Det-tronics fire detectors on floating roof tanks

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Ainsley Whyte

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Senior Electrical Engineer
Any one have knowledge of det-tronics fire detectors installation on floating roof tanks? I want to install a system on a floating roof tank however trying to get some advice using ( flame / gas detectors)
 
I assume you mean somewhere on the surrounding tank support structure, not actually on the floating roof itself. You'll want to talk to the folks at Detronics regarding the specifics of your situation. Flame detectors that are aligned to cover the roof structure when the tank is full may not provide coverage when the tank is at minimum.
 
gadfly56 said:
I assume you mean somewhere on the surrounding tank support structure, not actually on the floating roof itself. You'll want to talk to the folks at Detronics regarding the specifics of your situation. Flame detectors that are aligned to cover the roof structure when the tank is full may not provide coverage when the tank is at minimum.
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You are correct, i have a typical design however if you actually install this type of system on such tank i would love if you could share some information with me
 
Ainsley Whyte said:
You are correct, i have a typical design however if you actually install this type of system on such tank i would love if you could share some information with me
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Sadly, my direct experience doesn't cover (pardon the pun) tanks of this sort.
 
Perhaps I should back up and ask, are you trying to cover the top of the tank, that is the interface between the liquid surface and the tank cover, or something else?
 
gadfly56 said:
Perhaps I should back up and ask, are you trying to cover the top of the tank, that is the interface between the liquid surface and the tank cover, or something else?
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the top of the tank that is the interface between the liquid surface and the tank cover. five IR Detectors to be placed equal distance a round the perimeter . Additionally, two gas detectors at the entrance into the tank.
 
Ainsley Whyte said:
the top of the tank that is the interface between the liquid surface and the tank cover. five IR Detectors to be placed equal distance a round the perimeter . Additionally, two gas detectors at the entrance into the tank.
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What is the difference in height between a full and empty tank?
 
Ainsley Whyte said:
not too sure. I have this design so far, what do you think?
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It looks like you are shooting straight down into the tank. This can work if you have enough distance from the detector to the top of the tank and not too much distance to the bottom of the tank. The coverage area can be estimated from the data in the installation manual, but you should confirm that with Detronics tech support. If the tank really is for crude oil, it's fire characteristics can vary a lot. If you take diesel as the typical, you get about 175' or ~50 meters for range with a 90 degree horizontal field of view and a -45 +30 vertical field of view. You want to make sure that the tank cover is within the overlapping fields of view at all possible cover elevations. You might want to tinker around with some scale drawings in AutoCAD or other CAD program to be sure you're covered.
 
gadfly56 said:
It looks like you are shooting straight down into the tank. This can work if you have enough distance from the detector to the top of the tank and not too much distance to the bottom of the tank. The coverage area can be estimated from the data in the installation manual, but you should confirm that with Detronics tech support. If the tank really is for crude oil, it's fire characteristics can vary a lot. If you take diesel as the typical, you get about 175' or ~50 meters for range with a 90 degree horizontal field of view and a -45 +30 vertical field of view. You want to make sure that the tank cover is within the overlapping fields of view at all possible cover elevations. You might want to tinker around with some scale drawings in AutoCAD or other CAD program to be sure you're covered.
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What you thing about the two gas detectors locations?
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Ainsley Whyte said:
What you thing about the two gas detectors locations?
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What gas are you trying to detect? Diesel, or crude oil, is a mixture of heavy and light components. With a floating cover, you're probably going to have some quantity of crude fumes regardless. And if the crude source changes from time to time, even if you dial in detection at time T=0, when the crude source changes later, all bets may be off.
 
Ainsley Whyte said:
please see detectors
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Your gas detector appears to be for use with a releasing system. Is that correct? It is also a point source detector, suitable for an enclosed space, not for a cloud of hydrocarbons. It also appears to be for very light fractions like methane, propane, etc., not for heavy crude.
 
gadfly56 said:
Your gas detector appears to be for use with a releasing system. Is that correct? It is also a point source detector, suitable for an enclosed space, not for a cloud of hydrocarbons. It also appears to be for very light fractions like methane, propane, etc., not for heavy crude.
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I am not sure can you explain with more details what you mean by use with a releasing system.
sorry i think i understand no we not using a releasing system only to detect and send alarm
 
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Ainsley Whyte said:
I am not sure can you explain with more details what you mean by use with a releasing system.
sorry i think i understand no we not using a releasing system only to detect and send alarm
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What, precisely, are you trying to detect?
 
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