Success Stories | LevelCom

Success Stories

LevelCom Tank Level Indicators have a reputation for long service life and for tackling some of the more difficult jobs and fluids in industry. Here is a small representation of the applications where LevelCom has proved its value.

Industry:	Offshore Drilling Rig
Problem:	Obtaining accurate ballast tank readings from up to 48 submerged ballast tanks, short service life of the existing TLI units. Existing continuous flow bubbler system was showing signs of leakage and sensor failure. Existing system did not have SCADA capability.
Challenges:	Ballast tanks in the oil platform are in pontoons that are up to 300 feet below the platform level. When the rig is in operation the pontoons are far below the surface of the water and not easily accessible.
Solution:	On replacing the ballast control system, upgraded sense tubes were mounted in the tanks and LC100s were installed to read the depths in the ballast tanks. The LC100s were connected to a network to bring the data into a central SCADA system for control of the ballast system on the rig.
Results:	The LC100s have been in trouble free and in service for more than 11 years

Customer:	Commercial Container Ship
Problem:	Need to replace older glass tube manometer containing high levels of elemental Mercury
Challenges:	Replace existing mercury manometer type tank gauges and upgrade the tank monitoring to include remote monitoring capabilities in multiple locations. Monitor and generate alarms for important tank levels. Monitor void spaces for water intrusion, and generate audible alarms. Tanks were irregularly shaped and had limited access.
Solution:	LevelCom LC100 applications are not limited to square, or cylindrical tanks so they were the best choice for this application. The existing manometer gauges were safely removed and replaced with LevelCom LC100 Tank Level Indicators. Where alarms were required, the LC100s were fitted with optional relay outputs. The LC100s were configured for the individual tanks with user supplied tank tables. The LevelCom units were supplied as both single units and panel mounted systems of up to 8 units per panel.
Results:	LC100s were the complete solution for replacement of mercury manometer gauges with flexible display options. They allowed for remote display, alarms and data gathering giving the ship a more accurate and consistent means to monitor all onboard fluids and tanks. These LevelCom units have been in service for over 12 years.

Industry:	Processing Plant
Problem:	Foaming liquid is causing existing tank level indicator to give false reading resulting in overflow situation and product spillage
Challenges:	Customer produces calcium carbonate in various forms for paper and industrial manufacturers. In the wash tank the calcium carbonate is mixed with water to clean the product prior to further processing. The calcium carbonate slurry is agitated by bubbling air through the mixture creating foam on the top of the mixture and contaminates would be carried into the foam. The foam layer was then swept off the top of the liquid carrying off the contaminates. The tank level needed to be accurately controlled to keep the foam layer high enough to be swept off the top of the liquid, but not allow any overflow of this tank resulting in wasted product.
	The specific gravity of this slurry was variable from mix to mix.
Solution:	A LC100 with specific gravity option was installed. By measuring the specific gravity it was possible to keep depth readings accurate enough to control this process.
Results:	This LevelCom 100 has been in service for 8 years.

Customer:	Silicon Wafer Manufacturer
Problem:	RF sensors failing due to corrosive nature of liquids and silicon deposits forming on the sensors.
Challenges:	Measuring depth in concentrated sulfuric and nitric acid tanks. The hazardous environment ruled out any in tank sensor. Tanks had to be manually monitored which was problematic to high production rate and stringent quality standards.
Solution:	LevelCom LC100 with 4-20 mA outputs were installed. The sense lines going into the tanks were made of a non reactive material and installed in the tank. The LC100 is giving accurate tank levels and provides remote indication creating a safer more consistent process.
Results:	These machines have been in continual service for more than 6 years.

Industry:	Roofing Shingle Manufacturer
Problem:	Tank level instrumentation not functioning correctly resulting in overflows that shut down production and incur clean up and environmental concerns.
Challenges:	Fluid to be measured is hot liquid asphalt mixed with solids creating a slurry that coats fiberglass matting in preparation to make roofing shingles. Recurring overflows from inaccurate tank readings had been stopping productions and costing the manufacturer thousands of dollars in lost production, scrap and cleanup. When an overflow occurred it would shut down the production line and result in lot runs of shingles needing to be scrapped. Cleanup was very time consuming and problematic.
	Along with the need to stop the overflows, the specific gravity of the liquid asphalt mix is variable, and needs to be kept near a certain value for the coating to flow correctly and coat the shingle.
Product:	LevelCom LC100 with Specific Gravity
Solution:	A LevelCom LC100 configured to read specific gravity and tank level was installed. The LC100 had the optional analog output and was configured to output specific gravity on the analog output.
Results:	After a test of single installation the overflow problem was eliminated and with the ability to read specific gravity the fluid mix was able to be kept consistent. The customer converted all the process tanks to use LevelCom LC100. The LevelCom units have been successfully in service 24/7 for the over 7 years.