---
title: "Tank Level Monitoring with MQTT | Remote Tank Telemetry | ConnectMQ"
description: "Remote tank level monitoring with MQTT: radar and ultrasonic sensors publish fuel, chemical and LPG levels over cellular to your VMI, ERP and dispatch systems."
url: "https://connectmq.com/use-cases/tank-level-monitoring/"
language: "en"
---

Use case

# Know every tank level before the customer calls

Radar, ultrasonic and pressure sensors on diesel, chemical, LPG, oil and bulk tanks publish level, volume and temperature over cellular. Your inventory, ERP and dispatch tools subscribe, so refills are planned on real data — not on manual dips or run-outs.

[Try it free](https://app.connectmq.com/signup) [See pricing](https://connectmq.com/pricing/)

No card required

Used in

-   [Oil & Gas](https://connectmq.com/industries/oil-gas/)
-   [Chemicals](https://connectmq.com/industries/chemicals/)
-   [Food & Beverage](https://connectmq.com/industries/food-beverage/)
-   [Agriculture](https://connectmq.com/industries/agriculture/)

Example message

PUBLISH vmi/region-north/cust-0412/tank-02/level

```
{"ts":"2026-10-22T05:00:00Z","product":"diesel","level_pct":23.4,"volume_l":7020,"ullage_l":22980,"temp_c":11.2,"batt_pct":81}
```

QoS 1 · TLS 8883 · PUBACK

The problem

## Refills planned on guesswork

Distributors and suppliers still plan deliveries from fixed schedules, phone calls and dipstick readings. Trucks top up tanks that are half full while another customer runs dry, and a leak or theft only shows up at the next reconciliation. Tank monitors from different vendors each bring their own portal, so nobody sees all tanks in one place.

## How it works

1.  1
    
    ### Sensor on the tank
    
    A radar, ultrasonic or hydrostatic sensor with a cellular (LTE-M, NB-IoT) or gateway connection measures level and temperature on a schedule — and right away on a sharp change.
    
2.  2
    
    ### Publish over MQTT
    
    The device wakes up, connects over TLS, publishes level, volume and battery to its tank topic with QoS 1 and goes back to sleep. Its configuration waits for it as a retained message.
    
3.  3
    
    ### Inventory and dispatch subscribe
    
    Your VMI platform, ERP and route planning subscribe to the tank topics and turn levels into days-to-empty forecasts and delivery orders.
    
4.  4
    
    ### Alerts on reorder and drops
    
    Threshold rules notify dispatch when a tank crosses its reorder or critical level; your backend flags sudden drops that may point to a leak or theft.
    

ConnectMQ

## What it needs from the broker

### Battery-friendly connections

Short connect–publish–disconnect cycles, or persistent sessions with a long keep-alive — whichever suits the device. MQTT’s two-byte header keeps every wake-up short.

### Configuration as retained messages

Publish new alert levels, report intervals or strapping tables as retained messages; a sleeping sensor receives them the next time it connects and subscribes.

### Customers kept apart

Per-device credentials and topic ACLs separate each customer’s or region’s tanks, and a customer portal can get read-only access to its own tanks only.

### Alerts without extra code

Threshold rules on level and battery send notifications straight from ConnectMQ, while the live dashboard and topic monitor show every reading as it arrives.

## What you get

-   Deliveries planned on measured levels, not fixed schedules
-   Fewer run-outs and fewer half-load top-ups
-   Sensors from different vendors in one topic tree
-   Early warning of unexpected level drops

Example topics

```
vmi/region-north/cust-0412/tank-02/level
vmi/region-north/cust-0412/tank-02/alerts
vmi/region-north/cust-0412/tank-02/config   (retained)
vmi/region-north/cust-0412/tank-02/status   (retained)
```

## Industries that run this use case

 [![](https://connectmq.com/images/industries/hero/oil-gas.webp) Oil & Gas](https://connectmq.com/industries/oil-gas/) [![](https://connectmq.com/images/industries/hero/chemicals.webp) Chemicals](https://connectmq.com/industries/chemicals/) [![](https://connectmq.com/images/industries/hero/food-beverage.webp) Food & Beverage](https://connectmq.com/industries/food-beverage/) [![](https://connectmq.com/images/industries/hero/agriculture.webp) Agriculture](https://connectmq.com/industries/agriculture/)

## Related solutions

[

### Industrial IoT & Smart Manufacturing

Machines, PLC gateways, OEE and quality data

Learn more](https://connectmq.com/industrial-iot/)[

### Smart Agriculture

Soil probes, weather stations and irrigation

Learn more](https://connectmq.com/smart-agriculture/)

## Frequently asked questions

How do I monitor tank levels remotely with MQTT?

Fit each tank with a level sensor that has a cellular or gateway connection, let it publish level and volume to one topic per tank, and subscribe your inventory or ERP system to those topics. ConnectMQ provides the broker, per-device credentials, alerts and a live dashboard; forecasting and ordering run in your own software.

Which level sensors work for fuel, chemical and LPG tanks?

Non-contact radar and ultrasonic sensors are common for fuel, oil and many chemicals; LPG tanks often use a float gauge with a Hall-effect reader; silos use radar or load cells. Any of them works with ConnectMQ as long as the device or its gateway publishes MQTT. In hazardous areas, choose devices rated for the zone.

Can a battery-powered tank sensor use MQTT?

Yes. Most battery sensors connect, publish and disconnect a few times a day instead of staying online. With a persistent session and QoS 1, messages for the device are kept until it reconnects, and retained configuration is delivered as soon as it subscribes.

## Build it on ConnectMQ

Start on the Free plan — no card required — connect your first devices today and upgrade when you go live.

[Get started](https://app.connectmq.com/signup) [See pricing](https://connectmq.com/pricing/)

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## Articles

[All articles](https://connectmq.com/blog/)

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### [How to Choose an IoT MQTT Broker: 12 Criteria and the Questions to Ask Your Vendor](https://connectmq.com/blog/how-to-choose-an-iot-mqtt-broker/)

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A practical guide to MQTT QoS: how QoS 0, 1 and 2 work on the wire, why the delivered QoS can be lower than you asked for, how sessions queue messages and which level to choose for each use case.

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### [MQTT Security Best Practices: A 12-Point Checklist for IoT Teams](https://connectmq.com/blog/mqtt-security-best-practices/)

A hands-on MQTT security checklist covering TLS, credentials, client IDs, topic design, payload validation, rate limits and certificate checks, plus how ConnectMQ handles each point.

September 28, 202611 min read