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Set Up Low Fuel Alerts with NetGuardian Accumulation Timers

As someone who manages generators at remote sites, you already know that it's not always possible to keep track of generator fuel levels. Generators start, stop, and perform regular self-tests. Sometimes they'll run for 30 or 40 minutes.

If all of your sites were just outside your central office door, this wouldn't be a problem. But they're not - they could be hundreds of miles away.

You can't afford to waste time and fuel driving out to a site just to say, "Yep. The generator has fuel..." And what about sites that can only be accessed by helicopter? Some of those sites are completely inaccessible for several months every winter, regardless of cost, so you need to know the level beforehand.

Sure, you might have a low-fuel discrete alarm, but it's likely to be too late by the time you get it. You need the ability to "top off" fuel tanks before they get too low.

Some of your newer generators might even have analog telemetry, but what about the rest of them? You can't rip out your old generator just to install a new one with built-in fuel monitoring.

It may seem easy to keep track of generators that run a long time at once, and it can be. But it's the short self-tests and start runs that will leave you with a false "mental reading" of the fuel level.

You need an automatic way to track generator fuel consumption. You'd receive automated alerts when fuel was low and a refill was required.

The NetGuardian 832A G4/G5 supports Accumulation Timers that will track your generator fuel usage as a function of run time.

You'll wire "generator start" and "generator stop" alarms to the NetGuardian, and it will add to its Accumulation Timer whenever the generator is running.

Then, you'll program the NetGuardian to alert you when the Accumulation Timer reaches a time that indicates "Low Fuel". As an example, if you know a full tank will run the generator for 12 hours, then 10 hours of total runtime might be the right time for this warning.

The NetGuardian can report generator "Low Fuel" alarms to your alarm master, email you, or page you in the field.

You can also view the run time on the web browser anytime you want to know the current fuel level.

With these automated fuel warnings in place, you'll greatly reduce your risk of a site going dark because a generator ran out of fuel. This mitigates revenue loss from network outages. You'll also cut costs by eliminating unnecessary driving to sites just to check fuel levels.

And when disaster strikes and power is out at every site, where will you send your fuel trucks? There's probably a correct refueling sequence that will prevent any generators from running dry, but how do you know what it is?

With the NetGuardian 832A G4/G5 in your network, you'll know which sites need fuel the most.

Learn more: Tank Monitoring Knowledge Base

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