Ultrasonic level sensor

MiPilot · Dec 8, 2009

Hi guys

I am looking for an ultrasonic level sensor that will measure up to 135 feet.

I have a customer with several grain bins that are 135 feet tall and would like to monitor the grain levels without having to send someone to the top and look inside.

If this is possible, and how well do these handle dusty conditions and yet remain accurate?

Thanks, Steve

theDave2 · Dec 8, 2009

Why ultrasonic ? I would use a radar by Vega.

http://www.vega.com/vegapuls/en/index.htm

MiPilot · Dec 8, 2009

Good question.........The Vegapuls 68 looks good.

Thanks

Mickey · Dec 8, 2009

theDave2 said:
Why ultrasonic ? I would use a radar by Vega.

http://www.vega.com/vegapuls/en/index.htm

I'll second the Vega radar products. And they work well in harsh conditions. Very easy to setup.

icky812 · Dec 8, 2009

I agree. Ultrasonic is not the correct sensor type for this application. There will be too much beam spread at 135 feet for it to ever work reliably unless this is one huge silo.

danw · Dec 8, 2009

Siemens (former Milltronics) ultrasonic XPS-40 transducer can shoot 130', but for dusty conditions, the Siemens LR400 4 wire radar is dynamite. It shoots through dust in grain silos here in the midwest all the time. It's rated to 164 ft.

KP_EENG · Dec 8, 2009

I installed seven Sultan Ultrasonic sensors from Hawk Measuring Systems last year in tanks measuring 12' to 25' tall and from 6' to 10' in diameter and have been very happy with their performance, technology and support. They have built-in algorithms that compensate for dust and the units were originally designed for dusty environments. Here is the website for the product that I have used. The price was great, too, and by paying for them to perform the setup and initialization, I received an extended warranty.

http://www.hawk.com.au/productdetail.asp?id=1

Regards,

MiPilot · Dec 10, 2009

gasp.....

Should these Vega units be around $4000.00 each?

Steve

danw · Dec 10, 2009

I haven't used a Vega, but the Siemens LR460 goes for about $2,700 US depending on the antenna.

Hey, you gotta shoot over 100' . . . .

OZEE · Dec 10, 2009

Yes, that price for the Ohmart-Vega is correct... as is the Siemens. We've been evaluating both, and that's what we've learned.

Clay B. · Dec 10, 2009

The only system and I have seen that is cheaper than the Siemens uses a rope instead of radar. I saw it used in plastic filled silos with no real issues.

Basically it unwinds a rope and when the rope goes slack (weight has landed on the material it detects how much rope has played out and converts that into a level indication.

It is not real time feed back but for a every 4 hour reading it worked really well.

I have seen them used in grain silos as well but the silos where around 50' high. Below is the web sight for more info.

http://www.monitortech.com/product_c_c_sp.shtml

TimWilborne · Dec 10, 2009

Ok time for the stupid question of the day. Aside from the fact that I can't figure out how to install it without taking all the grain out of the silo, why couldn't you put a pressure sensor such as a load cell in the bottom of the silo?

mellis · Dec 10, 2009

I don't think grain when it's sitting still behaves enough like a liquid for a pressure sensor to work.

I think current radar systems will do it very well.

I've worked with the Yo-Yo level detectors, and while they have been around a long time, they can be a real maintenance hassle. It probably depends on the product being measured.

But if we're talking alternative methods, bolt on load cells have been used for this application. Kistler-Morse makes some that do pretty well.

Clay B. · Dec 10, 2009

TWControls said:
Ok time for the stupid question of the day. Aside from the fact that I can't figure out how to install it without taking all the grain out of the silo, why couldn't you put a pressure sensor such as a load cell in the bottom of the silo?

Because they paid me to...sorry couldn't resist... The compnay I work for we do it alot... The reason is batching... if your pumping the grain into a blender and you want to pump more than one material into the blender at a time the Loss In Weight you would have on the silo would tell you what you have discharged out of the silo and into your blender...

Note: on silo's you generally use more than one load cell because in most cases your supporting the entire silo on the load cells. Depending on who you ask a 3 load cell array works better than 4 but if you do the math that is pretty much "bunk"

Clay B. · Dec 10, 2009

FYI... it is not really a silly question, first time I did one I was thinking the whole time "There has to be a better way to do this"

Ultrasonic level sensor

MiPilot

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theDave2

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MiPilot

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Mickey

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icky812

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danw

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KP_EENG

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MiPilot

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danw

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OZEE

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Clay B.

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TimWilborne

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mellis

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