http://www.tankutility.com/residential-propane-tank-monitor/

And then, on my Android or iOS mobile device, I can see the tank level in
real time using an app of my choice (after making sure I paint the tank
with WiFi, perhaps from a Ubiquiti bullet and cheap 14dBi antenna).
https://www.ubnt.com/airmax/bulletm/

The batteries on the remote-sensing device last 2.5 years, but I can even
put a thumb-sized solar charger on it, since the requirements aren't all
that great.
https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles/solar-articles/solar-info.html

Have any of you experience with such a thing?

[cowabunga dude]

I don't have any experience with a propane monitoring system, but if you want WiFi to cover your whole house and more than 10 acres of land, you need to get a long range, high power, outdoor router antenna, on the roof of your house, for around $80.00. No more dead spots. Adjustable power.

[Taxed and Spent]

do you have a suggestion for such a device?

[Jolly Roger]

On 2016-09-02, Horace Algier <hor...@horatio.net> wrote:
>
> And then I can connect the remote-sensing wifi hardware:
> http://www.tankutility.com/residential-propane-tank-monitor/

For someone who constantly trolls the Apple news groups with bullshit
claims that Android is the best mobile operating system for those who
want to protect their privacy, it's humorous that you would choose to
use a device that sends data about your propane and energy usage to
strange internet servers, proving you aren't at all concerned about
privacy and are just trolling. : D

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[cowabunga dude]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BOVOKR8/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1472778650&amp;sr=8-10&amp;pi=SL75_QL70&amp;keywords=engenius+outdoor+access+point

I hope this link works for you.

This is the one I have. You can use it as an access point, connect buildings, range extender.

I have some neighbors, quite a way off who don't run a secure network with a password. Running this as a range extender, I can connect to their network and rebroadcast it at my house. If they were closer I wouldn't need to pay for internet. The signal fades in and out because they're so far away.

It's directional and pointed east, it goes a long long way. West it just goes a long way. You can have a friend quite a few miles away, and if they get one you can let them use your internet. Sell all your old routers and access points.

[cowabunga dude]

There's kind of a trick to configure it. It comes with an SSID called EnGenius1, you need to change it to lower case, and set the megahertz to 40. I had to call tech support, then try some different configurations to get it just right.

[trader_4]

If you have a house with propane on a 10 acre site, why do you need
to cover the whole property with wifi? I'm sure the majority
of people have a propane tank located a short distance from their
house, where it will be within wifi range.

[Arthur Conan Doyle]

Horace Algier <hor...@horatio.net> wrote:

>Have any of you experience with such a thing?

First thing is to decide what kind of monitoring you want. There are some very
nice transponders that use cell data, but I'm not interested in paying $40 or
more a month for monitoring, even if it does monitoring by a phone app.

I just installed a remote level reader on a water tank 500' from the house. The
transmitter comes with a remote receiver that sits in the house and can be set
to alarm at an adjustable high or low level. I don't need to know the moment it
happens, so waiting until I'm home is fine.

[Taxed and Spent]

The outhouse is at the far edge of the property, and that is where he
does his smartphone work.

[Rod Speed]

Arthur Conan Doyle <do...@bother.com> wrote

> Horace Algier <hor...@horatio.net> wrote

>> Have any of you experience with such a thing?

> First thing is to decide what kind of monitoring you want. There are some
> very
> nice transponders that use cell data, but I'm not interested in paying $40
> or
> more a month for monitoring, even if it does monitoring by a phone app.

No need to spend anything like that.

[crankypuss]

You're talking to yourself again, Aardvarks.

--
http://totally-portable-software.blogspot.com
[Sat Mar 26: "Documentation and Portability"]

[crankypuss]

Nope, I walk the 100 feet and read the gage on the tank once a week.

Generally, refilling at 15-20% seems pretty safe as far as running out
goes, but if you're not bothering to track it, you're in pot-luck territory.

