Cold Link Africa November/December 2017 | Page 13

NEWS INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN Changing the game with simple-to-operate controllers E band of 2°C between heating and cooling set points for their vaccine cabinets fitted with holdover plates. “To maintain the useful shelf life, the vaccines cannot be allowed to freeze, nor should the temperature of the vaccine fluctuate too much. When the cabinet usage is low (few lid openings), the holdover plates can freeze the vaccines. After much searching, we found the Full Gauge Controls controller with our required dead band. The holdover plates are essential to maintain vaccine temperatures in remote areas where grid power is unreliable,” says Steve Davison, formerly of Minus 40. He went on, “After that initial contact, we used Full Gauge Controls extensively on our entire range of low-temperature cabinets, fridges, and solar-powered fridges.” Temperature control, logging, and defrosting of supermarket vending cabinets are simplified with the Sitrad monitoring software. Multiple cabinets can be connected to a single computer and defrosting intervals and sequence selected. Defrosting can be set to terminate by coil temperature lectronic controllers often have features in excess of what is required for a particular application — features that make the use of them more time-consuming and sometimes cause the info to be misread. Most controllers also require unique software that can only be purchased from the manufacturer. It was these very constraints that inspired two colleagues, Antonio Gobbi and Flávio Perguer from the aviation industry, to develop the Full Gauge Controls controller: simple to operate, easy to read, and providing free access to all the required software from any location that has access to the Internet. The Full Gauge Controls controllers are available for the control of refrigerated retail cabinets, cold store temperatures, solar heaters, milk tanks, energy usage, protection against power fluctuations, and humidity control. Controllers can be interconnected and interfaced with Sitrad plant management systems. Full Gauge Controls was first used in South Africa 10 years ago when Minus 40 in Cape Town needed a temperature controller with a dead By John Ackermann Lidiane Burin (left), on a recent visit from Brazil, called on users in all sectors together with Steve Davison, the local technical support manager. The Phase LogE plus monitors power supply, provides digital display, and protects motors or electrical panels against loss of phase, over voltage, and phase sequence. Incidents of irregular power is logged and stored. or time, or both as a safety measure. Cabinet temperatures can also be viewed remotely, with different levels of security for different staff. Alarms, according to selected conditions, are transmitted via the Internet to staff or service contractors. Full Gauge Controls was first used in South Africa 10 years ago when Minus 40 in Cape Town needed a temperature controller with a dead band of 2°C between heating and cooling set points for their vaccine cabinets fitted with holdover plates. Following a trial at a supermarket in Knysna, a Garden Route contractor has standardised on Full Gauge on all installations, with some having up to 14 cabinets controlled by a single Sitrad installation. Britos Meats also have Full Gauge Controls controllers on their vending cabinets and cold stores. During a recent trip to South Africa from Brazil, Lidiane Burin visited end users together with the local technical support manager, Davison. “In South Africa, the Full Gauge Controls range is stocked and distributed by TecsaReco, and we are fortunate to have Davison to provide technical support to all users as well as the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to whom we supply directly,” said Burin, international technical sales consultant of Full Gauge. Burin, who visits distributors in China, Europe, Australia, US, and the United Arab Emirates, added: “One of our most recent installations is in a new large perishable cargo handling facility in Dubai. Full Gauge Controls controllers are used throughout for temperature, pressure, humidity control, and energy usage, as well as monitoring on site and remotely.” Burin also visited solar heating and panel manufacturers to promote the Microsol E controllers line, with up to three sensors to activate circulating pumps, mix hot and cold water, and set operating times. “The response from the market in southern Africa to our affordable range of products has been encouraging and evident from the increase in users across a wide spectrum of the refrigeration, dairy, retail, air-conditioning, and solar heating sectors,” Burin concluded. CLA COLD LINK AFRICA • Novem ber | December 2017 www.coldlinkafrica.co.za 13