Potato plant solves effluent problem with portable logger 04 January 2013

An unnamed potato processing and packaging plant on the Scottish Borders has solved difficult remote effluent flow monitoring problems using a Micronics Stingray portable area/velocity meter.

Steve Laddle, sales director of Bedford-based maintenance firm Servitech, which was called in to find a solution, explains that the plant needed a system that could stand alone, without mains power and provide a logged reading for local trade effluent officers.

Effluent leaves the site via a pipe with an internal diameter of 150mm, which often runs shallow, he says, emptying into a brick channel open to the atmosphere – meaning that flow measurement had to be handled in the effluent pipe.

Laddle says Servitech went for the Micronics Stingray portable area/velocity logger, with mounting bands, because it offered ease of installation and set-up, is highly flexible and battery powered.

"The Stingray was delivered to our offices in Bedford and was programmed for the installation via a laptop with an RS232 port," says Laddle.

"Our installation engineer then travelled to the Scottish Borders and, using the mounting band, was able to install and commission the system with minimum fuss," he continues.

"As the site was 300 miles and a six-hour drive away, it was important that the system was absolutely right for the application... The Stingray made this possible, along with the support provided by Micronics when the engineer was familiarising himself with the system before attending site."

Laddle says the portable nature of the system has saved the potato plant a considerable amount of money, in terms of cabling costs, while the flexibility of the sensor meant that no bespoke gauging structure was required.

brian Tinham

Related Companies
Micronics Ltd
Servitech International Ltd

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