TECO HK Series Microwave Consistency Transmitter Technical Review

TECO HK Series
Microwave Consistency Transmitters

The TECO HK Series microwave consistency transmitters provide a versatile, safe and easy-to-calibrate means for measuring the consistency of paper stock. The HK Series can successfully measure broke, recycle or other difficult fiber types, independent of fiber length, freeness or wood species.

Typically less than half of the cost of other microwave transmitters, the HK series microwave transmitters will measure the percentage of total solids of additives in water and percentage of moisture in wood chips with the same transmitter. Applications include measurement and control of machine, recycle & broke stock, measurement and control of % totals solids of starch additives, measurement and control of % solids (limestone, kaolin clay) in coatings.

• Low cost – typically less than half the cost of other microwave transmitters
• Easy to install
• One point calibration
• Adjustable antenna units to maximize sensitivity to process conditions
• Internally compensated for temperature
• No routine maintenance required. Install & forget!
• Current and Digital Outputs
• Contact closure
• Versatile – Same transmitter can be used in Pipes, tanks, chests, belts & chutes.

Applications:

• Paper and Board Mills:
  • Machine Stock Consistency Measurement and Control
  • Broke Consistency Measurement and Control
• Paper Mills
  • Bleaching State Feed Consistency
  • Consistency Measurement & Control in Fiber Lines with changing Wood Species
  • Production Measurment at Integrated Mills
• Mechanical Pulp Plants
  • Refiner Consistency
  • All Fiber Line Consistency Measurments and Control
• De-inking Pulp Plants
• Consistency and Control of Deinking Pulp
• Production Measurement of Deinking Pulp

TECO HK Series Microwave Consistency Transmitter Technical Review from Thompson Equipment Company

Stop Spending Money on Process Instruments Unnecessarily

Restore process instruments
to "better than new".

Millions of dollars each year are spent unnecessarily throwing away old flowmeters and process instruments. Companies aren't aware of a cost-effective alternative that doesn't impact product performance or quality. That alternative is "remanufacturing" - a process that restores process instrumentation to factory specifications and many times provide a "better than new" instrument - at a fraction of the cost of buying new.

TECO, based in New Orleans, established a strong reputation and very loyal customer base becoming the world's largest "remanufacturer" of flowmeters and many other types of process instruments.

Their business model and process is unique and elegantly simple. You send your flowmeter or instrument to TECO along with your contact information. Within 48 hours, TECO diagnoses the overall condition and outlines the problems with your device, and provides a quote for the restoration. If unrepairable, they quote a stock "remanufactured" direct replacement. If they can't restore, or provide a remanufactured unit from stock, they will competitively quote a new replacement.

Their repair / restoration process is top-notch. Experienced TECO technicians tear down the item and begin rebuilding it from the ground up. Parts are disassembled, cleaned, sandblasted, painted, and re-assembled. Electronics are repaired or replaced and then fully tested to factory specifications. The unit then goes through a NIST traceable calibration from a ISO/IEC accredited lab and all documentation is recorded and provided.

Check out this light-hearted, 3 minute presentation on the virtues of TECO remanufacturing and repair services.

A Quick and Easy Presentation on Measuring Freeness in Pulp & Paper Production

Drainac Freeness Analyzer

Production Superintendents, Machine Superintendents, Process Engineers, Machine Operators .... if you have basic paper machine production responsibility, you should look at this slideshow.

A Freeness Analyzer is an on-line, in-process field instrument used as a production orientated tool that directly measures drainage rate (freeness).

It operates on the basic principle of how easily water will drain through a pad of fiber. Approximately every 30 seconds, the Freeness Analyzer measures the rate of filtrate flow through a fiber pad.

Once the freeness has been determined, air pressure is increased to return the filtrate and fiber to the stock line in preparation for the next cycle. At the same time, flush water is introduced into the chamber to clean the screen and interior of the chamber.

This information is regarded as a “window” into the process as an indirect measurement of fiber quality. The TECO Drainac is the only freeness measurement device that actually measures the true drainage rate, or from the papermaker’s standpoint, actually measures the drainage of the stock on the forming fabric.

The TECO Drainac: For Pulp & Paper Freeness Monitoring, Refiner Control, and Pulp Blending from Thompson Equipment Company

Industry Specific Flow Meter Brochures

Industry Specific Flow Measurement Brochures

Here is a listing of flowmeter brochures for specific industries, courtesy of Badger Meter. The brochures provide proven and accepted products for the following markets and applications:

Water & Wastewater Brochure
Water and wastewater treatment facilities have complex operational processes, which involve a wide range of flow measurement tasks. These applications demand the highest flow meter accuracy and reliability, as well as long-term stability and a low cost-of-ownership.

Oil & Gas Brochure
In the oil and gas industry, the flow of liquids and gases must be measured during every phase of exploration, production and transportation. Upstream operations span offshore and onshore activities, including well testing, enhanced oil recovery, fractionation, completion, and separation to recover and prepare crude oil and natural gas.

Chemical & Petrochemical Brochure
Badger Meter products are used across the entire hydrocarbon sector — from upstream production to feedstock for the intermediate stage and downstream processing — in applications ranging from catalyst injection and gas flow measurement, to batching and blending, custody transfer and fugitive emissions monitoring.

