Project background
Two tanks, of total capacity more than 400.000 liters, located on a deserted territory, away from roads and electricity are a stationary diesel fuel storage for the needs of a large enterprise. Fuel trucks regularly approach tanks and distribute fuel for other machinery all over the territory.
Besides valves for relieving excess pressure, large tanks are not equipped with either fuel level sensors or a fuel metering system. Therefore, the customer had to measure the distributed fuel according to norms and control the amount of extra fuel relying on the approximate statistics. This was the reason for unauthorized fuel drains, calculations errors and large expenses for covering losses.
Low temperature resistant battery
Challenges
It was important to establish:
- fuel level control system;
- regular data transfer to the monitoring server;
- and provide equipment with an autonomous power source.
The last point from the list was the most important. As the installation took place in the winter of 2019 and it was highly necessary to choose equipment capable to operate at temperatures below -30°C.
Four hours are enough to charge the battery
Solution
Due to the fact that GSM signal at the facility sometimes disappears, the integrator decided to play it safe and opted for Galileosky Base Block Wi-Fi – as an alternative for data transfer as well as Galileosky 5.0 units – in case everything was okay with the connection.
In addition to tracking devices, four-meter fuel level sensor, gel batteries, remote antennas and two solar panels as a power source were used.
As a result, such a circuit turned out: solar panels charge batteries with a built-in control device. Next, power goes to the FLS and units. FLS were successfully integrated with Galileosky units thanks to open Easy Logic script for connecting peripherals.
Also, the integrator solved problems that relate to weather conditions. The period of solar activity in this region is very short. For example, in May, solar panels charge batteries only from dawn at 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. Despite such a small gap, the equipment is powered and is working properly.
The low capacity of the batteries, which is caused by the low temperature, was solved with the gel batteries. They preserve the capacity even in frost, and the hoarfrost that appeared on the surface of the solar panel did not interfere with the equipment operation.
Devices
Galileosky 7x Wi-Fi Hub
GPS tracking device for data collection and transmission in areas with weak GSM signal or no coverage at all
