L.J. Star Case Study Shows How Vessel Camera Helps Major U.S. Brewery Save Time and Money

Sight Glass Camera Solves Problem That Had Brewers Crying in Their Beer

TWINSBURG, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--L.J. Star Inc., the leading provider of process observation equipment, has released a case study that describes how its installation of a sight glass vessel camera is helping a major U.S. brewery prevent product loss, conserve water, and save time for more efficient operation.

The case study describes issues the brewery experienced in a whirlpool tank used for separating trub (sediment) from a brewery’s process liquid after the wort boil. A timed rinse cycle sprays the whirlpool tank with water from internal nozzles to flush the trub from the tank.

The problem was that if any trub is left behind, the quality of the next batch is compromised. After the rinse cycle, operators had two choices: assume that all trub has been rinsed out of the tank; or take time to climb the ladder outdoors to the top of the tank and look through a sight glass to make a determination.

In order to solve this problem, the brewery investigated the installation of a video camera on the whirlpool tank sight glass, which would connect to a video monitor in the control room. The camera needed to be mounted where sun and heat from the whirlpool process could raise the temperature of the camera housing to more than 100^◦C.

The brewery replaced the existing sight glass with one having hydrophobic coating to alleviate buildup of condensation and then mounted a color video camera from L.J. Star within a stainless-steel air-cooled housing. Operators can now observe the process remotely and see when spray nozzles are clogged, which has saved significant time, water and product.

Visit http://www2.ljstar.com/l/12112/2013-01-09/6rrpd to read the full case study on the L.J. Star website.

To download image (low-res), control-click: http://www.ggcomm.com/LJStar/Vessel_Camera.jpg.

L.J. Star offers a wide selection of sight glass products and accessories, including cameras, wipers, and lights. For more information on the L.J. Star line of sight glass products, go to http://www2.ljstar.com/l/12112/2013-01-09/6rrt2.

About L.J. Star

L.J. Star Incorporated provides an extensive line of process observation equipment – sight glasses, lights, sanitary fittings, and level gage instrumentation. Product lines include Metaglas® Safety Sight Windows, Lumiglas® Explosion Proof Lights and Cameras, Sight Flow Indicators, Sight Ports, Sanitary Clamps, Magnetic Level Gages and Gage Glass. Metaglas is the #1 selling fused sight glass, proven in thousands of installations around the world. Unlike some other sight glasses, it meets stringent DIN 7079 and DIN 7080 quality standards, and it is approved for USP Type I use. For additional information, or to request third-party documentation of standards compliance and product performance claims, contact L.J. Star Incorporated, P.O. Box 1116, Twinsburg, OH 44087. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Email: [e-mail]. Website: www.ljstar.com.