Looking for an instrument, dust detection.

Hey folks.

I have a need for a device to sense the amount of dust in the air. This is inside a flour delivery system room. Normally there is a minimal amount of dust if the system is in good working order. Some dust on a measured scale of 4 -20 can mean its time to clean the space. The larger issue here is that I need to know when there is a lot of dust in the space, higher scale.

The unfortunate event that led to this is during a delivery recently, one of the couplings that connect the delivery pipes together let go and filled the room with flour.

My system is set up with high and low pressure alarms when pumping so I know if I have a blockage or an open line somewhere, but the delivery system aboard the flour carrier is not monitored as well.

I can block off the delivery line from the truck and cause him to shutdown on over pressure, however, I need to know that the room is filling with flour. Hence the want for a device to detect dust in the air. It looked like a snowstorm in there!!! Really, some big drifts!

I would think there is a dust sensing device out there that somebody has used. I do have to keep anything in this room explosion proof.

Any suggestions!!

Thanks

PLC Pie Guy,

we have used and are still using Residual Dust Monitoring Systems type mr frsuw-h3 from a company called Scheuch, based in Germany.

It is an instrument for detecting dust in ductwork on the clean side of pulsing filters, to detect a burst filter bag. It has a 4-20mA output showing % dust in the duct and 2 alarm points.

But when I search for that product on the web, I cannot find it for some reason.
Yet, we last installed one a couple of years back.

I am not sure if it has been superceded by something else.

Is this for a clean room? I have worked in several class 10000 clean rooms but only used handheld detectors, but I do know they make more permanent ones (Not cheap) search "air particle room monitor" on Google

EDIT Here is one https://www.kanomax-usa.com/product/remote-particle-sensor-analog-output/

Dwyer makes a particulate sensor that can be I.S. with the right monitor. Used for bag house monitoring.
http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/ProcessControl/Particulate-DustorBrokenBag-Sensors/SeriesPMS#specs

geniusintraining said:

Is this for a clean room? I have worked in several class 10000 clean rooms but only used handheld detectors, but I do know they make more permanent ones (Not cheap) search "air particle room monitor" on Google

EDIT Here is one https://www.kanomax-usa.com/product/remote-particle-sensor-analog-output/

Click to expand...

This one looks like it pulls air in through a sampling tube, the actual sensing unit would not be in the room???

geniusintraining said:

Is this for a clean room? I have worked in several class 10000 clean rooms but only used handheld detectors, but I do know they make more permanent ones (Not cheap) search "air particle room monitor" on Google

EDIT Here is one https://www.kanomax-usa.com/product/remote-particle-sensor-analog-output/

Click to expand...

Clean Room??

Its relatively clean aside from all the flour dust! Its far from a sparkling production floor. Its our silo room where the pumping, sifting and weighing takes place. There is 2 large flour bins in this room as well as the conveying equipment so it is a bit dusty normally.

Ken Moore said:

Dwyer makes a particulate sensor that can be I.S. with the right monitor. Used for bag house monitoring.
http://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/ProcessControl/Particulate-DustorBrokenBag-Sensors/SeriesPMS#specs

Click to expand...

This one is interesting. I like the sanitary clamp fitting. It makes easy mounting. The probe is directly in the ambient air with no sampling tube.

So many options.

Flour in powder form would create an explosive atmosphere.

Any instrument or sensor would have to fall under the required regulations of your area.

In the UK this would be the ATEX directive.

It won't give you a 4-20ma output, but if you mount a photo eye transmitter/receiver pair up high in the room, opposite corners looking at each other, and set the gain on the receiver where it just picks up the transmitter, it should tell you if you have a "snowstorm"

PLC Pie Guy said:

Clean Room??

Click to expand...

A "Clean Room" is a term used in manufacturing https://www.americancleanrooms.com/cleanroom-classifications/

They have different classes, we made copper clad laminate for printed circuit boards and you could not have any dust in side a circuit board or you would have a short... a class 10000 is less than >0.1 um per square foot

Kind of a pain because you had to be covered from head to toe when entering and you went through a couple air chambers/showers to remove airborne particles

So yes the ones I used are overkill for you

Dhitzfelder,

you cannot do what you say, it is not an approved dust sensor.
while you may get it to work, you cannot rely on it as being correct.
I work in a steel factory and we have to use approved sensors.

james

Dhitzfelder said:

It won't give you a 4-20ma output, but if you mount a photo eye transmitter/receiver pair up high in the room, opposite corners looking at each other, and set the gain on the receiver where it just picks up the transmitter, it should tell you if you have a "snowstorm"

Click to expand...

This was discussed and is exactly the solution that the big guys suggested.
I said, in theory it should work but.... I would rather use an instrument so we can monitor the real value of particulate. I could see the possibility of false blocking trips with this as well.

I have to do some homework now. Thanks for the suggestions.

Its funny you mention this.

Yes, the photo sensor may work.
but if there is an incident and osha gets involved, that's when the fun starts.
you really don't want to go there.

james

Dust Sensor

I have never used this product but it might be worth looking into

I have never used this product but it might be worth looking into This time with the link, https://www.sick.com/us/en/dust-mea...t-measuring-devices/dusthunter-sp30/c/g412951