Retrofit Application: Tank Monitoring
Add Remote Monitoring, Reporting , and Alarm Notification
To Your Existing Controls
One small , self-contained unit with everything built in, including the cellular communications.
Simple
Connect 4 wires to existing terminals + 120V Power ..That's It!
Additional inputs available for motor currents, tank level measurement, flow meters...
Pump Scout fits into and can be mounted inside your existing control cabinet.
Or is rugged enough to be outside by itself in all types of hot, cold , and wet weather.
Smart
No Coding, No PLC Programming, No Complications .
Pump Scout watches your storage and pressure tanks 24/7, logs data, saves reports, and sends alarms to your phone if anything happens.
The Intellegence is built in.
sCada
You have Control.
Pump Scout handles the rest.
Supervising....Monitoring....Alarming....Data Acquisition
How Pump Scout works on your tanks:
The results you will see.
Normal Day-To-Day Operations Recording and Reporting
Have confidence that all your storage tanks, pressure tanks and pumps are operating just fine.
Pump Scout keeps watch 24/7, monitoring and recording readings into normal and summary reports available anytime on your phone, email, or computer.
Pump Scout records pump motor on/off cycles, run times, and average current amps for one or two pumps, plus (optional) tank levels, flow rates, and a “your choice” input for what-ever you need watched. In this case, the solenoid value for the customer supply feed.
Any failure alarms or out-of-tolerance conditions are time-stamped and recorded into the report if they happen.
Reports and data are available to download as text files for Excel or other programs.
Keeping Watch All Day , Every Day For Out-Of-Tolerance Conditions
ALways be on top of the situation
Pump Scout Alarms:
See the "Smarts" Built-In
Power, Tank Levels, Pumps and Motors
With Decision Making Built-In
Power Failures
Be notified anytime power cuts out at any of your storage or pressure tanks.
Low or High Tank Levels
Be notified anytime there is a High or Low Tank Level condition alarm
Pump / Motor Failures
Be notified anytime there is a Pump or Motor failure.
Power Failure and Restoration Notifications
Power Failures
When electrical power fails:
Pump Scout records the time and date, sends out an alarm message , and adds the event to the data report for the station.
Pump Scout texts out “power supply problem” text message.
Built-in UPS keeps Pump Scout powered up, without using internal batteries that proved unreliable in hot and cold conditions.
Be alerted to power failures in remote locations that can be miles away.
Reports record events to review daily, weekly, monthly to catch patterns, documenting conditions for discussions with your utility company.
Power Restored
When electrical power is restored:
Pump Scout records the time and date, sends out an alarm message , and adds the event to the data report for the station.
Have confidence everything is powered up OK.
Reports record events to review daily, weekly, monthly , documenting issues to address with utility company.
Power Cycling On and Off at tank
Automatically records utility power interruption cycling at the tank
Pump Scout records the time and date for any On => Off => On cycling of utility power, sends out an alarm message , and adds these events to the data report for the station.
Monitor electrical power for reliability at all your remote locations.
Low Tank Level Alarm Notifications
LOW level sensed at tank
When Tank Level Sensors Trigger a LOW Level Alarm:
Pump Scout records the time and date, sends out an alarm message , and adds the event to the data report for the station.
Be alerted if any tanks are draining too low.
Reports record events to review daily, weekly, monthly , documenting events to catch if one or more tanks are frequently draining to low levels.
Pumps undersized? More customers added = higher demand than original design specifications?
(Screen shot from my phone)
Tank level restored after LOW alarm
Have confidence your tank controls are working properly:
(1) Tank previously sent out LOW level alarm
(2) Controller latches “Pump On” signal ON
(3) Tank refills to above Tank Low Level
“Tank level normal” notification
Reports record events to review daily, weekly, monthly , documenting if one or more tanks are frequently draining to low levels.
Tank level not restored after LOW level
Why?
Tank Level Sensors Trigger a LOW level alarm and Pump Motor fails to start:
Emergency?
Pump Scout notifications:
First message: “tank level low”
Second message ” motor 1 failed after starting”
Tank at risk of being drained if tank output solenoid remains open.
Pump Scout can also monitor state of tank output solenoid.
Pump Scout watches everything, all the time. Multiple alarm texts help you make decisions and address problems as they happen.
High Tank Level Alarm Notifications
HIGH level sensed at tank
Tank Level Sensors Trigger a High Level Alarm
Pump Scout records the time and date, sends out an alarm message , and adds the event to the data report for the station.
Be alerted if any tanks are over-filling.
Reports record events to review daily, weekly, monthly , documenting events to catch if one or more tanks are frequently overfilling to high levels.
Pump oversized and wasting energy?
Tank level reduced after HIGH alarm
Have confidence your tank controls are working properly.
After High level sensed, tank controls repond:
(1) Controller resets “Pump On” signal to Off
(2) Tank water level recedes below High Alarm level
(3) Pump Scout send out “Tank Level Normal” notification.
Reports record events to review daily, weekly, monthly , documenting if one or more tanks are frequently filling to high levels.
