Lower 48 member Chris Davis received a call from one of their local clients to look at a low monitoring problem. The client stated they already had a flume in place and a non-contact doppler meter in line, but neither was working. Their existing metering system had proven unreliable due to submergence situations and air entrainment in the non-contact line.
After meeting and discussing the goals with the owner (which required the installed meter to meet their $5000 budget) and agreeing that they would not be able to capture flow during periods of submergence, Lower 48 Instruments selected NIVELCO’s EasyTREK ultrasonic integrated level transmitter for the application.
Working with Peter Domonics at NIVELCO’s headquarters, Lower 48 Instruments decided that a traditional mounting bracket would risk the EasyTREK being compromised by continued submergence. Lower 48 decided to design and fabricate a swing arm bracket raised above submergence level by ocean buoys during heavy rain periods.
Since the client could not afford welded stainless steel and pressed bearing carrying arms, Lower 48 fabricated the swing arm using an off-the-shelf strut and floor brackets, with buoys sourced from a business partner.
This solution allowed for the use of the highly-accurate and budget-friendly EasyTREK to measure typical flows during 95% of their measuring periods, which exceeded the client’s requirements. The local governing body assigned to issue the license to operate approved the system.
The installation and commissioning went flawlessly due to the EView2 HART® configuration software and UNICOMM SAT-504 HART®-USB-Bluetooth® modem. As the client had no mains power during the dry season, the field technician had time to program and test the transmitter while power was installed for the MultiCONT process controller. Assembling the system using NIVELCO devices was an excellent choice since the manufacturer gives a 5-year warranty for the components.
The completed system has been monitoring the influx and reporting continuously for three months with no issues. Chris Davis said, “It is through valued partnerships with firms like NIVELCO that we are able to execute quality metering installations with minimal post-sales support, truly a rare thing in this day and age.”
