Liquid Adhesive Level Application

A contractor was called on to come up with a solution for their customer needing to transfer an adhesive from a holding tank to a smaller tank for dispensing into containers. The problem with using a conventional float type level sensor is that the adhesive would cause the float switch to stick causing it to fail.

An Innovative Components ULS-301-S Ultrasonic sensor and DPM-5714-B Digital panel meter with relay outputs was chosen to transfer the adhesive from the main holding tank to the dispensing tank. The benefit of using an ultrasonic level sensor over the conventional float type level switch is that the ultrasonic level sensor would not be in contact with the adhesive; rather it would be mounted at the top of the holding tank out of the liquid pointing down at the adhesive.

A sound wave is sent from the Ultrasonic level sensor down to adhesive and then back to the sensor. The time the sound wave takes to return to the sensor would change depending on the level of the adhesive in the dispensing tank. The digital panel meters relay is programmed to energize when the adhesive was low in the dispensing tank opening a valve to start the transfer of the adhesive from the main holding tank to the dispensing tank and to de-energize closing the valve once the dispensing tank was full.