Hi CoMo guys,
I am looking for a low-cost, multi-purpose, medium specification accelerometer.
Application is: industrial rotating equipment, large scale (10+ .. 100+), off-line, condition monitoring program, permanently mounted sensors + cable + BNC, harsh environment (high humidity, temperature 80 degree C). Think about paper mills and other such touristic sites that ease collecting data .
I have found out that many vendors focus on high-cost,single-purpose, superbe spec. sensors and they seem not to realize that three times lower price enhances turn-over 10-fold.
Who breaks the $100 per sensor barrier??
Regards,
Arie Mol, NL

We currently use general purpose, 100 mV accels, with integral cables, and BNC adaptors, in areas such as inside cooling towers, which would be a similar environment, except they get rained on as well.

Have had good success with IMI, PCB, and Wilcoxon. They are general purpose accels, and may not be exactly on the calibration standard ( 97 mV/G as opposed to 100 mV/G ), but, since they are permanently mounted, and stay on the same machine all the time, we were not as concerned.

I think we were able to purchase any of these for less than $100USD.

I suspect there are other manufacturers, but these are hte ones we've used.

We offer a variety of low cost, high quality accelerometers - CTC version comes with no questions asked lifetime warranty:
http://www.reliabilitydirectstore.com/CMCP-1100-General...eter-p/cmcp-1100.htm
http://www.reliabilitydirectstore.com/CTC-AC102-1A-Gene...ctc-ac102-series.htm

Let me know desired cable length and we'll be happy to quote with BNC connector. Often it is more cost effective to terminate to a switch box and interface your data collector/analyzer to a single BNC with a switch rather than reconnecting to each individual sensor.

Switchboxes:
http://www.reliabilitydirectstore.com/CMCP310-series-BN...Boxes-p/cmcp-310.htm

Look for CTC. I don't know the distributor for CTC in the Netherlands but in Belgium you have Coservices. (look at www.coservices.eu

CTC provides best and low cost accelerometers for various purposes.

Cheap is not necessarily better. I don't have a sensor less than $100. I'm not after the cheapest program in town. You must invest in transducers and cables and connectors for what the equipment demands. Or my opinion anyway. I want 1 V to = 1V.

Sam, I agree that cheaper is not always better, but for our cooling towers, we installed one accel. on each gearbox, and ran the cable outside of the fan, to a waterproof box near the motor. This allowed us to collect data on the motor, then switch over to the gearbox accel.

To our credit, we have not missed a gearbox problem since.

In our situation, we are in-house analysts, but we had to "sell" this idea to our management, so cost was a factor.

It has worked well for us.


We have also installed accels inside of vaneaxial fans, so we could collect data on the motor, not just on the fan shell.

All together, we have installed about 250 permanent accels, so cost certainly is a factor for us.

We have had 2 accels fail, one of which was our own fault.

Hi Ari,

Watch out for the settling times. I went through the same thing in a paper mill for inaccessible dryer cans & felt rolls, Purchasing decided on the cheapest general purpose accels with lifetime warranty (brand mentioned in earlier replies). Every time we connect cable to bnc it is necessary to count to 4 or 5 before pressing go on analyser. If pressing earlier, data is full of ski slope. It is very difficult to be too quick with other brand.

Although it does not sound like much time it is very annoying. Regards.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Vibe-Rater,

Good point Vibe-Rater - it does take 5 seconds or so of settling, but I usually try to wait that long, or even a little more, to watch the overall, just to make sure there's nothing strange going on with the vibration.

I remember having to run "routes" with a 30 lb. swept filter machine - when it took about 30 minutes to collect overalls and "spectra" for ONE bearing!

Ahh, the good ole days!

Using a "Low cost" sensor for permanent installations allows to have more points accessed for a reasonable price. The thing to remember is that you are trending for change.
Another issue that I see is leaving BNC connectors out, exposed in a moist or dirty environment. The BNC is very prone to corrosion and dirt, causing problems in data collection.
One source for some solutions for these types of applications may be the AC150-1A aeries sensor and the MX502 series junction boxes available from CTC. The AC150 is still a high quality sensor, but does not meet the same 15 KHz response as other quality 100mV/g type accels. It is good for permanent installs on standard pumps, fans and related equipment. The MX502 box is a small Cast Aluminum box with a sealed hinged cover (to keep the BNC jacks clean and dry) that allows for up to (4) sensors to be attached. (Aluminum may not be the best choice for all applications).

These can be found at www.ctconline.com

Gary K.

No problem with Gary recommending CTC (we offer as well), but I do think we as vendors should let everyone know when they are affiliated with the company they are proposing...