Pay What’s Fair.
At Zight, we believe that by helping you save money, we create value for everyone, including us. When you create the specs for Level Gauge, we recommend you to use the guideline we created. It is aimed to help you company save money and order exactly what you need, and avoid overpaying by getting equipment which is completely unnecessary. Specially since sometimes the specs are copied from other Level Gauges, where the operating conditions are not the same.
Material in which the tank is fabricated
Sometimes the specs are copied from other Level Gauges, where the operating conditions are not the same. Making an analysis of which material can work better for the process at hand can help you lower your maintenance cost, and also avoid ordering a material which is not necessary. For example, there are times when Stainless Steel 316 is ordered, but a Carbon Steel with a good coating for that specific process is more than enough.
If you do not have the technical requirements as to which type of material can work properly with the fluid you will be handling, a good way to start is to take a look at the materials used in the tank, for constructions and sealings.
Real operating pressure
Sometimes the specifications of the tank, because of the same design, are set to much higher standards than what is actually necessary. For example, there are times where the valves are rated for 6000 PSI, but the tank will never operate above 300 PSI. If in this case, the specification of the entire system is set to 6000 PSI, then you would be overpaying unnecessarily.
Of course, we always recommend to operate with a safety factor and consider potential spikes in pressure, but generally all the components such as glass, valves, gaskets, and vessels should be designed with a safety factor themselves.
Real operating temperature
Similar to the pressure where sometimes the spec is much higher than the actual value, the temperature experiences the same phenomena. Specially since working with higher pressure increases the temperature (see table for water steam pressure vs. temperature)
Our recommendation is to always make sure the actual temperature at which the system can operate is stated, and not the maximum temperature at which some components can operate.
Of course, we always recommend to operate with a safety factor, but generally all the components such as glass, valves, gaskets, and vessels should be designed with a safety factor themselves.
Type of connection
The type of connection your tank has is very important, specially since more Level Gauge glass manufacturers can adapt to the connection you already have. When sourcing your level gauge equipment, we recommend to make sure all the connections match your tanks or the system where it will be installed.
These types of mistakes are much more common that what you could imagine, and the way to fix them is usually by making adjustments on-site. This creates additional costs, from the labor needed to make the adjustments, to the things needed for those. Also, it creates an item which is non-standard, and will create additional costs in the future as spare parts need to be customized.
Fluid characteristics
There are some characteristics of the fluid you need to take into account, especially risks to health, flammability, reactivity to certain chemicals or water, and other related risks.
Measuring system
Make sure that the measuring system you are using is very clear. Especially for European manufactures who are much more likely to use the international system. These type of mistakes are more common than what you may think, and much more likely to occur when international teams are working together.