Personally I wouldn't waste 30 seconds clicking a link to see what kind
of unnecessary device is available at an outrageous price, but then I've
been in iPad and iPhone land lately so I'm kind of OD'ed on shiny new
pretties. Best luck.

[Horace Algier]

On Fri, 2 Sep 2016 09:25:54 -0600, crankypuss wrote:

> Nope, I walk the 100 feet and read the gage on the tank once a week.

I do the same as you, but many of the residents here are not home for many
months at a time (I don't think there is a single person here who only owns
a single home).

So you have to have someone *check* the tank if you don't have any way of
checking it yourself.

Out here, Amerigas and Suburban and Ferrell Gas will come on a calculated
schedule basis.

But a 50,000 gallon pool sucks up propane like you can't believe; so it's
hard to calculate when you'll run out of fuel just after having left on a
3-month vacation (which many here do).

> Generally, refilling at 15-20% seems pretty safe as far as running out
> goes, but if you're not bothering to track it, you're in pot-luck territory.

I have called all the propane suppliers in the area, and while some have
automatic tank-monitoring equipment (some use GPS satellites, others user
the customers' cellphone or landline), most don't have any automatic
monitoring.

In general, for the majority who don't offer automated level meters, they
tell me they visit when they *calculate* 30% to be the remaining fuel in
the tank.

> Personally I wouldn't waste 30 seconds clicking a link to see what kind
> of unnecessary device is available at an outrageous price, but then I've
> been in iPad and iPhone land lately so I'm kind of OD'ed on shiny new
> pretties. Best luck.

The question was asked for the residents in our homeowner association,
which covers everyone who lives in the surrounding mountains (a few hundred
homes in toto).

It wasn't necessarily asked for me (although my gas company already agreed
to give me a free R3D for my own tank). The R3D is about $15 bucks retail,
and the installation is trivial (two screws) but most people will opt for
the $50 installation fee to have the propane company install the dial.

[Patty Winter]

In article <nqcj1a$t0a$1...@gioia.aioe.org>,

Horace Algier <hor...@horatio.net> wrote:
>
>Out here, Amerigas and Suburban and Ferrell Gas will come on a calculated
>schedule basis.
>
>But a 50,000 gallon pool sucks up propane like you can't believe; so it's
>hard to calculate when you'll run out of fuel just after having left on a
>3-month vacation (which many here do).

Why are they heating a pool they aren't using for three months?

[Ed Pawlowski]

Keeps deadly bacteria alive so anyone sneaking into the pool will get
sick. Or worse

[Alan Browne]

On 2016-09-02 15:13, Horace Algier wrote:

> But a 50,000 gallon pool sucks up propane like you can't believe; so it's
> hard to calculate when you'll run out of fuel just after having left on a
> 3-month vacation (which many here do).

I'm with Patty. If you're stupid enough to heat the pool while on a 3
month absence, you have nothing to bitch about except your own stupidity.

Maybe that's the issue you should bring home.

(Reminds me of those idiots in NYC who have "all in" rents that include
electricity. So they leave for 2 weeks in the summer with the AC set to
74°F.)

--
She hummed to herself because she was an unrivaled botcher of lyrics.
-Nick (Gone Girl), Gillian Flynn.

[trader_4]

It sounds like a very convenient and reasonable thing to have to me.

[Horace Algier]

Oh. You were asking for a wifi transmitter?
The *only* devices "I" would use are Ubiquiti devices.

For something that only goes a mile or so, a cheap pico or nano will work
just fine.

Otherwise, if you have to go ten miles (like I do all the time), then you
need a rocket for best speeds.

However, for painting a propane tank, almost *anything* will work,
especially if it's within a puny 300 feet or so.

https://community.ubnt.com/t5/Getting-Started-Product/NanoBeam-vs-Nanostation-vs-NanoBridge-vs-Airgrid-vs-Picostation/td-p/850804

[Horace Algier]

On Thu, 1 Sep 2016 17:15:50 -0700, Taxed and Spent wrote:

> do you have a suggestion for such a device?

