How do you Cut Online Analyser Maintenance Costs?

How do you Cut Online Analyser Maintenance Costs?

Water sampling and analysis can be an expensive activity.  Apart from the cost of equipment, there may be capital costs in creating a sample site.  But the greatest ongoing costs are maintenance and downtime. So how do you cut online analyser maintenance costs?

Every minute of every day across the UK there are thousands of cubic meters of water being sampled for analysis.  Water from rivers, final effluent, industrial and other water is being monitored for levels of chlorine, phosphate and ammonia as well as turbidity.

Many sampling sites are remote or unmanned. Therefore keeping sample pumps and online analyser equipment running free from blockage is a challenge.  This is because monitoring instruments often take samples from water contaminated with suspended solids which can easily clog pumps and analysers.

The costs of site visits and regular or frequent maintenance quickly mount up. While analytical instruments may only require monthly or fewer maintenance visits, a clogged sample pump, choked filter, or blocked analyser can quickly bring operations to a halt.

This leads to more frequent maintenance visits and higher costs.

Inline Wall-mounted Self-cleaning Filter for Analysers

Rotorflush Filters Ltd have developed The RF100AN self-cleaning filter for analysers to keep your analyser from clogging and plugging. This is a wall mounted system that can be used in kiosks or on unmanned sample sites because maintenance is low.    The system delivers a continuously filtered sample to online analysers through a 60-micron mesh.

This system samples from a static head in a fast loop system, filtering to 60 microns using a self-cleaning filter that keeps clear in very dirty water conditions.  Weed, wildlife and other potentially clogging materials are kept clear of the filter mesh by a continuous backwashing mechanism.

Submersible Sample Pump with Built-In Self-Cleaning Intake.

An equally effective means of low maintenance protection from blockage is the use of a submersible sample pump with a built-in self-cleaning filter. Pumping and filtering are combined in the sample source. The self-cleaning mechanism in the sample pump keeps debris and suspended solids clear of the filter mesh. The 115 or 300-micron mesh stays clear, protecting the filter, pump and online analytical equipment.

The benefits of self-cleaning analyser filter systems and submersible sample pumps with integral self-cleaning intakes have not gone unnoticed.

Who Uses Self-Cleaning Filters For Analysers?

Many UK water companies – Thames Water, Severn Trent Water, Anglian Water to name a few – use self-cleaning filter systems and sample pumps to protect their instruments and analysers from blockage.  This is because they appreciate the reduced downtime and maintenance costs that effective self-cleaning filtration offers.

Service companies like Servitech International and Processplus Ltd recognise the benefits of these filters.  Online analyser manufacturers also appreciate the availability of effective protection for their equipment. Rotorflush self-cleaning filter products are commended by ATI UK,  ABB Limited, and Multisensor Systems .

So if you have problems keeping your analysers working in tricky sampling conditions consider the use of an effective self-cleaning suction intake filter.

That’s how to cut online analyser maintenance costs.