HVAC & Building Automation Brochure
You and your customers expect peak performance every day year-round from your HVAC, hydronic chilled/hot water applications and irrigation systems. Products provide accurate measurements, energy calculations and integrated data communications to increase your building’s system performance.

Test & Measurement Brochure
A variety of highly accurate and dependable flow measurement solutions for the demanding test and measurement market.

Consider Flowmeter & Instrument Remanufacturing as a Viable Alternative to New

Example of instrument
remanufacture

Many companies don't realize that when you have a failed magnetic flowmeter or mass flowmeter, it's often more cost-effective and efficient to have them restored to mint condition than it is to replace them with new units.

But if you send meters to the original manufacturer, they can disappear into their system for weeks or months. And you have no idea how long it will really take, or if it will fail again later from undetected problems.

Example of mag meter
remanufacture

The fact is you can't afford the loss of productivity or downtime. But what if there were a place you could send broken flowmeters that could save you money and time by restoring them to pristine condition. A cost-effective specialist who could guarantee rapid turnaround time and premium customer service. A team of experienced professionals with the capabilities to keep equipment in service, even if it's no longer supported by others.

For a proven partner like this, there's only TECO. Established in 1947, TECO has become the global leader in restoration and customization of magnetic flow meters, Coriolis meters, and other process control instruments. At TECO, they understand that time is money, which is why they provide the fastest turnaround time in the industry. TECO doesn't simply repair a broken part in return it, they do a full restoration and back the whole meter with a full warranty.

Example of mass flowmeter
remanufacture

TECO quality control includes NIST traceable flow calibration, which is often required by regulatory agencies and ISO 9000 standards.  TECO also provides independent calibration to serve your preventative maintenance and metrology needs. While their low-cost, high-quality work has made TECO the industry leader, it's their commitment to premium customer service that keeps their clients loyal. Extensive capabilities combined with a focus on service also means TECO can manufacture custom flowmeter solutions to meet the demands of severe applications.

• Low cost, rapid restoration of magnetic flowmeters, mass flowmeters and other instruments
• Pristine, like-new equipment
• Backed with the full warranty
• Customized solutions and expert customer service you can trust

It's all part of the package with TECO.

If you have failed magnetic flowmeters, Coriolis meters or other instruments, call TECO. After receiving your equipment, we'll turn around a quote in 48 hours or less. No return authorization required. To develop a customized solution for your your toughest application, contact TECO.

Welcome to the TECO Process Control Blog

Welcome! We hope (over time) you find this blog useful and it becomes a trusted resource for you to gather information about process control, instrumentation, valves and valve automation, and methods for saving costs through maintenance and service.  We plan on weekly blog posts  highlighting innovative process control solutions, insight to how industrial controls work, and new products that solve tough engineering challenges.

So Why Buy TECO Consistency Transmitters Anyway?

Consistency Transmitters

I'm glad you asked.

One thing that really differentiates TECO Consistency Transmitters is that all of our systems are shipped with built-in flow-rate compensation.

Blade style consistency sensors, in particular, are sensitive to shifts in production flow-rate. This means that their output has a component which is strictly a function of flow-rate. If this isn’t taken into account, changes in flow-rate will look like changes in consistency. All of our systems have a flow-rate input so that this flow-rate component can be automatically subtracted out of the consistency signal.

We are the only manufacturer that offers flow-rate compensation.

Of course, it would be nice if a sensor wasn’t sensitive to changes in flow-rate in the first place. This is the key feature of our C3000 and C5000 probe style sensors. Their design is such that they are insensitive to shifts in production flow-rate below 3.0 fps. This means that as long as the flow-rate stays below 3.0 fps, shifts in flow-rate will not affect the probe output signal at all. That said, we do recommend active compensation for flow-rates above 3.0 fps when using C3/5000 series sensors.

We are the only manufacturer that offers a probe style sensor.

Next, our C5000 sensor is retractable, which means that the sensor can be removed from the process while the process is active. This feature is particularly useful for hostile measurement environments such as blow lines and bleach plant operations.

While our systems are as robust, if not more so, than other manufacturers, the nature of mechanical passive sensors make them consumables. The retractable feature of the C5000 allows a customer to restore a critical measurement in minutes, instead of waiting weeks or months for a scheduled shutdown. This is a real advantage for our customers.

We are the only manufacturer that offers a retractable probe style sensor.

All of our sensors are hot-swappable, which means that you don’t have to go through a recalibration when a sensor is replaced. Just utilize the built-in normalization procedure to zero the replacement sensor and you are good to go.

All of our consistency transmitters can be upgraded to behave as a consistency controller. The transmitter can also be upgraded to function as multi-input controller, so that other process parameters can be adjusted for in the consistency control loop.

We are the only manufacturer whose consistency transmitter can also act as a dilution controller.
We are 100% Made in the USA. Our chief competitors are all of foreign manufacture.

Finally, TECO is aggressively price competitive, if not actually the least expensive consistency measurement option available.

I'd say that those are pretty good reasons. Don't you agree?