Lesman Tech Tips

Written by: Dan Weise

The venerable Siemens Milltronics line of level controllers, the MultiRanger and HydroRanger Series, recently received a major update. The new models have high resolution LCD displays and built-in configuration tools with English language menus. Configuration time is reduced significantly without the need to reference manuals for parameter codes. These updated models have ‘HMI’ in the model name: MultiRanger HMI or HydroRanger HMI.

Some customers who purchased the HMI model to replace an existing controller were delighted to find out they didn’t have to remove their old unit completely or re-wire to mount the new one. All they had to do was remove the printed board and hinged door (with its LDC display) from the new HMI unit and put them inside their existing enclosure.

Multi/HydroRanger HMI –> Existing Multi/HydoRanger

This saved them the labor of moving conduit wiring: no holes to drill in the enclosure and no coupler nuts to back off.  The circuit board mounting screw holes line up, so there’s no custom drilling or tapping to move the board from one to the other.  The door lifts off its new hinges and drops onto the old ones, making installation quick and easy.

If you have units installed outdoors, you might still want to consider using the new enclosure to take advantage of the new gasket seals and rugged plastic enclosure for weather protection (exposure to the sun’s UV can be brutal over time).  But for installations under roof, moving the guts from a new enclosure to an already installed enclosure can save time and effort.

As much as our customers were pleased to be able to move components, their real praise came for how easy it was to configure the new one with the front-panel pushbuttons – No handheld programmer needed.

Siemens has just released a video to show you how quickly this process can be done:

Learn more about the new Siemens MultiRanger HMI and HydroRanger HMI.

Lesman Instrument Company is the authorized Siemens representative in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Paducah KY, Wisconsin, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. If you are located outside that area, you can find your local sales office or get technical assistance by calling 800-365-8766.

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Dan Weise, Lesman product specialist, is an instructor for training classes on process instrumentation hardware, software, and technology.

Dan has been involved in all facets of data acquisition and process instrumentation since 1978, from sales and commissioning to service and support. He’s a long-time member of ISA, and has been with Lesman since 1988.

In his words, Dan’s the guy “who reads all the manuals nobody else reads”. In Lesman customers’ words, he’s the trainer to call if you want to “cut to the SO WHAT of instrumentation”, so it’s easy to understand.