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PrintLow Power, Miniaturized, Unattended Datalogging
Tim King and Bob Arkell
Where are the leaks? Can we sustain sufficient pressure in “Sector A” to meet emergency conditions? How does demand vary daily, weekly and monthly? These are but a few of the many questions water authorities ask when assessing municipal water needs.
Previously, good answers to such questions often required extensive use of personnel deployed in labor intensive activities using expensive monitoring equipment that was difficult to install, easily vandalized and hard to learn. Oftentimes, even when equipment was available it could not be used due to the lack of convenient power.
This problem is now solved with recent advances in datalogger and pressure transducer design. Small enough to hold in your and and weighing less than 1 pound, these-battery operated devices have very low power requirements. Automatic readings are user-adjustable and can range from once every 8 seconds to once every 24 hours. Figure 1 below depicts one type of installation where a shut-off valve is alaced between the pressure transducer and the pressure source for ease of instrumentation servicing.
The dataloggers operate without plugs, bulky power supplies, signal conditioning modules or complex in-field setups while the pressure transducers offer ease of installation through a variety of optional pressure fittings and electrical connections.
Magnetic backing on the datalogger along with a locking mounting hole guarantees that the datalogger will be held securely and safely. Both are built to withstand the most rugged environmental and industrial applications.
The pressure transducer and datalogger are designed to have a minimum life span of 10 years. This results in an extremely low cost per use ratio that translates into substantial savings over many existing conventional data collection strategies.
The capacitive sensing technology of the pressure transducers ensures minimal long-term drift while providing excellent performance over a broad temperature range (-40°C to 125°C). Built in EMI protection provides superior performance in noisy environments.
The readings themselves are software scalable to precise, user-defined engineering units, making it easy to log from a variety of pressure sources. Furthermore, the menu-driven software produces graphs, charts and detailed statistical summaries without users having to have substantial computer experience. Best of all, this information can be transferred to popular spreadsheet programs for further analysis, printout or storage.
Tim King
Business Communications
ACR
12960 84th Ave., #210
Surrey, BC V2W 1K7
Canada
P: 604-591-1128 F: 604-591-2252
Bob Arkell
Applications Manager
Kavlico
14501 Los Angeles Ave.
Moorpark, CA 93021
U.S.A.
P: 805-523-2000 F: 805-523-7125
Published in February 1998 Issue of Pollution Equipment News
