Calling all geeks

[unixronin]

We have a 500-gallon outside propane tank. It's maybe 30 feet from the house.  It has a gauge on top, under an armored cover, but the tank is frequently on the far side of (and frequently covered in) significant amounts of snow.

Does anyone happen to know of, or have any suggestions for, a way I can remotely monitor the level of propane in the tank?  Obviously anything that would involve retrofitting a sensor of some kind inside the tank is pretty much out.

Edited to add:  I need to get data back in a form that can just be logged and charted automatically 24 hours a day, preferably without having to do image recognition on webcam images of the gauge.

Comments

[johnkzin.livejournal.com]

Or a remotely placed, weather protected (like in a clear pelican/otter box), web cam.


He said that the gauge is on the wrong side of the tank... and frequently covered in snow. What about a small roof for the tank, and well placed mirrors so that the location/orientation of the gauge isn't a problem, and it doesn't get covered in snow?

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Well, no, the gauge is on top of the tank. But it's under a hinged steel cover about 3/16" thick designed to protect the gauge and valves. If I had a webcam out there, I'd have to have a light for it so it could see the gauge, and I'd have to have a way to supply power to both.