Tank Cloud Introduction

This video introduces you to Tank Cloud Remote Monitoring.

Transcript:

“Tank Cloud lets you keep track of remote measurements such as tank levels, pressures, temperatures, and more. Simply put, Tank Cloud connects your remote tanks to the cloud.

It all starts with our Tank Cloud sensors. We have two basic types. Our LOE master sensor connects directly to the internet and connects a network of our Modbus level sensors to the cloud for remote monitoring. We also offer the RST-5000 Internet modules that can connect our Modbus sensors, just like the LOE, or connect any single 4-20 milli-amp sensor so you can monitor pressure, temperature, pH, and more.

Both the LOE and RST modules integrate with any type of internet connection; be it landline, Wi-Fi, radio, cellular, or satellite. So you can check your measurements from the office or on the road by logging into our online data portal.

Here you can view current and past readings by location, program custom alarm triggers, manage multiple accounts and configure your sensors. Contact us today to learn more about Tank Cloud, and put your tanks in the cloud!”

 

This video introduces you to how Tank Cloud works.

Transcript:

“There are a lot of tanks in the world that are difficult to get to, difficult to climb on, and difficult to monitor for a number of reasons.

It used to be that to monitor remote tanks, you needed deep pockets and a doctorate in industrial programming. So for years we’ve manually checked tanks, or we’ve had personnel and customers call in, and we’ve never really been able to optimize the management of our tanks.

This is how Tank Cloud was born. It all started with our LOE ultrasonic level sensor. This was the first sensor of its kind, able to connect directly to either the Internet via an Ethernet cable and send data to a website, or to a Local Area Network. At the same time, we developed a module that would take any 4-20mA signal and push that to our remote monitoring website. It has a 4-20mA input and an Ethernet output. This way, you can publish any 4-20mA reading to our website regardless of the sensor type or the manufacturer.

Either of these is wired to a router and connected to the Internet via landline, wi-fi, radios, cellular networks, or even satellite – whichever makes the most sense for you. These two products were so popular with our early adopters that it set off a firestorm of product and capability expansion. Tank Cloud is now made up of several tank level sensors, modules, and displays that use Modbus protocol to send level data for many tanks to our website.

If you’re unfamiliar with Modbus, it’s simply a communication protocol. Modbus networks have master and slave units. With Tank Cloud, the LOE is always the master unit. During a call in from our website, the LOE will take its own reading and then polls the slave sensors for their readings. The slave units report back to the LOE, and then the LOE reports all readings to the Tank Cloud website.

We have a few different units that are part of the Tank Cloud family: First we have the RST-5000 series. As I mentioned before it has a 4-20 mA input and Ethernet output. It is also available in a version that acts as a Modbus master just like the LOE. This is useful when ultrasonic sensors are not well suited for your application.

Then we have the LOE that you are already familiar with. This will always be the master sensor when used in a Modbus network. It is also available in a few ranges, including 7-180 inches, 1 – 25 ft. and 1.5 – 50 ft.

Next we have our MNU ultrasonic sensor. This is a slave sensor with the same ranges as the LOE and a few extra. It needs a Master unit to connect to the Tank Cloud website.

Here is our MPX. This is a magnetostrictive level sensor that is also a slave unit. It is used for applications where ultrasonic sensors are not the ideal choice. It is very accurate, and is capable of interface level measurements with an optional second float.

Finally we have our MND display. This is a local display that can be wired into the Modbus network. It is classified as a sniffer, meaning it eavesdrops on the communication between the master and slaves, and allows you to cycle through the different sensor readings.

A single Tank Cloud network can have up to 10 slave sensors per master unit. Here we have our LOE, MNU, MPX, and MND all wired together through a daisy chain. The MND can display readings for all of them. All 11 of these sensors can share a single Internet connection – which saves you money on Internet service charges. Most competitor sensors need their own direct connection to the Internet – which drastically increases your Internet service costs.

Wiring is also made easy with Tank Cloud’s Modbus architecture. Wires are daisy chained together, which is about as simple a wiring scheme as you can imagine. Simply wire matching colors together, green to green, red to red, etc. A terminal block is needed if it’s not included in the sensor housing.

So to review, Tank Cloud’s Modbus architecture allows for a simple installation and a single Internet connection for 1 master sensor and 10 slave sensors. This way you can lower both upfront costs and long-term Internet service fees. Tank Cloud gives you the best of both worlds. That’s the architecture of Tank Cloud sensors and how they work together.

To view a demo of the Tank Cloud website and how it works, watch Part 2 of our recorded demo series. If you have any questions, contact us right away and schedule a live demo!”

 

This video takes you through a demo of the Tank Cloud Website.

Transcript:

“A good web interface for any remote monitoring solution is absolutely critical. We recently asked a major chemical distributor what he felt was most important for a remote tank level monitoring system. His response was ease of installation, which we covered in Part 1 of this demo series, and a good website.

Having a website that presents data to you effortlessly is very important. Most of what you will see here is free, meaning there’s no additional cost after buying the sensors. There are a few features that do cost a little extra—these are data logging and remote alarms—and they’ll both make your life much easier. We’ll talk about these features here in just a few minutes.

Now once you log into the Tank Cloud website located at www.levelandflow.com, you’ll come to this screen that shows all of your tank sites. A site is intended to be a geographic grouping of sensors, though you can group your sensors however you like. In our demo account, Albonia has four separate sites. By clicking on one of them you’ll access a list of the different sensors at that particular site. This site has three sensors. You can see a quick view of the current tank levels as well as a graph of the last 30 readings. Click on a sensor and you’ll see its details.

Up here, we have all of the sensor information, such as the model number, serial number, description, and last call-in time. Below you will see the tank level graphic again with a chart of the last 30 readings. You can program the sensor remotely by clicking on the edit parameters button here. You can see all of the parameters listed here and you can tinker with the options by clicking on a field. So far everything I’ve shown you is free to anyone with a Tank Cloud sensor. There are a few services that cost a little extra, but they extend the capability and usefulness of Tank Cloud.

They are remote alarms and data logging. Alarms are useful to notify you of any important level parameters. So if a tank is nearly empty or nearly full you may be very interested to know about it. You can also receive alarms when a lot of liquid is taken out in a short period of time. This is great at notifying you of theft or unauthorized use of the liquid.

Data logging is great for the number crunchers out there. If you simply need detailed records of your tank levels, or if you want to forecast future need and plan for expansion, data logging is a lifesaver. These three buttons are made available when you pay for data logging. You can view data line by line by clicking on the view data button. You can export all of the data to an Excel file with the Excel button, or you can view the data using our chart here on the website with the chart button. To zoom in further, simply highlight a set of data points to get a clearer picture.

Over here below the view parameters button are the two alarm buttons made available when you pay for remote alarms. Use the edit alarms button to set up an alarm. Simply define what the alarm is, how it is sent, and to whom it is sent. The alarm history button simply shows past alarms as they are recorded.

Tank Cloud is an easy-to-use and inexpensive way to keep tabs on your remote tank levels without visiting your tanks. No more expensive trips just to check a level, no more complex forecasting, no more showing up to what you had hoped was a full tank only to find it half-full, and no more over-ordering your chemicals and getting stuck with the full bill. Stay ahead of the curve and take control of your valuable time and money with Tank Cloud.

Contact us today and schedule a live demo. We can talk about your application one-on-one and answer any questions you may have. You can reach us via phone at (435) 753-7300, email, and live chat on our website. We’re ready to help you with your unique set of tank level monitoring challenges.”