Yes.
But I don't have experience with them.

The most often suggested is the first on this list:
http://www.postscapes.com/wifi-propane-remote-monitoring-tank-utility/

It's this one:
http://www.tankutility.com/r3d-compatible-gauge-faces/

[Horace Algier]

On Thu, 1 Sep 2016 19:16:06 -0700 (PDT), trader_4 wrote:

> If you have a house with propane on a 10 acre site, why do you need
> to cover the whole property with wifi? I'm sure the majority
> of people have a propane tank located a short distance from their
> house, where it will be within wifi range.

Most tanks are pretty close to the house.
They can't be closer than 25 feet from a flammable object (house included)
but they're usually not much further than 25 to 50 feet.

However, most companies who put in tanks include as part of the original
quote that they will lay 100 feet of pipe in a trench that you have to dig.

So, I would guess from that standard quote, that 100 feet is generally the
maximum for "most" homes.

[Horace Algier]

On Fri, 2 Sep 2016 20:37:04 -0400, Alan Browne wrote:

> I'm with Patty. If you're stupid enough to heat the pool while on a 3
> month absence, you have nothing to bitch about except your own stupidity.
>
> Maybe that's the issue you should bring home.
>
> (Reminds me of those idiots in NYC who have "all in" rents that include
> electricity. So they leave for 2 weeks in the summer with the AC set to
> 74°F.)

Read again what I wrote.
And it was just an example anyway.

What I wrote was:
1. They heat the pool
2. They don't check the tank
3. They go on vacation
4. They run out of fuel months earlier than normal

It was just an example.

[Horace Algier]

On Fri, 2 Sep 2016 19:50:41 -0000 (UTC), Patty Winter wrote:

> Why are they heating a pool they aren't using for three months?

Re-read what I wrote.
There was a temporal clause in there.
The heating of the pool came before the vacation.
If people don't check their tanks before going on vacation, then they might
be surprised how much fuel was used up in heating the pool.

[Horace Algier]

On Fri, 2 Sep 2016 17:03:32 -0400, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

> Keeps deadly bacteria alive so anyone sneaking into the pool will get
> sick. Or worse

Heating a pool would only increase the bacteria, which I assume you
realized and you were only joking.

[Horace Algier]

On Thu, 01 Sep 2016 19:11:02 -0500, cowabunga dude wrote:

> I don't have any experience with a propane monitoring
system, but if you want WiFi to cover your whole house
and more than 10 acres of land, you need to get a long
range, high power, outdoor router antenna, on the roof
of your house, for around $80.00. No more dead spots.
Adjustable power.

Painting a propane tank with WiFi is almost trivial, no matter how far away
from the house it may be.

Due to the nature of trenching requirements, most tanks are within 50 feet
of the house (although they can't be closer than 25 feet by code).

50 feet is absolutely nothing for a WiFi transmitter (we only use Ubiquiti
equipment such as a pico or nano or rocket).

We can paint a WiFi transmitter ten miles away with these things.

[Horace Algier]

On Thu, 01 Sep 2016 20:37:25 -0500, cowabunga dude wrote:

> There's kind of a trick to configure it.

I recommend Ubiquiti equipment.

Cheap. Powerful. Lots of support. Nice forum.
https://community.ubnt.com/t5/custom/page/page-id/Forums

That forum is kind of like the home repair forum, and absolutely nothing
like the Apple forum (which is filled with babies).

[Horace Algier]

On Sat, 3 Sep 2016 00:38:26 -0700 (PDT), trader_4 wrote:

> It sounds like a very convenient and reasonable thing to have to me.

The Rochester Remote Ready dial (R3D) costs only $15 retail, and is easily
put on by the homeowner but the propane company will install it for $50 if
the homeowner is squeamish about propane (nobody on a.h.r would be that
squeamish but such people exist).

