Storage tanks are a common part of daily business activities in various industries. Liquids can be used for a variety of tasks in business applications, including production, waste collection, and as a finished product. No matter your needs, when you use tanks it’s important to know what’s in them and track this information. Depending on your activities, a tank being too low or too high can be a source of concern. Making use of monitoring tools such as a float switch and water level sensor can keep you informed of any potential dangers or areas that need your attention. Here are some applications of these useful tools and situations where you may want to implement them.
Water Level Sensors
Being able to track the water (or other liquid) level in your tanks is a vital part of maintaining workflow and overall safety. Some tanks, for example, when they are full, need to be drained to avoid any issues, while others have a consistent outflow and require refilling for production procedures such as mixing or cooling. Monitoring such operations can be time-consuming and a water level sensor helps provide a degree of automation, allowing for more efficient use of your time.
A water level sensor can track the contents of a tank in a variety of ways, depending on the features and the type of sensor you are using. Common displays include a percentage such as 50 percent to indicate the general water level of the tank or more specific readouts measured in exact units. Depending on the nature of your work, you may need an advanced water level sensor to indicate highly specific readouts. A water level sensor can be used in a variety of different tanks including open tanks and smaller closed tanks. In addition, you can pair a water level sensor with a float switch for an added level of protection.
Float Switch Uses
A float switch can be an excellent solution to prevent emergencies or perform critical actions when human intervention may not be an option. A float switch can be set to trigger when the water level gets too high or too low. Once the water in your tank reaches this point, the switch can activate a failsafe action or response. Many float switches are linked to alarm systems to inform you that attention is needed at a specific tank for emptying or refilling.
However, sometimes alarms are not a viable solution given the size of a plant or how the tank is used. In these situations, a switch can be set to automate specific equipment to address the issue without human interaction. Some float switches are set to trigger when a tank fills up and once this happens the drainage system or pump is activated. This can be quite useful for tanks used in waste collection or those that collect production byproducts. Another use of float switch automation is setting it to trigger when a tank’s water level gets too low. In response to this, a pump can be turned on to refill the tank. This is a common use of tanks that provide raw liquid materials for production needs or cooling.
Final Thoughts
There is a wide assortment of water level sensors and float switches to suit your business needs, ranging from simple units to highly advanced options. You can also connect your float switches to other production and safety systems helping streamline daily activity. By using water level sensors and float switches, you are more aware of what’s going on. You can integrate response systems to keep daily operations continuing as intended and, in some cases, prevent emergencies. The ability to prevent issues with tank levels is highly valuable because it protects equipment, your work site, and most importantly your employees.
