House hold Fuel usage data logging

I am looking to log how much household heating oil that I use form day to day. Is there any thing on the market I could put in my tank then get Cbus to take a reading at the same time every day so I could compile a usage graph every so often? I have a BW touch screen and a wiser unit. Any help or info would be great thanks.

 

I presume that if a person wanted to build such a device they would use a thermostat and modify the levels from temperature to oil level. So 0-100 would be tank volume instead of Celsius.

You would need a calibrated fluid reading and a modified thermostat.

 

Do you reckon this sensor would work with the product you suggest and give the output I'm looking. Thanks

 

Thanks for your help I am nearing the end of intergration relays and dimmers in and about to install switches but I am keen to get this up and running so I can start loging

 

be extremely careful with fuel measurement.

The ullage space in the tank will most likely be classed as a hazardous area and the chance of an explosion is significantly increased when using instruments that are continuously monitoring the level.

I am not sure how your insurance company would look at it if you blew the tank up and had not used the correct device.

you should be looking for either an explosion proof (Exd) or an instrinically safe (Exia or Exib) device. If using Exi then you need an appropriate energy limiting device as well.

These also need to be installed correctly and maintained.

The safer route would to be to use a load cell and weigh the fuel - no penetration into the tank.

Just my 2c from an instrumentation engineer you deals with this every day.

Once the device is selected, a GI module will accept either the voltage input or current input (4-20mA).

What is the fuel being consumed?

Mick

 

The fuel I am using is kerosene and I was planning on using this sensor. My tank has a fitting hole at the top to accept this type of device but do you think it is unsafe to do so.

Thanks

 

Without researching it I will say no it is not safe.

Need to understand why they are making the claim that it is suitable - it may just be the materials only that are sutable in a fuel environment.

i also dont understand how it works. It may be able to be classified as a simple device and thus only a "barrier" is required or it may be explosion proof and hence OK (but not for zone 0 - ullage space)

Leaveit with me - I am on holidays for another two weeks so you may need to wait until I get back where all my standards and notes are.

Mick

 

Thanks for you help And information

 

I contacted the supplier and they gave me a link to a singal conditioner that should be used. (will post it here next time i am logged on at home).

I do not believe that they inderstand the requirements for hazardous areas as the signal conditioner does not appear to be an "energy limiter", nor does it appear to have any certification from any of the recognised test houses.

i also could not get any certification from them for the actual device.

In my opinion I would not use this device. AS3000 calls for the hazardous area standards and hence the requirements for hazardous areas covered in the standards are mandatory.

You will need to find a different device/system or an alternative way of measuring.

To do this though the first step is to understand the classification of the area. is inside the tank a zone 0? Is there a zone outside the tank (zone 1 or zone 2) and how far does it extend. Again the standards are needed to do this.

How is the tank installed? On a stand, on the ground?
How is the fuel delivered to the heater?

Mick

 

Hi the tank is sitting on a raised area of concrete ground away from the main house. The fuel is then feed to the boiler via and under ground pipe.

Thank you for your help.

 

Hi I am still trying to get a reliable way of monitoring my fuel usage does any one know if this device can be used with a general input to display information

Thanks

 

Hi l60mcm,

The link you posted to says it is a pulse meter. These usually pulse every 'some quantity' of liquid having transited the flow sensor. Whilst you would need to look at the specs of the meter, I would say you can probably interface to it with either a bus coupler or an auxiliary input module. Then write some logic to count the pulses.

If the logic writing is daunting, I haven't tried, but you could possibly co-opt the Power Meter Manager app in PICED which has a power 'pulse meter' config to read the meter and allow it to be more easily converted to a graph etc on a touch screen or to a 'Power Meter' on Wiser(but it would not read as LPM / GPH etc but KWH instead on Wiser).

Otherwise, write some logic and it should work fine.

All the best,

Brad

 

Thank you for your quick reply. It will defiantly take a bit more research

 

Hi (again!!) l60mcm,

The link you posted to says it is a pulse meter. These usually pulse every 'some quantity' of liquid having transited the flow sensor. Whilst you would need to look at the specs of the meter, I would say you can probably interface to it with either a bus coupler or an auxiliary input module. Then write some logic to count the pulses.

New Insert - Just realised the link you posted scrolled down with more specs below. Looking at the details provided there , it uses an open collector output with a very narrow pulse width 10us (compared to a pulse power meter) that will possibly require a small amount of other interfacing hardware, like a pulse extending relay driver circuit to make it readable by these interfaces. The Auxilliary input unit can handle an open collector input but I am not sure about the small pulse width.

Someone else on here probably have the design specifics of the minimum module pulse width after debounce to trigger an input channel.

As for the module, it says in the manual 'Open Collector switching is allowed with these inputs, but reference voltage must be earth potential.' See Here for the installation manual and page 3 about open collectors.


If the logic writing is daunting, I haven't tried, but you could possibly (?) co-opt the Power Meter Manager app in PICED which has a power 'pulse meter' config to read the meter and allow it to be more easily converted to a graph etc on a touch screen or to a 'Power Meter' on Wiser(but it would not read as LPM / GPH etc but KWH instead on Wiser).

Otherwise, write some logic to count and convert and it should work fine.

All the best,

Brad


ps. I am just providing a theoretical method for interfacing a sensor similar to that you discuss to the C-Bus for the purposes of reading the sensor. In your hazardous material situation, you still need to ensure that any solution you implement will comply fully to the required 'standards' for that type of installation as stated earlier in the post by Znelbok, and that you will be legally required to comply with.