From there, almost any remote would work.
The one that is most often suggested in our internal email discussions is
the $190 "tank utility" which works on Android and iOS
http://www.tankutility.com/residential-propane-tank-monitor/

Painting the tank with WiFi is nearly trivial since any decent WiFi
transmitter can go 10 miles and nobody's propane tank is that far away! :)

The WiFi problem is mostly that the tank utility is the limiting factor,
but two nanos or picos can be set up if the tank is more than a few hundred
feet from the house.

Solar powering the batteries is also an option, but if a second transceiver
is required, then the limitation is 300 feet without adding a repeater with
POE.

But, from my experience, most propane tanks are easily within 100 feet of
the house, so, almost any WiFi transmitter can do that trivial distance (we
use Ubiquiti exclusively).

The Ubiquiti forums are as good as a.h.r and the opposite of what you find
on the apple forums.
https://community.ubnt.com/t5/custom/page/page-id/Forums

[trader_4]

On Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 3:54:42 AM UTC-4, Horace Algier wrote:
> On Sat, 3 Sep 2016 00:38:26 -0700 (PDT), trader_4 wrote:
>
> > It sounds like a very convenient and reasonable thing to have to me.
>
> The Rochester Remote Ready dial (R3D) costs only $15 retail, and is easily
> put on by the homeowner but the propane company will install it for $50 if
> the homeowner is squeamish about propane (nobody on a.h.r would be that
> squeamish but such people exist).
>
> From there, almost any remote would work.
> The one that is most often suggested in our internal email discussions is
> the $190 "tank utility" which works on Android and iOS
> http://www.tankutility.com/residential-propane-tank-monitor/
>
> Painting the tank with WiFi is nearly trivial since any decent WiFi
> transmitter can go 10 miles and nobody's propane tank is that far away! :)
>

Wow, you must have one hell of a wifi transmitter. Around here, even
the commercial public ones, eg Optimum Cable Wifi hotspots are terrible.
Almost everywhere I've tried to connect, it's spotty at best, works one
min, gone the next, even when standing still. Useless in the car.
The success I've had has been at Starbucks, stores, restaurants,
hotels, etc, but that's limited to within the store, maybe the parking
lot if you're lucky. At home here, I just have a garden variety old
G router, but if I had a propane tank, it probably would reach it.
I go diagonally, from upstairs to downstairs across the whole house
to the Tivo and that works.

> The WiFi problem is mostly that the tank utility is the limiting factor,
> but two nanos or picos can be set up if the tank is more than a few hundred
> feet from the house.
>
> Solar powering the batteries is also an option, but if a second transceiver
> is required, then the limitation is 300 feet without adding a repeater with
> POE.
>
> But, from my experience, most propane tanks are easily within 100 feet of
> the house, so, almost any WiFi transmitter can do that trivial distance (we
> use Ubiquiti exclusively).
>

That seems reasonable, the tanks I've seen have always been within 50
ft or so of the house.

[Patty Winter]

In article <nqdv2t$jln$1...@gioia.aioe.org>,

It sounds like you are now trying to claim that in your example, the
pool heater is in fact turned off before the people go on vacation,
but because it had been on, they hadn't realized how low the propane
tank had gotten. If that's the example you're now trying to use, then
the simple solution is for them to check the propane level before they
leave on vacation.

I can see the utility of being able to remotely check the level, but
it can't substitute for carelessness.

[trader_4]

Actually the smartphone/remote monitoring is a substitute for some
level of carelessness. Like he pointed out, you could forget to check
while leaving for vacation and with remote capability, you can check,
recover, etc. Same thing with internet capable thermostats. If you
leave for a week and can't remember if you turned down the heat, it
solves that problem too.

[Jolly Roger]

+1 : )

--
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my ravenous SPAM filter.
I often ignore posts from Google. Use a real news client instead.

JR

[Alan Browne]

On 2016-09-03 12:49, Patty Winter wrote:

> I can see the utility of being able to remotely check the level, but
> it can't substitute for carelessness.

Indeed, carelessness is becoming more common than people taking
responsibility for their own follies.

