VESTA TANK MONITORING SERVICE

Knowledge Base

Support

Call us: (833) 723-6835 (extension 4) / Email us: [email protected]

Mobile App

Vertrax Direct app:

Hardware

Bulk – Gateway

Made for outdoor use
Environmentally sealed & Potted
2 hour backup battery
LED Lights show levels of propane
Designed by award winning designer

Bulk – Sensor

Environmentally sealed & Potted
15 to 20 year battery
Designed for tanks from 2000 gallons plus
External antenna

Residential – Gateway

Made for indoors
LED Lights show levels of propane
1 hour internal backup battery
Designed by award winning designer of the Cuisinart line of appliances

Residential – Gateway

Made for outdoor use
Environmentally sealed & Potted
2 hour backup battery
LED Lights show levels of propane
Designed by award winning designer

Installation

Setup Gateway

Power On Gateway:

Plug the Bulk Gateway into power.
If inside, make sure it is in a place that has good cell signal and will not get unplugged regularly.
If outside, make sure it is plugged into a UL approved in-use covered outlet. The Gateway should not be used outside without an in-use cover.
When you can we suggest putting the gateway someplace that has good line of sight to the tanks or within a space that has a window.
Wait for the ⦿ Blue light to start blinking green once plugged in.
Wait for Gateway light to turn ● solid green. That means it is connected to the system and reporting.
If it blinks red ⦿ then it does not have cell coverage. Move it around until you find the right spot.

Install App & Setup Gateway/Install Serial Numbers

Download the Vertrax Direct App if not done so already
Launch App
Login to the app or create login. Please use your company email address
Once you have created a login it will send you and email with a 5-digit code to enter into the Vertrax Direct app to verify yourself. Once verified login.
Next login to the Vertrax App

Once you have logged in you will see either just your branch or if you are a trainer, installer or officer personal you will see more than one branch.

Choose the location you wish to operate in. When you do that you will see one or more Gateways. Gateways are what you plugged in during Step 1.

Each Gateway has a unique Serial number on the front of it.
It is a four digit number.
To pair the hardware gateway with the placeholder in the system simply choose the gateway on the screen.

You will see this next screen that will have one ore more tanks ready to have hardware paired with them.

In the bottom corner of the screen you will see the Installer button hit that.

Next you will see a space at the top of the screen for the gateway serial number to be entered. Enter and then hit pair. You may have to hit it 2 times. You will know you did it right when it pairs and it will look like this.

Next grab the sensor you are going to put on the tank and hold the orange button on it for 15 seconds. This wakes it up from its sleep and now is on ALWAYS.

- Next we are going to pair the sensor to the tank placeholder in the app. Hit the back button from the gateway screen and touch on the tank you wish to pair. Then click on the installer icon in the bottom right corner to the screen to pair the sensor with the tank. It will look the same as the gateway pairing screen but it will have the tank name at the top of the app. Put in the serial number on the white label on the front of the sensor.

Enter the full number. Most start with 8 or 7. But it will be and 8 digit serial number. Enter it into the screen and hit pair. When done it should look like this.

Sensor & Gateway Hardware Install

Now it is time to find a good level spot. We suggest placing it around the valves due to less sediment. Back sure the area is clean and smooth. Chip away flaky paint if needed and sand smooth if you need to

Now go back to your app and hit the three light blue dots in the righthand corner. You will get a menu that looks like this. Hit Bluetooth.

When you hit Bluetooth you will get one or more sensors listed depending on what is in range. Find the sensor serial number you just paired with the tank and touch it. It will bring up another screen with a crosshairs. It will look like this.

Try to get the green dot as close to center as possible. It does not need to be perfect.
Make sure the Level X and Level Y on your screen is 2 or under. But the closer to center you get the better. Once you have found the right spot marker it with a marker or remember the spot.
Next take your Dielectric Grease and cover the white spot on the sensor. Don’t be shy and use a good amount. Then place it back in the level spot you found and relevel it.
While looking at your app you will see the Quality marker at the top. Pump the orange button a few times to get it in “Hyper Mode” and watch the Stars start to show up in your app next to Quality.
You want 3 stars. That means it’s a clean read all the way up and back. This can take anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes so be patient. However, most of the time you will get a quality read within a minute or two if the tank is in good shape and you are fairly level with the sensor.
Once you have 3 stars hit the three light blue dots again in the upper righthand corner and hit home.

