Short answer: Tank Sentinel is a wireless gauge for crude oil and waste water tanks, built for upstream producers. If the only thing you need to know is how full the tank is, it does that job. If you also need casing or flowline pressure and whether the compressor is running, you need a whole-site monitor. TinyPumper watches tanks, pressures and runtime on one gateway, for one flat rate per site, and your team installs it in 8 minutes.
The tank is rarely the only thing that goes wrong on a lease. The compressor trips at 2 a.m., the casing pressure creeps up all week, and the tank level looks fine right up until the pumper rolls in and finds the well dead. That is the gap this page is about.
What Is Tank Sentinel?
Tank Sentinel is a remote wireless tank monitoring and gauging system for crude oil and waste water tanks. Its website says it “requires no electrical connections,” installs in under five minutes, and sends tank levels to an online data center that you check from a computer or smartphone. It is aimed at the upstream oil and gas industry, with a focus on the Midwest.
That is a focused product with a clear job. We are not going to knock it for doing what it says.
What Does Tank Sentinel Do Well?
- It is built for oilfield tanks. Crude and produced water tanks are its home turf.
- No power to run. No electrical connections to pull to the tank.
- Fast to set up. The company says install takes under five minutes.
- Simple to read. Tank levels show up online, on a computer or phone.
If you have a handful of remote tanks and nothing else on the lease worries you, that may be all you need.
Where Does a Tank-Only Gauge Stop?
A tank gauge answers one question: how full is the tank? On most leases the expensive surprises come from somewhere else:
- Pressure. Casing, tubing and flowline pressure tell you a well is loading up or a line is plugging before the tank ever shows it.
- Runtime. A compressor or pumping unit that stopped at midnight costs you every hour until somebody notices.
- Injection and disposal. Water going down an injection well needs its own pressure watch.
None of those live in a tank gauge. So the question to ask is not “which tank gauge?” but “what else on this lease do I need to see?”
How Does TinyPumper Compare?
| Tank Sentinel | TinyPumper | |
|---|---|---|
| What it watches | Tank levels on crude and water tanks | Tank levels, pressures (wellhead, flowline, injection) and engine or compressor runtime |
| How the tank is measured | Not stated on its site | Radar on top of the tank, no fluid contact |
| Install | Under five minutes, per the company | Your team self-installs in 8 minutes |
| Coverage | Wireless to an online data center | 100% continental U.S. coverage over satellite |
| Pricing | Not published on its site | $349 a sensor, one time, then one flat rate a month per site, unlimited sensors |
| If it breaks | Ask the vendor | Lifetime hardware replacement |
| Trial | Ask the vendor | 60-day money-back, we pay return shipping |
Where a cell in the Tank Sentinel column says “not stated” or “ask the vendor,” that is because its public site does not say. Ask them directly before you buy.
When Is TinyPumper the Better Fit?
- You need more than the tank: pressures and runtime on the same lease.
- You want alerts the moment something crosses a line. TinyPumper’s sensors report every hour and check thresholds every 5 minutes, so an alarm goes out right away.
- You want a price per site, not per point, so a busy tank battery does not multiply the bill.
- You have dead zones. Satellite gives 100% coverage across the continental U.S.
Producers running TinyPumper report cutting lease runs by 30 to 50 percent and catching failures days sooner. See how it fits on the whole lease in our oil well monitoring systems guide.
TinyPumper watches all three on one gateway. $349 a sensor, one time, then one flat rate a month per site. 60-day money-back.
See TinyPumperWhen Is Tank Sentinel the Better Fit?
If the tank level really is the whole job (a remote water tank with nothing else on the site, say), a focused tank gauge can be the simpler buy. And if you need full control of instrumented facilities, neither product is the answer; look at oil and gas SCADA.
Two Questions to Ask Any Tank Monitor
- Does the sensor sit in the fluid? Sensors that touch produced water can corrode, freeze and foul over time. TinyPumper’s radar mounts on top and never touches it.
- What happens the day it fails? TinyPumper ships a new one under lifetime hardware replacement. Get every vendor’s answer in writing.
Who This Page Is Not For
This page is not for producers who only ever need one tank level, and it is not for producers who need full SCADA control. For the full field of options, see oilfield monitoring alternatives and oilfield tank monitoring.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tank Sentinel?
Tank Sentinel is a remote wireless gauging system for crude oil and waste water tanks, aimed at upstream oil and gas producers. Its site says it needs no electrical connections, installs in under five minutes, and reports tank levels to an online data center you can check from a computer or phone. It is built around one job: knowing how full the tank is.
What is the best Tank Sentinel alternative?
If you only need tank levels, another tank gauge will do. If you also need casing, tubing or flowline pressure and engine or compressor runtime, a whole-site monitor is the better alternative. TinyPumper covers tanks, pressures and runtime on one gateway for one flat rate per site, and your team self-installs it in 8 minutes with no electrician.
Does TinyPumper’s tank sensor touch the fluid?
No. TinyPumper uses a radar sensor that mounts on top of the tank and reads the level without touching the oil or water. That means nothing to corrode, freeze or gunk up. If a device ever fails, lifetime hardware replacement covers it, and every order comes with a 60-day money-back trial with return shipping paid.
How is TinyPumper priced compared with per-point monitoring?
TinyPumper is $349 a sensor, one time. Then one flat rate a month per site, with unlimited sensors at that site. Adding another tank or a pressure sensor to the same site does not add a monthly charge, which matters on a busy tank battery where per-point pricing adds up fast.
Does TinyPumper need power at the tank?
No. The gateway is solar powered and the radar tank sensor is wireless, talking to the gateway over Bluetooth. Nothing gets wired to the tank, there is no trench to dig and no electrician to schedule. Your team self-installs it in 8 minutes, and readings reach your phone over satellite, which covers 100% of the continental US.