[Horace Algier]

On Sat, 3 Sep 2016 02:03:42 -0700 (PDT), trader_4 wrote:

> Wow, you must have one hell of a wifi transmitter.

We don't have cable. We don't have DSL.
All we have is air.
Either satellite air. Or WISP air.

If it's satellite, Comcast or Hughes puts in the equipment.
If it's WISP, we buy & install the equipment ourselves.
The only brand we use is Ubiquiti.
They're great.

Powerful. Cheap. Reliable (except those damn nanos constantly blow up in
the frequent power surges when the winter rains knock trees down over our
power lines).

> Around here, even
> the commercial public ones, eg Optimum Cable Wifi hotspots are terrible.

It's all about the transceivers!

Heh ... we have a standard joke here about "wifi porn" where we post
pictures of our transmitters and access points on towers (since height is
your friend when the first Fresnel zone is your enemy).

We go ten miles between access points pretty easily. More than 15 miles is
difficult but anything less than about 5 miles is a piece of cake. Of
course, it's mountain country, so, that's 5 miles as the crow flies, which
is likely twenty to fifty miles on the ground winding through the road
network.

> Almost everywhere I've tried to connect, it's spotty at best, works one
> min, gone the next, even when standing still.

Plug a spare Ubiquiti nanobridge horn into your laptop (sans the dish).
I've done that. It easily doubles your range, but, the problem is *always*
that the other end doesn't have the same power so, to *really* get range,
you'll need the dish.

I can post a picture of my nano next to my rocket if you want to see the
difference. I have nanos, rockets, and bullets, all of which go miles when
coupled with similar equipment (far less when coupled with a puny Starbucks
router).

Here's a picture of a couple of my nanobridge horns, for example:
http://community.ubnt.com/ubnt/attachments/ubnt/airMAX_Troubleshooting/73910/1/sparenano.jpg

> Useless in the car.
I've put magnetic antennas on my auto roof when war driving. :)

> The success I've had has been at Starbucks, stores, restaurants,
> hotels, etc, but that's limited to within the store, maybe the parking
> lot if you're lucky.

You can double or triple your distance by supplementing the horrid antenna
in a laptop. Don't even think of using the far worse than horrid antenna in
a typical iOS or Android device (where I've found iOS to be far worse than
Android in "most" of my ad hoc tests - but I'm sure the iOS guys will
scream hoarse about that informal assessment borne over the years so just
take that as a gentle IMHO advice and not an IMHO that I feel like getting
into a flame war over).

> At home here, I just have a garden variety old
> G router, but if I had a propane tank, it probably would reach it.

A bullet would work fine too!
You can change the transmit power as needed.
http://community.ubnt.com/ubnt/attachments/ubnt/airMAX-General/13231/1/bulletm2hp_power.png

> I go diagonally, from upstairs to downstairs across the whole house
> to the Tivo and that works.

What's amazing to me is that people futz (me included) with puny consumer
routers, when the Ubiquiti equipment is far superior at the same price
points!

For example, we buy these by the dozen:
UniFi wireless access points
http://www.brucebnews.com/2014/01/the-joy-of-ubiquiti-unifi-wireless/

[Horace Algier]

On Sat, 3 Sep 2016 20:35:40 -0400, Alan Browne wrote:

> Indeed, carelessness is becoming more common than people taking
> responsibility for their own follies.

I think you all missed the point.

How often do *you* check the level of your water tanks?
I know I don't check ever - simply because they only run dry when something
unforseen happens.

Had I a warning system in place, my phone could alert me when my 15,000
gallon tanks run low for whatever reason.

The propane is the same. Most people have at least one 1,000 gallon tank
(but some have the smaller 500 gallon tanks).

Over a period of ten years, it will probably never run empty, except ....
when something unforseen happens (for whatever reason).

Whatever that reason is, the monitor will alert you.
It's not more complicated than that.

