ShortMeter®
Short Circuit Locator for Tankhouses
Simplifying Short Circuit Location
Mipac’s ShortMeter® is an easy-to-use handheld device that loactes short circuits and dead plates quickly and accurately in copper electrorefining operations.
A low-cost and low-maintenance device, our ShortMeter® will help you increase productivity and improve cathode quality.
ShortMeter® Snapshot
- Simple set up. Requires minimal training.
- Lightweight and ergonomic design for operator comfort during extended use in tough tankhouse environments.
- Visual LED display that indicates the severity of shorts in the cell and the presence of dead plates at their exact location.
- Cost-effective with low maintenance costs and minimal upkeep.
- Adjustable calibration to ensure consistent shorts detection across operational teams.
How It Works
The ShortMeter® utilises the Hall Effect principle to detect changes in magnetic field strength. Electrical current flowing through hanger bars generates a magnetic field proportional to the current.
The hand held device detects short circuits by monitoring the magnetic field strength directly above a shorting plate and presenting results instantly. A shorting cathode plate will carry more current, so the ShortMeter®, which measures the magnetic field, will show a greater indication when passing over the shorted plate or dead plate.
The LED display highlights significant shorts, less severe shorts and dead plates. The more lights that illuminate, the worse the short. On average when fewer lights illuminate it typically indicates a plate with bad contacts that should be inspected and possibly readjusted.
ShortMeter® readings of zero or well below average will indicate “dead plates”.
Why Choose ShortMeter® for your Tankhouse
Increased Current Efficiency
Identifying and correcting short circuits and dead plates improves current efficiency and maximises cathode production.
Improved Safety
Promptly addressing short circuits reduces the risk of overheating, electrical fires and other potential safety hazards associated with high currents.
Easy to Use
The intuitive design and visual display simplify operation, enabling rapid training for personnel. Other hand-held methods such as tong-testers/multimeters are only able to measure single contact voltages at a time, and are not designed for actual tankhouse operation. On an industrial scale multimeter use is very tedious and labour intensive.
Cost-Effective
Compared to alternative short circuit detection methods, such as infrared cameras, the ShortMeter® offers a more affordable solution. In addition, infrared cameras cannot detect dead plates.
What our clients say
ShortMeter®: Tackling Tankhouse Challenges Head-On
Mipac’s ShortMeter® is a critical tool for overcoming many of the operational and technical challenges associated with electrorefining tankhouses. It is specifically designed to detect and manage short circuits between anodes and cathodes, a prevalent issue in refining operations.
Here’s how ShortMeter® helps mitigate these challenges and enhances operational efficiency:
1. Short Circuit Detection and Prevention
One of the most significant issues in tankhouses is short circuits, which reduce current efficiency and causes non-uniform current distribution.
ShortMeter® addresses this by:
- Real-time feedback allows operators to manually scan for electrical shorts, identifying problems immediately so they can respond quickly.
- ShortMeter® accurately pinpoints the location of short circuits with high precision, allowing for quick, efficient short removal.
- By flagging issues early, it helps prevent shorts from growing too large, which can impact current efficiency and cathode physical quality.
2. Improving Current Efficiency
Short circuits divert electrical energy away from the refining process, significantly reducing current efficiency. ShortMeter® ensures that:
- All current flows correctly between the anodes and cathodes through the electrolyte, maximising energy use and improving operational efficiency.
- Energy waste is minimised, which directly reduces unit costs.
3. Enhancing Cathode Quality
Uneven metal deposition, often caused by undetected shorts, can lead to poor cathode quality. ShortMeter® improves this by:
- Ensuring uniform current distribution across all cells.
- Maintaining optimal refining conditions contributes to consistent, high-purity cathode production that is within specification.
4. Supporting Maintenance and Safety
Short circuits can lead to equipment damage or hazardous working conditions caused by overheated hanger bars.
ShortMeter® plays a role in improving maintenance and safety by:
- Early detection of shorts minimises wear and tear on tankhouse equipment, extending its lifespan.
- Identifying shorts reduces the likelihood of electrical hazards for workers, making tankhouse operations safer for operators
5. Data-Driven Optimisation
ShortMeter® integrates with Mipac’s broader control and monitoring solutions, enabling better tankhouse management through data:
- It provides actionable performance data about short circuit trends, helping operators identify recurring issues and implement targeted solutions.
- By monitoring the monitoring the number of shorts within each cell in real-time, ShortMeter® supports predictive maintenance, minimising unplanned downtime.
6. Cost Savings
By improving current efficiency, minimising downtime, and reducing excess anode scrap, ShortMeter® directly contributes to cost savings:
- Preventing energy losses due to shorts leads to lower power consumption.
- Proactive detection reduces the need for expensive repairs and replacements, lowering plant maintenance costs
- A minimised cathode with heavy nodulation means fewer cathodes that must be reprocessed.
Why ShortMeter ® is a Game-Changer
ShortMeter® is a robust, field-proven solution tailored to address the most critical issues in electrorefining tankhouses. Its combination of real-time monitoring and precision detection enables operators to:
- Improve cathode production.
- Operate more sustainably by reducing energy and off “spec” material that needs to be reprocessed
- Ensure safer and more reliable tankhouse operations.
By providing tangible solutions to common tankhouse challenges, ShortMeter® helps operators achieve higher currency efficiency, better cathode quality within specification, and lower operating costs, all while extending the lifespan of their assets.
To see how ShortMeter® and our other tankhouse optimisation tools can be put to work in your electrorefining plant, get in touch with us today, and we’ll put you in touch with one of our tankhouse specialists.
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It’s very easy to use, the design is very simple. The LED-lights in the ShortMeter are very good as a clear visual determination of a weak/ strong short. It’s easy for us to recalibrate the ShortMeter if we adjust our current in the Tankhouse