The majority of Genset failures are “Failure To Start” errors. Much of the time this can be attributed to insufficient fuel. Fuel theft is also a problem for many generators, particularly those at remote site locations that are difficult to monitor and secure. Tank Depth Sensors can be deployed to tackle many of these common issues.
- Monitor fuel level and know when to schedule refilling of the tanks
- Monitoring of fuel level for sudden drops that could indicate leakage or theft
- Graphing and record of fuel usage over time
- Compare fuel usage with fuel delivery billing.
Connect to a single sensor port on your sensorProbe+ or securityProbe base unit. Alerts can be sent through SNMP, E-mail, and SMS (with optional cellular data modem). Remote site locations can be monitored from our central monitoring software AKCPro Server, which includes drill-down mapping and customizable desktops to display the data you need.
sensorProbe+ and securityProbe devices are Modbus ready, making a connection with many generator control panels easy via their Modbus RS485 output. Combined with a tank depth sensor it gives you a complete remote site generator monitoring solution.
Fuel Theft
Typical fuel theft is done by inside personnel and amounts to just a few liters per day. In the case of one of our African customers, 10 liters per day was being skimmed from the tank. Typically this would not be easily detected with fuel level monitoring only. However, with the addition of a Modbus connection to the generator, it is possible to have a monthly report of the total fuel used by the generator and compare this to the total fuel used from the tank as read by the TDPS.
In this case, 10 liters per day equated to 300 liters per month. The generator flow meter stated 400 liters were consumed, the tank depth sensor showed a drop of 680 liters, showing an obvious large difference in the actual fuel used and the fuel remaining in the tank.
Suspend the tank depth sensor at the bottom of your tank, and it will sense the pressure exerted by the water column above. Based on the pressure and the type of liquid you are measuring the depth is calculated. By programming the base unit with your tank dimensions, the total volume in % or liters can be displayed.
TDPS is easy to install, supplied with all mounting hardware required. Simply follow the 5 steps below.
- Measure the total tank height
- Mark the tank height on the TDPS cable and lock cable in that position on the mounting plate cable gland
- Drill a 30mm diameter hole for the sensor, and 4x 5mm diameter holes for the mounting plate. Thread the 5mm holes
- Secure the mounting plate in place with the M5 bolts provided
- Seal around the mounting plate with silicone sealant.