What I gather, from this discussion, is that NOBODY here has any experience
whatsoever with propane tank-level monitoring equipment.

I just ordered the gauge so I will put it on my tank (it's just two
screws), and at least I'll be "ready" but I probably won't use it myself
(but others will).

So we will let *you* know how it works out.
Thanks!

[Horace Algier]

On Sat, 3 Sep 2016 16:49:16 -0000 (UTC), Patty Winter wrote:

> It sounds like you are now trying to claim that in your example, the
> pool heater is in fact turned off before the people go on vacation,
> but because it had been on, they hadn't realized how low the propane
> tank had gotten.

Yes. But that was just an example. The point is that people *do*
unexpectedly run out. The fact that it happens unexpectedly means that the
propane supplier's calculations were off.

Why would the propane suppliers' calculations be wrong?
The only logical answer is that "something" happened that the propane
supplier doesn't know about.

I actually have explicit details on what happened recently with a neighbor
who did a kitchen remodel, but I don't want to interject their personal
situation.

Suffice to say that if a tank runs dry, "something" happened that someone
forgot about (aka someone made a mistake).

The whole point of the monitoring equipment is to prevent that.
It's not really rocket science.

> If that's the example you're now trying to use, then
> the simple solution is for them to check the propane level before they
> leave on vacation.

Except that you miss the point that something 'else' can be unforseen.

> I can see the utility of being able to remotely check the level, but
> it can't substitute for carelessness.

Out here, everyone is on what the industry calls "autofill" (as opposed to
"willcall"). That means the propane company decides when to fill the tanks.

Generally they're pretty good, in that they calculate to fill the tanks at
about 30% but they goof when something "unforseen" happens.

It's not really any more complicated than that.
I know many people *never* check the level of their tanks and they never
run dry ... except ... when something unforseen happens.

PS: Same with all our water tanks since everyone out here has their own
well.

[crankypuss]

On 09/02/2016 01:13 PM, Horace Algier wrote:

> On Fri, 2 Sep 2016 09:25:54 -0600, crankypuss wrote:
>
>> Nope, I walk the 100 feet and read the gage on the tank once a week.
>
> I do the same as you, but many of the residents here are not home for many
> months at a time (I don't think there is a single person here who only owns
> a single home).
>
> So you have to have someone *check* the tank if you don't have any way of
> checking it yourself.
>
> Out here, Amerigas and Suburban and Ferrell Gas will come on a calculated
> schedule basis.
>
> But a 50,000 gallon pool sucks up propane like you can't believe; so it's
> hard to calculate when you'll run out of fuel just after having left on a
> 3-month vacation (which many here do).

Anybody stupid enough to heat a 50,000 gallon swimming pool can pay the
fucking pool guy, get over it.

You smell like Aardvarks btw, typical profile: already have all the
"facts", generating long threads for no real purpose, etc.

Whatever. Choke up a few bucks for the pool guy, cheapskate.

--
http://totally-portable-software.blogspot.com
[Sat Sep 03: "Associative Storage and Everything Everywhere"]

[trader_4]

On Saturday, September 3, 2016 at 11:19:08 PM UTC-4, Horace Algier wrote:
> On Sat, 3 Sep 2016 20:35:40 -0400, Alan Browne wrote:
>
> > Indeed, carelessness is becoming more common than people taking
> > responsibility for their own follies.
>
> I think you all missed the point.
>

IDK why you say all. I made several posts where I agreed with you,
that a monitor is useful, helpful, convenient, etc.

> How often do *you* check the level of your water tanks?
> I know I don't check ever - simply because they only run dry when something
> unforseen happens.
>
> Had I a warning system in place, my phone could alert me when my 15,000
> gallon tanks run low for whatever reason.
>
> The propane is the same. Most people have at least one 1,000 gallon tank
> (but some have the smaller 500 gallon tanks).
>
> Over a period of ten years, it will probably never run empty, except ....
> when something unforseen happens (for whatever reason).
>
> Whatever that reason is, the monitor will alert you.
> It's not more complicated than that.
>
> What I gather, from this discussion, is that NOBODY here has any experience
> whatsoever with propane tank-level monitoring equipment.
>
> I just ordered the gauge so I will put it on my tank (it's just two
> screws), and at least I'll be "ready" but I probably won't use it myself
> (but others will).
>
> So we will let *you* know how it works out.
> Thanks!