You will go back to your gateway screen. Drill down again in the branch you were just working to get to the tank. The tank screen looks like this.

Now its time to make sure your tank dimensions are correct. Hit the Installer Icon in the bottom right hand corner. It will take you to the details page of the tank. It will look like this.

Here you can Change the name of the tank as well as the rest of the tank data. Make sure your tank is in Inches at the top and Gallons and Horizontal at the bottom.
Before we hit save let’s make sure the dimensions are right. Most tanks will have default numbers that are not true to the tank so you will have to enter the proper data
In the Height field it should be the Overall Diameter minus the Shell Thickness.
Example from Above: 105.81 – .61 = 105.20
Then you are going to put in the Length of the tank in inches where you see Width.
Example from above: 750
And lastly enter the total number of Gallons the tank holds.
Example from above: 30000
Then hit save at the bottom. You will know it worked because the save button will go black like the above picture

Now hit the back button in the top left hand corner to go back to the tank screen. It should look like this.

Rapidly press the orange button on the sensor again to put it in “Hyper Mode”
You should see the time and date of when the sensor checked in. It should be within a few minutes of you pushing the orange button.
If the date and time are within a few minutes, then you are done. The tank should now be showing the proper level of gas in your tank.

Installation Steps for Solar Panel

Prior to mounting solar panel, determine due South as the panel will need mounted in this direction to have the panel receive the most sunshine received in this direction.
Installation location will need to have a clear view of the sky, so we will want to avoid installing where sunlight will be obstructed by buildings, trees, hills, etc. For optimal performance the panel should have a clear view 30 degrees both East & West of due South.
The distance between mounting location and where the sensors will be installed should be within a 300 ft distance, to ensure that the sensor is still able to communicate with the gateway inside of the solar panel kit.
When determining where the solar panel will be mounted you will need to have a rigid pole or mounting surface so after mounting, the solar panel will not move or shift in wind and other conditions.
If there is no pole or surface appropriate to use for mounting the solar panel kit securely one would need to be setup, in this case PVC pipe can be used and secured with concrete or alternative means in the ground to hold the solar panel safely and securely. A PVC pipe of 3” – 4” or greater is recommended to give the clamps a greater amount of surface area to keep the Solar Panel kit secure.
The mounting surface that the panel is installed onto will need to be vertical to receive maximum amount of sunlight at the angle mentioned in step 7.
There are two angles the solar panel can be set to rest at, we will want to set the panel to the highest angle as shown in the picture below.
Mounting the solar panel to a pole, hose clamps or sign mounting brackets can be used to safely attach the panel enclosure to the pole. The size of the clamps that will need to be acquired will vary based on the width of the pole the solar panel is being mounted to. These clamps will not be included and will need to be acquired prior to installation of the panel.
After mounting the panel, the switch on the side of the casing can be turned on to ensure the device is charging.
After flipping the switch, the charge controller (Will say Wanderer on the front face inside of the enclosure) should begin displaying the charge it is receiving. We will use this to confirm the device is charging and will naturally begin to power the gateway as the panel charges the battery and controller.
For this setup the gateway will come pre-installed with the serial number labelled on the sticker inside of the enclosure. For any external Gateways please follow up with management to get a return label for the extra gateways to be shipped to an appropriate holding location. Allow the panel some time to begin charging and once the gateway is powered on this will allow you to move into the application & sensor install steps for the rest of the tank monitoring install process.

Additional Solar Panel Images

Video

FAQs

FAQ: Gateway

Q. Having Connection Issues With The Gateway?

A. Try these steps:

Unplug Gateway for several hours to let the internal battery deplete.
If possible connect Gateway to local WiFi using the bluetooth menu and clicking into the Gateway Serial Number. Here you can enable WiFi & scan for the local WiFi and enter the password.

