Archive for category Ultrasonic Flowmeters
Viewing data logs in Excel format (Siemens LUT 400 Ultrasonic Level Controller)
Posted by danstips in Flow, Level, Level Technology, Level Transmitters, Open Channel Flow, Siemens, Ultrasonic, Ultrasonic Flowmeters on December 21, 2015
Written by: Dan Weise
Siemens’ LUT 400 saves data values and alarm events in text-formatted log files. This note covers how to get the files out of the LUT400 to view them in spreadsheet format using Siemens Log Importer macro for Excel.
The text files are extracted from the LUT400 over a USB cable (mini B type connector). When the USB cable is connected to your PC, the LUT400 appears as a removable drive (circled in red, below)
Why won’t Pactware work with the Siemens LUT 400?
Posted by danstips in Configuration, Flow, Flowmeters, Level, Level Technology, Siemens, Software, Troubleshooting, Ultrasonic, Ultrasonic Flowmeters, Wireless, WirelessHART on October 22, 2015
Written by: Dan Weise
I’ve used Pactware for a couple years now, so I was surprised when I couldn’t get the Siemens LUT400 to work with the software. The LUT400 ultrasonic level and flow controller comes with a DTM file that I installed before opening the Pactware software.
The DTM file can be downloaded from this link: http://tinyurl.com/cqk2cky
Once it had been installed, I opened Pactware and updated the device catalog, as seen in the picture below:
But when I attempted to establish a HART connection to the LUT400, I got an error message:
How to Measure Thermal Energy
Posted by danstips in Control, Cost Issues, Flow, Flowmeters, Installation, Magnetic Flowmeters, Measurement, Temperature, Ultrasonic Flowmeters on October 21, 2015
As energy costs and environmental concerns continue to rise, we count on our facility managers to take control of building/factory energy consumption. To reduce their companies’ carbon footprints, facility managers have begun implementing energy management programs to control their systems, optimize efficiency, and manage expenses.
But how are they doing it?
Let’s say you are trying to cool your facility. There are two steps to determining how much energy is consumed in the process. Read the rest of this entry »
Making a Siemens clamp-on flowmeter setup record easy to read
Posted by danstips in Communications, Configuration, Flow, Flowmeters, Serial, Siemens, Software, Troubleshooting, Ultrasonic Flowmeters on October 1, 2014
Everyone agrees that it’s good practice to keep a record of configurations and setups for any field instrument. I’m constantly recommending it to our customers for their transmitters, controllers, recorders, and other complex configurable devices.
Siemens clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters even have a system in place to make this process easy. By connecting the meter to a PC through the RS-232 serial port, you can use a terminal program and the SITE command to fetch a data file that holds all the instrument’s configuration data.
The terminal program can also be used — with a set of instructions specific to the flowmeter — for viewing real-time operational data, performing device setup, uploading logger data, or uploading configurations known as SITE setups.
Recently, I was called to visit a plant and look at a misbehaving flowmeter. From previous discussions with the operator, I knew he’d saved SITE setup files for every flowmeter installed in the plant.
I asked if the customer would e-mail me the setup file before my visit, so I could check out how the flowmeter was set up. My request was met with a chuckle and “Well, if you really think it’s worth it…”
Why is my clamp-on flowmeter’s flow rate stuck at zero?
Posted by danstips in Configuration, Flow, Flowmeters, Repairs, Service, Siemens, Ultrasonic Flowmeters on August 28, 2012
I was working with a customer to replace a Siemens clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter after its electronics had been replaced. We followed all the connection and startup instructions, but the flow rate was stuck at 0.00 – no dithering, no hunting, not a single flicker in the low-order digits.
Very strange.
Ultrasonic clamp-on flowmeters can be very sensitive to low flows. But even at no flow with the pump turned off or the line isolated, the digits to the right of the decimal point would dither around zero, showing some very small positive values, some very small negative values. It’s the nature of the beast.
So why were we getting an absolute zero reading? What was going on?
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