Please do.

[Alan Browne]

On 2016-09-03 23:19, Horace Algier wrote:

> So we will let *you* know how it works out.

No thanks. A: you're tedious (regardless of your nym) and B: see: A.

[Horace Algier]

On Sun, 4 Sep 2016 06:02:38 -0600, crankypuss wrote:

> Anybody stupid enough to heat a 50,000 gallon swimming pool can pay the
> fucking pool guy, get over it.

You just want to argue?
The question is simple.
Do you have experience with the tool, or not.

You can argue until you're blue in the face that *you* don't need the tool,
but you're just trolling if you don't have experience with the tool.

Some people want it.
Those people have *lots* of money.

The question wasn't about money.
The question was whether anyone had experience with the tools.

> You smell like Aardvarks btw, typical profile: already have all the

> "facts", generating long threads for a key purpose, etc.

Wow. You've proven you're at least as smart as the Jolly Troll.
HINT: He's the second-dumbest guy on the two iOS newsgroups.

> Whatever. Choke up a few bucks for the pool guy, cheapskate.

Whooosh. You entirely missed the point (again).
How can you completely miss the point so very many times in a row?

The point has *nothing* to do with pools.
The pool was just an example.

I sure hope you don't vote in the upcoming election because you miss the
scope of the discussion *every* single time.

[nospam]

In article <nqisuh$1abd$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, Horace Algier

<hor...@horatio.net> wrote:

> > You smell like Aardvarks btw, typical profile: already have all the
> > "facts", generating long threads for a key purpose, etc.
>
> Wow. You've proven you're at least as smart as the Jolly Troll.
> HINT: He's the second-dumbest guy on the two iOS newsgroups.

with you being so far in the lead for that race, how can you even tell
who is in second place?

[Horace Algier]

On Mon, 05 Sep 2016 00:42:46 -0400, nospam wrote:

> with you being so far in the lead for that race, how can you even tell
> who is in second place?

The dumbest person in these newsgroups is clearly the Jamie JK moron,
although Lewis is extremely close so I'd call the dumbest a tie between
them.

The next-dumbest person is the Jolly Troll.

You and Rod Speed aren't as dumb as you sound; it's just that you're so
uneducated that you just sound dumb.

For example, you can't comprehend the concept that putting a pillow over
the iPad screen isn't the same thing as turning the screen off.

You and Rod Speed both actually said that (you said to use the "case" but
since I don't have a case, it's going to have to be my pillow).

People don't actually get as uneducated as you two are, since you don't
even have a clue that putting a pillow over an iPad isn't the same thing as
turning the screen off.

[Horace Algier]

On Sun, 4 Sep 2016 05:23:55 -0700 (PDT), trader_4 wrote:

> IDK why you say all. I made several posts where I agreed with you,
> that a monitor is useful, helpful, convenient, etc.

Ooops. Sorry. You did agree that the solution I asked for advice on could
be useful.

You understood both the problem set and the variety of solutions, but you
come from the a.h.r group which is a overall reasonable bunch of ladies and
gentlemen.

It was the other naysayers whom I was commenting about, all from the iOS
group. They provided zero value - and that's more than they usually provide
- but I needed them because more than half the potential users are on Apple
mobile devices (in fact, we've only tested it on iOS so far).

Here is a picture of the utility - as we tested on iOS, and which had a few
problems on iOS and with the company that makes the utility, which we're
working out now as we speak (see details below):
http://i.cubeupload.com/PXnRYw.jpg

So it looks like *we* will be the first ones to test this out of the
complete set of people on all three crossposted newsgroups.