Tank level NOT reduced after HIGH alarm Why Not?
Tank level sensors trigger High level alarm and pump motors do NOT turn off
Possible Emergency Scenario Notification?
Pump Scout notifications:
First message: “Tank level high”
Second message: ” motor relay/MS (motor starter) stuck” ON while controls reset “pump on” signal to OFF
Tank Overflow Soon?
This combination of alarms happening once will more than pay for the cost of a Pump Scout installed on each station.
Tank Pump Motor Failures and Alarm Notifications
Tank pump motors not started or ON
Pump Motor Failure Notifications:
“Motor 1 failed” or “Motor 2 failed” : Pump ON signal but motor did not start.
“Motor 1 failed after starting” (or Motor 2): Pump motor started when signaled, but then cut out.
“Motor 1 relay or MS stuck closed” : (or M2): Pump ON signal goes to OFF, but pump motor is still running.
(more applicable to HIGH tank alarms)
Pump Scout records the time and date, sends out an alarm message , and adds the event to the data report for the station.
Review reports weekly, monthly to see if any of your pumps or controllers are approaching end -of-life and need to be replaced.
Tank pump motors recovering
Pump Motor recovery after failure notifications:
First: Motor 1 failed or Motor 2 failed: Pump ON signal but motor did not start.
Then: Motor 1 good or Motor 2 Good: Pump motor restarted after a failure.
Pump Scout records the time and date the motor starts, sends out a notification that the motor is good, and adds the event to the data report for the station.
Save you a trip out to a remote tank after the pumps failed to start, but then recovered to normal operation.
Tank pump motors cycling on and off
Pump Motor Cycling ON and OFF (beating itself to death):
“Motor 1 failed after starting”: built-in intellegence interprets multiple conditions into one clear alarm message.
Repeated failure and recovery texts with time-stamps narrows down what is really happening in the field.
Another quick pay-back scenario.
Pump motors current (amps) over and under limits
Pump Motors Running Amps Too High or Too Low
Pump Scount can evaluate if a motor is pulling too many amps, or pulling too little amps, based on user-enter current limits for each pump.
“motor 1 amps too high”: measured running amps exceeds high limit value
“motor 1 amps good” : measured running amps returned to within high and low limits.
“motor 1 amps too low” : measured running amps is below low limit value.
Motor running amps too high or too low can indicated impending failures or end-of-life for motors:
Motor current suddenly going high: pump impeller getting stuck on a solid object, like a rag.
Motor current reduced below a low level: a blade in the pump impeller broke off after hitting a solid object in the flow.
Pump Scout can monitor motor condition, not just start and stop.
What conditions and alarms are important to monitor for you and your systems?
Pump Scout offers additional inputs for monitoring and alarming.
Contact us to see how we can implement Pump Scout to meet your needs.
Examples:
Motor Currents with Low and High level setting:
- ” Motor 1 high level ” could be pump impeller getting caught up on a rag.
- ” Motor 1 low level ” could be a pump impeller blade broke off from an obstruction.
“Level” input: Level value recorded, Low and High level limits setting
Flow meter input with adjustable counts per unit
There are ways to use all these inputs, data recording, and alarm text messages in different ways to match your application.
How To Make This Happen At Your Facility
Pump Scout monitors level switches and pump on/off signals (single or duplex) for reporting, plus continuously compares all four to detect alarm conditions.
Add Motor Current measurements for additional alarms and report data.
More....Motor Current measurements add a new level of condition monitoring, alarming, and report data.
Pump Scout “thinks” by comparing what the level floats, pump run signals, and motor currents are telling it, and sends an alarm notification if anything is not running correctly.
” Motor 1 Failure” “Motor 2 relay or MS (motor starter) stuck closed”
Attach our specified inductive current clamps to each motor, wire them into the Pump Scout Cub+….That’s It!
Extend the service life of your pumps and motors by comparing measurements over days, weeks, months and years.
Add Tank Level measurements ...also for stand-alone Tank Monitoring/Control applications.
More....Pump Scout works great for stand-alone Tank Monitoring and Control Stations as well as Lift Stations.
Add Tank Level measurements into reports by wiring your sensor into available Level input connections on the Cub+ model.
Monitor, record, and alarm on tank levels right alongside your high/low level alarms, pump status, and motor currents. No
Maximum and Minimum alert values are available for alarming and reporting.
All hard-coded into the Pump Scout Cub+
No additional systems programming needed!
Add Flow meaurements
More....Connect your pulse-output Flow sensor into the Pump Scout Cub+ and let it know how many pulses per unit of measurement (gallon, liter,…).
Monitoring the flow can tell you even more about how your lift, pumping, or tank control station is operating.
Comparing flow rates over days, weeks, months and years is handy for diagnosing issues and predictive maintenance.
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For inquiries contact:
S. Ritchie
Automation Retrofits
270 Sparta Avenue, Suite 104, #327
Sparta, NJ, 07871
+1 (201) 230-4409
[email protected]
I travel the country and may be near you soon!