Q. Gateway will sometimes get an incorrect reading?

If sensor has a low quality reading on the tank and is getting a spotty reading at its current location, try resetting up the sensor on the tank at a location with a 2 or 3 star quality is recommended to ensure the sensor is getting a consistent reading of the tank.

Q. Gateway not connecting to service/blinking red?

Check if the cellular network signal is strong at the location. Alternatively, connecting to WiFi can work.
Please reach out to VTMS Support if still running into the issue.

Q. Move Gateway from one location to another?

Unpair the gateway from old location and add to new location.
Please reach out to VTMS Support if appropriate permission is needed.

FAQ: Sensor / Tank

Q. I’m unable to get an accurate volume % reading inside of the application?

A. When you are unable to get a volume reading from the sensor can be due to a few different factors:

In most cases the best location for the sensor on the bottom of the tank will be near the fill or inlet valve on the belly of the tank.
This area will generally have the least amount of sediment build up and allow the sensor to read the volume in the tank more accurately.
Another thing to look for is that there is a good coating of Di-Electric Grease on the side of the sensor where the magnets are located, there can’t be too much on this side so you can be liberal with the amount of grease that is applied.
The sensor is not getting a 2 or 3 star quality reading from inside of the tank.
When inside of the bluetooth screen for the sensor the quality reading at the top should show at least 2 stars of quality, if you are seeing all hyphens (-) in this location you will want to try a different location on the tank to find a location where you can get 2 or 3 stars of quality.
Other locations to try at first will be the center of the tank and the rear of the tank.
The signal the sensor is sending may be unable to penetrate through the shell of the tank, this can be an issue caused by multiple coats of paint on the tank.
Here we can sand, file or bring down the paint to get the sensor into a location where it is closer to the shell of the tank.

Q. Tank Is Displaying incorrect & extremely low value?

A. Try these steps:

Ensure the sensor has a coat of Di-Electric Grease on the back with the magnets.
When near the sensor open the sensor through the bluetooth screen, here confirm that there is a high quality, 2 or 3 stars to the right of quality instead of —, then ensure the sensor is levelled to center using the X & Y grid at the bottom.
Try a different location on the bottom of the tank, recommended to start from near the fill valve and moving away from that location.
Bring the sensor closer to the tank shell by removing paint with sandpaper or a file.

Q: Inaccurate volume reported by tank sensor like 0% or 1% ?

A. Could be an installation issue. Please try the following troubleshooting steps:

Recommended install location for the sensor is between the inlet & outlet valves on the tank or directly next to the inlet valve.
When applying the di-electric grease the main priority is to give the center of the sensor and around the center to have an airtight seal against the tank.
Applying a good amount to the center of the sensor between the magnets and pressing so it spreads out will allow this to occur
If we are still unable to get a reading from the sensor, it may be due to lead paint which can block the sonar the sensor uses from reaching the tank.
In order to remove this factor we will want to remove the paint to the shell of the tank and ensure the surface of the tank is smooth using a fine grit sand paper.
From here apply a liberal amount of di-electric grease to the sensor and go through the bluetooth screen to re-install the sensor

FAQ: Mobile/Portal Application

Q. When I log in I only see the Home & magnifying glass buttons in the appliation?

A. This is due to the email needing assigned to your location inside the application before it will display information. Please reach out to support or admin that has permissions to add your email as a user to resolve this.
After added logging out & back in will display the locations information inside the application.

Q. Unable to Add New User Email?

Email maybe associated in a different location in the application already. Emails can only be added to one location in the app. i.e. email may need to be associated to higher in hierarcy.

Q. How to remove a user account from the portal?

User account must be deleted using the mobile application as the web portal does not have edit/delete capabilities.

Q. No email code received for registration or password reset?

The authentication code sent via email may have ended up in Span/Junk folder

Gmail > Check Spam Folder : https://mail.google.com/mail/u/4/#spam
Yahoo > Check Spam Folder : https://mail.yahoo.com/d/folders/6
Hotmail/Outlook > Check Spam Folder : https://outlook.live.com/mail/0/junkemail