Here's a series of informative emails related to the problem and the
solution.

*HERE IS THE ORIGINAL EMAIL DESCRIBING THE INITIAL PROBLEM SET:*
Hi all. I had the lovely experience of running out of propane yesterday.
The Lochinvar broiler we have for hot water really does not like to run out
of gas and requires bleeding out the oxygen from the lines before it will
fire back up. Total pain and causes the whole house to smell like propane.
Anyway even though we are on the automatic top off plan it seems the
propane company must forget from time to time to fill our 1,000 gallon
propane tank. So I starting digging around and found this unit for $189
http://www.tankutility.com/residential-propane-tank-monitor/
Connects to wifi, uploads a reading every 6 hours, batteries last 2.5 years
and provides a flexible alerting system for when your tank gets low. Also
gives you the ability to check the level and usage over time. Only
requirement is to swap out the dial for one that is R3D compatible (looks
simple)
http://www.tankutility.com/r3d-compatible-gauge-faces/
Tank Utility will contact and schedule that on your behalf.
Anyways I thought I would share. Once I get it installed Il let you know
how I like it.

*HERE IS THE MOST RECENT EMAIL DESCRIBING THE UTILITY ON IOS:*
I got my tank utility device and set it up over the weekend (still waiting
on the R3D dial to be replaced by the propane company because they don't
allow me to do it myself). Pretty simple (although pro tip - when
connecting to a wifi that isn't connected to the internet you have to force
the iPhone to connect to the network by enabling airplane mode and then
enabling wifi. If you don't do that then the phone will happily keep using
it's LTE connection instead of the wifi without internet). Monitoring
option is pretty simple. I sent in feedback to be able to support a second
alert email address, then I can put my gas account manager's email address
on it at say 35% and mine on it at 25%.

http://i.cubeupload.com/PXnRYw.jpg

[tlvp]

On Fri, 2 Sep 2016 19:50:41 -0000 (UTC), Patty Winter wrote:

>>But a 50,000 gallon pool sucks up propane like you can't believe; so it's
>>hard to calculate when you'll run out of fuel just after having left on a
>>3-month vacation (which many here do).
>

> Why are they heating a pool they aren't using for three months?

Not heating it -- filling it :-) ! Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.

[tlvp]

On Sat, 3 Sep 2016 07:45:25 +0000 (UTC), Horace Algier wrote:

> What I wrote was:
> 1. They heat the pool
> 2. They don't check the tank
> 3. They go on vacation

Sometime *before* step 3 they should *stop* heating the pool :-) . That
might be effective in preventing stage 4, below:

> 4. They run out of fuel months earlier than normal

HTH. But I s'pose it's too late now. Cheers, -- tlvp

[tlvp]

On Sat, 3 Sep 2016 07:54:37 +0000 (UTC), Horace Algier wrote:

> Painting the tank with WiFi is nearly trivial

If it's a ferrous tank, I'd rather use Rust-Oleum (primer). HTH. Cheers, &c

[Charles Riley]

On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 9:30:28 AM UTC+6, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote:
> Horace Algier <hor...@horatio.net> wrote:
>
> >Have any of you experience with such a thing?
> First thing is to decide what kind of monitoring you want. There are some very
> nice transponders that use cell data, but I'm not interested in paying $40 or
> more a month for monitoring, even if it does monitoring by a phone app.
>
> I just installed a remote level reader on a water tank 500' from the house. The
> transmitter comes with a remote receiver that sits in the house and can be set
> to alarm at an adjustable high or low level. I don't need to know the moment it
> happens, so waiting until I'm home is fine.

I don't have any experience with a propane monitoring system, but if you want Wireless/Remote tank monitoring device so I can help you. I am using different types of Remote tank monitoring devices. But I think Level Pro Sentinel Remote tank monitoring device is the best device in the market. Know about this device you can visit Icon Process Controls website. You can also contact with them via phone: 905-469-9283 or email: sa...@iconprocon.com.