Ultrasonic Level Sensors

Maintenance is important, but it’s often hard to quantify. How much time does maintenance take? How often does your system need it? Does maintaining one part necessitate a complete system shut down? What does that represent in lost income because your system is not making product? Maintenance is important, but minimizing maintenance is even more important.

Maintenance is also important for your sensors. While everyone (yes, us, too!) would really like for sensors to maintenance free for life, reality dictates that all equipment needs a check-up from time to time. It’s true for pumps and motors, and it’s true for sensors.

So, when’s the last time you gave your ultrasonic sensor a checkup?

Ultrasonic sensors are pretty cool. Transducers send and receive waves, measurements magically get spit out by the sensor, and nothing had to touch anything, right? You can choose sensors based on range, or type of transducer, or even safety ratings. Most sensors declare their range and frequency together, which seems kind of odd. Why is the range of an ultrasonic sensor tied to its frequency? For the answer, we turn again to our old friend, high school physics.

Ultrasonic level sensors measure distance. It’s the nature of the technology. But with relative ease, you can tell your sensor to measure level. All it requires is changing your output.

So what is your ultrasonic sensor measuring? Is it giving you a distance or a level? If you’re not sure, this article is for you.

The Difference Between Distance And Level

This isn’t a concept we think of regularly, but there is an important distinction between distance and level...

Over the years we have provided several articles on how to install an ultrasonic sensor, proper mounting, using a stilling well, as well as the top 10 mistakes with ultrasonic sensors. Well today is your lucky day. We are making life a bit easier for you and combining these articles into one fun to read complete installation guide!

Proper mounting is critical for the successful operation of an ultrasonic sensor. I know it sounds a bit heavy, but trust us, if you nail the installation you are on your way to worry free readings. In a few minutes you will be able to sit back and relax while you enjoy success.

Physically installing an ultrasonic sensor is actually quite simple, however preparation is the key. There are some essential steps you can take to ensure it is just right. We want to make sure your good sensor performs its best and is happy – so let’s start with the pre-installation.

Lift stations are an essential component to municipal water and wastewater systems. Without them, many urban centers throughout the world would simply not exist. So keeping them in operation and performing properly is absolutely vital.

Lift stations that aren’t performing properly could spell disaster, especially if an overflow occurs. In addition to the unsanitary conditions and property damage an overflow creates, there is a hefty fine imposed by the EPA (think tens of thousands of dollars per day). Therefore, monitoring the water level in the station is critical. Level sensors can be used to trip alarms or turn on/off pumps automatically if an alarm condition exists.

There are a variety of instruments available to use for lift station level monitoring...

Ultrasonic level sensors depend on strong echoes to detect a surface and measure the distance. They’re ideal for liquid level sensing where the surface is typically flat and reflective. Because of this, our listed ultrasonic sensor ranges are for liquids.

Solids offer a target that is often uneven and less reflective. An ultrasonic may still be a good choice, however the range will change based on how the echoes are affected.

Field Survival Guide

The Field Survival Guide is a series of articles that show you how to overcome common problems you run into out in the wild. It’s what MacGyver would do if he were in your shoes.

Ever wondered how to mount an ultrasonic in the open air, above a body of liquid in a stream or pond?

The truth is you can mount an ultrasonic sensor above open water however you want – as long as it follows the basic rules of ultrasonic mounting. Here are the rules again...

Field Survival Guide

The Field Survival Guide is a series of articles that show you how to overcome common problems you run into out in the wild. It’s what MacGyver would do if he were in your shoes.

There’s no sense in hiding the truth - ultrasonic sensors can be difficult to mount.

Every now and then, you run into common problems that make it seem like mounting an ultrasonic level sensor is impossible. A few of the more common issues we hear about are: ...

Many water wells range in depth from 10 to 60 feet. However, other wells are drilled hundreds of feet deep! So when a customer needs a water level sensor in these deep wells, we recommend our submersible pressure transducer, the PT-500.

According to a market report published by *MarketsandMarkets.com, submersible pressure transducers are the favorite among water level sensors in the water and wastewater industry - and there's a reason. These water level sensors are...

Ultrasonic level sensors come in a wide variety of sizes and prices. It all depends what your application will be and what your needs are.

Today we will compare the main uses of a $50 (or less) ultrasonic level sensor to a $500 advanced ultrasonic sensor.

The $50 Ultrasonic Level Sensor

Most often basic ultrasonic sensors are used in pairs. One sensor is used to transmit the sound pulses and another sensor is used to receive the sound waves that have been bounced back from the target.