ControlByWeb
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Monitor and control water temperature in a fresh water supply tower to prevent freezing in cold regions.

Application Overview

Much of our water supply system uses above ground water supply tanks that are vulnerable to a number of environmental threats. One of them is cold weather. While it's technically possible to put water supply tanks underground to keep it safer, doing so is incredibly expensive and requires massive civil engineering projects, many more pumps, and a lot more energy consumption.

In reality, it's easier to simply add heat and insulation to vulnerable points in our water supply as needed.

A common point of concern in the system is the riser, a pipe which runs from ground level up to the bottom of the water supply tank. These pipes are small enough that they're vulnerable to freezing rather quickly. Malcolm Jackson, the Business Development Manager for tank and maintenance supply company Utility Service Co., Inc., explains:

"Many tank risers are wrapped with heat tape, covered with insulation and capped by an aluminum jacket. In addition, a heating system may be installed in an adjacent building or into the valve pit underneath the riser. The heater introduces heated water or steam into the base of the riser. In either case, the heat rises into the tank to [mitigate] freezing."

This is only one example of preventing water infrastructure from succumbing to the cold, and there are countless other industrial use cases for water temperature control; from food processing to data centers. Whether it's meant for consumption or for processing, water management is incredibly important.

Common Water Heating Problems


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Environmental Factors

Extreme weather conditions increase the freeze threat and can cause temperatures to drop suddenly.

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Connectivity Failure

Monitoring and control logic in remote locations can fail if network connectivity issues arise.

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High Energy Consumption

Water temperature maintenance uses a lot of energy and can become very expensive.

ControlByWeb™ Water Heating Solutions


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Weather Monitoring

Analog and digital inputs capture weather station data for complete environmental awareness.

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Stand-Alone Reliability

Our stand-alone I/O devices keep your processes working even when network connectivity fails.

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Efficiency Enablers

Our device's built-in interface contains custom logic which allows for fine-tuned control to maximize efficiency.

How ControlByWeb® Works

FREE TEMPERATURE CONTROL CONSULTATION


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Case Study: Rural Northeast Municipality

A municipal customer in the Northeast US heats the riser on their water supply tank with a 1-million BTU heater. In order to prevent sudden freezing, they needed a controller that could take into account weather data like temperature and wind speed. However, it needed to intelligently react to dropping temperatures to conserve energy.

The solution was our X-410 controller with 4 digital inputs, 4 relays, and up to 16 1-Wire temperature sensors. The X-410 is a capable stand-alone controller which supports all the sensors and custom control logic needed. Our customer used two temp sensors connected to the X-410’s 1-Wire Bus to monitor the water riser temperature and the outside air temperature, along with monitoring the frequency of a contact closure inside an anemometer (wind speed sensor).

Custom control scripts were then written to consider both temperature and wind speed to run the heater at timed intervals to prevent freezing, and then to run continuously as the temperature drops low enough. This gradual response avoids excessive energy consumption, while staying ahead of extreme weather conditions.

Small rural water tower

Six Reasons Why You Should Choose ControlByWeb®


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Industrial-Grade Reliability Is Our First Priority

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Scalable Solutions for any Industrial Application

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Cost Effective, Self-Contained I/O Devices

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Flexible Communications and Compatibility

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Responsive Support and Thorough Documentation

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Founded in 1999 and Manufactured in the USA

Water Tower Temperature Control Kits

Water Tower Temperature Ethernet Kit

Monitor environmental and riser temperature and wind speed. Control a heater to run at timed intervals to prevent freezing pipes.

Items in Kit:

  • X-410 Controller | Supports up to 64 I/O points from other ControlByWeb modules
    • Up to 16 Temperature and humidity sensors
    • 4 Digital Inputs: For frequency wind sensors
    • 4 Relays: For controlling heaters.
    • Task Builder Custom logic - no scripting necessary.
  • 12ft Temperature Sensor
  • Power Supply | Powers the X-410
Wiring diagram for water temperature control over an Ethernet network

For custom kits, please contact us

Water Tower Temperature Control - Ethernet

  X-410 & power supply, 12-ft temp sensors kit

X-410

X-410
$269.95

12 VDC Power Supply

Power Supply 12V
$19.95

12ft Temperature Probe

Temperature Sensor 12ft
$24.95

Add up to 16 sensors per X-410

PRICE / KIT: $339.80

QTY:

Ships in: 1-3 Days

Product Comparison for Water Temperature Control

Name WebRelay Wireless X-410
Temp/Humidity Sensors Supported Up to 4
Temperature/Humidity
Up to 16
Temperature/Humidity
Relays
Control heaters, fans, lights, pumps, valves
1 4
Digital Inputs
Monitor anemometers, contact closures
1 4
Communication Type Wireless Ethernet
Task Builder
Custom logic, no scripting required
Email/Text Notifications
Log Sensor Data
Internal

Internal
Supports Basic Scripts
Used for advanced logic
Admin/Manager/User Access Roles
Password Protected Control Page (Optional)
Protocols HTTP, XML, Modbus TCP/IP, Remote Services HTTP, HTTPS/TLS, SSL, XML, Modbus TCP/IP, SNMP, SMTP, Remote Services
Power Options 9-28 VDC 9-28 VDC
or POE
Price $194.95 $269.95
More Information More Information

Frequently Asked Questions

Answer

For a simple water tank temperature monitoring and control, similar to our customer above, 2 temperature sensors, one measuring the water riser and one measuring outside air, are sufficient and can be monitored with a single ControlByWeb I/O device. Our maximum number of temperature sensors on our X-410 I/O device is 16 - more than enough capacity.

Answer

You can designate one of our X-410 units as a master controller to pull in data from our other remote I/O devices and temperature sensors. Once a remote device is added, the I/O on that remote device becomes available as if it was directly connected to the master X-410. You can then setup the temperature sensors and heaters and create custom logic ... all on one centralized interface!

Answer

Our 400-Series controllers can be programmed using our intuitive, no-code Task Builder software which is built into the devices. You can also write BASIC scripts for more advanced logic. Learn more about writing BASIC scripts here. The X-600M Expandable I/O Controller can be programmed using LUA. To learn more about LUA, go here.

Answer

Many of our controllers can monitor a variety of environmental sensors. Most control logic is based on individual sensors for maximum versatility. Our controllers have both analog and digital inputs to capture nearly any sensors data. Our X-4XX series controllers have digital inputs with frequency and counting capabilities for specific types of weather sensors. For example, some wind sensors have a contact-closure frequency output that is based on the number of on/off pulses in a second. Rain gauges also use contact-closures to measure rainfall. The frequency and counting features on the X-4XX series controllers accommodates these outputs.

Answer

Yes. Many of our controllers support periodic logging intervals of sensor data, including temperature data. We store a log file on board which can be accessed via a web browser, sent as an email, or uploaded to an FTP server. Sensor data is also available via Modbus TCP/IP to interface with existing SCADA or other control systems.

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