15 ppm bilge alarm / oil content monitor type

[jaredwhitesmith]

Hi,

I've had countless headaches with my OMD2005 oil content monitor. It is certified under the new IMO rules but it never works. It uses infrared light and scattering for finding oil. I recently found new information at SMM show in hamburg about a new oil content monitor that uses fluorescence principle to detect oil that is supposedly much more accurate. It can be found at

http://www.nagmarine.com

Have any sea going engineer/operatoers had any experience with this new technology? Does it work and is it worth double the price?

 

[chief]

Try enclosing your present unit in a Stilling Tube. This is a multi-slotted slotted pipe approx 6"dia, extending just above the bottom of a tank. It prevents false signalling.

Offshore Engineering&Design

 

[JLSeagull]

I looked into the Turner Designs instrument in 1995 for measuring oil in surface runoff water for crude pipeline facilities. The application went away before we bought the instrument. Turner appears to be suitable for atmospheric gravity type oil in water applications. I also participated in ballast and bilge design for an offshore semi-submersible but don't recall anything about the bilge monitor.

 

What is happening with your OMD2005 that is causing the headaches? Please be more specific.

If you are having false positive readings from your OMD caused by particulates, I would suggest putting a particulate filter and housing before it reaches the measuring cell. Using cotton filters will prevent oil from being removed from the stream but will remove the particulates, thereby removing your false positives. You can install a small pressure gauge to the influent and effluent lines to ensure that the filters are still working properly by monitoring the pressure drop.

The OMD units do require a bit of maintenance to keep them up, but I have yet to find a better one for the price.

We have had the new meter from NAG quoted and it is very expensive. However, it may reduce or eliminate the need for a particulate filter and housing so that is something to think about. We sure have.

 

[tew25]

I am a 3rd engineer,,, responsibilities included operation and maintenance of OWS.

I had a particular unit that would simply not separate properly and was constant fight to try and satisfy the 15 ppm required by sensor.

We had so much solvent/degreaser in the oily waste tank that the OWS was simply not able to separate the oil from the water. The Oily Water tank was close to 80% full but still could not even suck off the bottom of the tank, ended up having to pay onshore service to remove waste from tank while in home port.

Don't know if this is your problem but something to at least consider.

 

[masterofdisaster66]

In the past I have designed several bilge monitors and ODM systems.

I have reviewed the nagmarine monitor and basicallly its all the same.
This monitor does not use true fluorecence but regular scattering priciples.

My research also showed that most particles are covered by oil, making the use of UV extreemly useless.

For more information on how it all works,

http://www.esquisse.nl

 

[rpeng]

I have not used the NAG Marine monitor, but I have extensive experience with Turner Designs monitors. I have evaluated and used many manufacturers and models and have found that fluorescence technology, while not perfect, is superior to scattering light equipment. You will pay several multiples for their equipment however.

Consider this: Turner equipment actually uses oil to calibrate and verify operation while all scattering light equipment I've seen use formazine (turbidity) solutions.

Using a particulate filter in the discharge line will remove false positives; however be careful that all the processed water passes through the filter, not only the water sent to the OCM. It is against IMO regulations to filter only a portion of the water. This will obviously won't help if the problem is emulsified oil not removed by the OWS. (What kind of system is the OCM attached to?)

The new 107(49) OCM's are required to read a greater spectrum of hydrocarbons and therefore will detect oils that 60(33) monitors were unable to detect.

 

[fwank]

normally just stop the motormen from using washing powder to wash the deck, reroute the compressor and air bottle blow downs (the emulsification from them really screws up the readings) get new coalessor elements and everything should be dandy after that.

 

[JLSeagull]

http://www.psm-sensors.co.uk/products.htm#Bulksafe

PSM ads include several bilge level detection devices with different measurement technologies. These are only level devices. The NAG fluorescence oil content monitor uses the Turner Design technology.

 

[powerjunx]

"jaredwhitesmith" : "I've had countless headaches with my OMD2005 oil content monitor. It is certified under the new IMO rules but it never works. It uses infrared light and scattering for finding oil. I recently found new information at SMM show in hamburg about a new oil content monitor that uses fluorescence principle to detect oil that is supposedly much more accurate."
please be specific with your queries i presume you've got a problem with detection but never whole unit..please confirm. there's no such thing as countless.


"..the more, the merrier" Genghis Khan

 

[CH5OH]

most ows separators have little heat capacity....
it really would help if you could presettle the bilgewater in to a tank kept above 60deg C.The heat helps tremendeously to separate the layers.only pumping water layer through ows keeps the internals of it clean.

 

[victorseaman]

just joined this forum. sorry for late answer and hope been of some help.

onboard bulk carriers for some time, I´ve learned a lot regarding OWS equipments:
as said before by tew25 and fwank, keep your bilge storage tks as clean as posible by trapping and routinelly collecting any oily residues in your bilges BEFORE they reach your bilge pump & piping system.

this is typically the main problem: the coalescent filters get totally clogged and they are of the disposable type, so when using unadecuate chemical products for cleaning them the condition becomes worse since they disolve into large size pieces of sludge blocking the monitoring piping.
use only harmless products for cleaning them.
other problem I´ve experienced is corroded plates inside step 1 &/ step 2 chambers wich leads again to clogged monitoring piping and filters.
and one time we had same troubles as you describe (in a brand new equipment)but finally we realise the new piping layout was inverted (old type had only one three way valve)

all new technology equipments in this area over the years had managed to overcome the spares cost, design and operational problems of systems they come to substitute.

for the fdt type oil content monitor we had installed the 2.5 m3 model one year ago in a 125,000 TDW bulk carrier calling routinelly US Ports with no problems to thisdate