Installation guide
Fitting SavvyTanks V3
A 12V feed, then as many of the sensors as you want: up to three water probes, a gas sender, a gas solenoid and two relays. Most of the afternoon goes on running probe cable rather than on anything difficult.
At a glance
- Water tanks
- Up to 3 - fresh, grey and black
- Water probes
- CBE PC200, ours or third-party
- Gas
- Any 0–90 or 0–95 ohm sender, either way round
- Gas solenoid
- Driven directly - the low current driver is built in
- Relays
- 2, up to 10A each
- Pairs as
- TanksV3
- Not compatible with
- SavvyVan Lite panels
Mounting it
The module is a serviceable part. It must be mounted where it can be reached, disconnected and removed without dismantling fixed furniture or bonded panels - for example in an electrical locker, under a seat, or behind a removable access panel. Every probe cable runs back to it, so settle where it goes before you run any.
Powering it
The module needs a 12V, 1A fused supply into the terminals marked +/−. They are labelled on the case.
Water probes
SavvyTanks works with CBE PC200 probes, whether you bought them from us or elsewhere.
Remove the white connector from the sender, and extend the cable if the run needs it. The probe terminals are marked Tanks 1 to 3, and any probe can go on any of them. The default is:
- Tank 1 - fresh water
- Tank 2 - grey water
- Tank 3 - black water
You can change that on the panel later, so it is worth doing whatever makes the cable runs tidiest.
Wire by colour:
- White → W
- Brown → B
- Green → G
Gas level
Any 0–90 or 0–95 ohm sender works, and the wiring is not polarity sensitive - the two wires from the sender go onto the terminals marked GAS either way round.
Gas solenoid
The Ultra Low Current Driver is built in, so the module can open and hold a 12V solenoid on its own - no separate driver needed.
Connect the solenoid’s +/− to the Solenoid terminals.
Relays
Two relays, 10A each. They work by interrupting a single wire passing through them, so the pattern is the same whatever you connect.
A remote drain valve:
- Connect the valve’s live wire to your 12V feed, as its manufacturer specifies.
- Run the valve’s negative into one terminal of relay 1 or 2.
- Run the other terminal of that relay to ground.
Plumbing, a wiring diagram, and a second way to wire the valve - straight to one of the panel’s own switches - are in the drain valve guide.
Anything else 12V or 24V wires the same way, up to 10A per relay.
What the light is telling you
One LED on the module tells you where you are - check it before you go near the panel.
| The light | What it means |
|---|---|
| Solid green | Powered up and booting. Give it a few seconds |
| Flashing blue | Booted, and waiting to pair |
| Solid blue | Paired to your panel. Nothing more to do |
| Red | Something is wrong - see troubleshooting |
| Nothing at all | No power reaching it - see troubleshooting |
Pairing it
- On the panel, open Installer Settings, enter the passcode, and go to the device pairing screen - the one with Scan on the right.
- Wait for
TanksV3to appear under available devices. The list fills in by itself a few seconds after the page opens; tap Scan if it is slow to show. - Tap the green + next to
TanksV3. It appears in the saved list on the left.
Setting up your tanks
Go back to Settings, then Tanks Settings, and enable SavvyTanks. On a Sargent, CBE or BCA version of the panel that is a dropdown rather than a switch - choose SavvyTanks from it.
Each tank has its own Enable switch. Turn on each one you physically connected, and set:
- Type, on a water tank - fresh, grey or black.
- Source, on the gas tank - which module reads the gas level. Tanks is SavvyTanks. If a Propex heater module is paired as well, Propex is offered too: choose whichever one your gas sender is wired to.
- Capacity - so the screen can show litres as well as a percentage. Water tanks are in litres or gallons, the gas tank in kg.
- Relay, on a water tank - if you attached one. Selecting it here is what makes tapping that tank on screen activate the valve.
The gas tank has no relay to choose: the solenoid links to it automatically.
Using it
Tank levels appear on the main screen. With more than one configured they take turns every 5 seconds, and a red ring around a tank means its relay is active.
Tap the tank icon for the full page, where everything is visible at once and a tap toggles a configured tank.
Troubleshooting
Nothing in the list when you scan? Check the module’s 12V supply first.
No light is a supply problem, not a pairing one. Check the fuse and the feed before you rescan - it is the commonest reason a module never appears.
A red light means the module cannot do its job. Power it down, check the wiring against this guide, and power it back up. Still red? Tell us rather than working around it, and send the log files from the passcode screen.
Specification
| Working voltage | 7–30V |
| Draw | 0.06A at 12V |
| Dimensions | 115 × 55 × 25 mm |
| Water tanks | Up to 3 |
| Relays | 2, up to 10A each |
Warranty
SavvyTanks V3 carries our 12-month warranty. The free second year you get for registering is for the SavvyVan3 panel itself, so there is nothing to register for this one.
Questions people ask
- Do the probes come with it?
- No - the box holds the module alone. Probes are sized to your tank and start at £44, and you need one per water tank.
- Should I take the cap off the end of the probe?
- No. The plastic cap at the end stays on - it is part of how the probe works.
- Can I use the relays for something other than tanks?
- Yes. They will switch any 12V accessory up to 10A each. Plenty of people use one for a drain valve and the other for something else entirely.
- I have a Sargent or CBE interface module. Can I use my existing water probe with SavvyTanks?
- No - the probe in your van connects to the SavvyVan3 interface board’s own input, which is a separate path from SavvyTanks. SavvyTanks has its own terminals and uses CBE PC200 probes. You need new probes for it, one per tank you want to monitor. If you have a Sargent system, bear in mind the interface board reads your fresh water sender only - the grey waste indicator is not supported - so SavvyTanks with PC200 probes is also the way to add grey and black water monitoring.