SA Gauge celebrates 22 Years

SA Gauge celebrates 22 years

July 2014, News

SA Gauge has recently celebrated its 22nd year of
designing and manufacturing pressure and temperature
gauges for the industry. It also manufactures a range of
related accessories such as diaphragm seals and pressure
testing kits, as well as other related equipment for the
accurate measurement of pressure and temperature in the
industrial, mining, chemical, hygienic and process
industries. Its range of heavy duty pressure gauges and
inert gas filled dial thermometers carry a comprehensive
two year guarantee, unique in the South African industry,
according to Chris du Plessis, the managing director.

SA Gauge boasts extensive in-house manufacturing
processes through conventional as well as computer
controlled machining facilities; enable shorter lead times –
even with non-standard items. The high standards and on
time availability of components demanded by the industry
are therefore controlled in-house, not by third-party contractors. SA Gauge instruments are handmade and individually calibrated, ensuring reliability and accuracy.

In-house calibration service is offered for both the SA Gauge brand as well as other brands of pressure and temperature gauges at a very short turnaround time. On site calibration can be done on request.

The SA Gauge Calibration Laboratory offers a two-day turnaround time for pressure calibration certificates to SANAS ISO/IEC 17025:2005 standards.
The SA Gauge head office, factory and SANAS Laboratory is based in Springfield Park, Durban, and a finishing plant with calibration facility is based in Croyden, Kempton Park. Both the Durban branch and the Kempton Park branch properties are under the ownership of SA Gauge.

SA Gauge currently employs 45 full-time members of staff, offers no public and/or personal shareholding and is a fully self-incorporated entity.

Products that SA Gauge offers

Process conditions affect pressure gaugesSeptember 2014, Pressure Measurement & Control

All process and ambient factors should be considered when selecting and installing pressure measuring
devices. The following is intended as a guideline from SA Gauge to assist with selecting the appropriate
instrument.
The use of pressure transmitters as the primary source of pressure measurement in sophisticated
process applications is very popular. However, as a backup to the electrical readings, and as a local
display, mechanical dial indicating pressure gauges are still used on many systems.
Today’s mechanical pressure gauges mostly employ age-old proven technology in the form of a bourdon
tube soldered or welded to a socket with the tip of the bourdon tube connected to a geared movement,
indicating pressure applied via a pointer and dial.
Since the pressure gauge is a purely mechanical instrument, process conditions must be carefully
considered before selection to ensure the best accuracy and to maximise the instrument’s service life.
To ensure accuracy and safety, best practice measuring recommends special consideration when
dealing with process conditions such as extreme process or ambient temperatures, corrosive or
solidifying media, vibration, pulsation and overpressure.

Temperature

Maximum permitted process temperatures for pressure gauges with brass wetted parts are 70°C. For
stainless steel wetted parts maximum process temperature should not exceed 100°C. Ambient
temperatures are permitted from -20 to 60°C. Errors in accuracy need to be considered when using
gauges above or below calibration conditions – usually 22°C.
For applications where process temperatures exceed permissible levels, the media needs to be cooled
down before entering the instrument. Accessories like cooling towers, siphon tubes, capillary assemblies
and diaphragm seals are typical devices used to separate and protect the instrument from the process
heat source.
Corrosive and solidifying media
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Some aggressive or corroding process media will attack copper-alloy or stainless steel 316, or will
solidify and obstruct the pressure port of the gauge. Diaphragm seals are designed to isolate the
pressure gauge from the media to ensure accurate and reliable pressure readings. The wetted parts of
the diaphragm seal are made from process appropriate materials such as stainless steel 316, hastelloy,
tantalum or PTFE.

Vibration

Due to the purely mechanical nature of pressure gauges, vibration is one of the main reasons of
premature gauge failure. Linkages, gears and bushings are all parts suffering from excessive wear when
exposed to vibration. Pointer oscillation makes accurate reading difficult but can be avoided by filling
the gauge with glycerine or silicone oil. Liquid filling of gauges lubricates all the friction points, ensuring
longer instrument life.

Pulsation

Dynamic load cycles of pumps and valves that cause a rapid change in pressure in a system causes
metal fatigue in the elastic bourbon sensing element, resulting in gauge failure. Whilst glycerine filling
of the gauge will assist against pointer flutter, it cannot prevent the damage caused by pulsation to the
bourdon tube. A flow restricting device is the best option here. Pulsation dampers such as inlet
restricting or piston type snubbers restrict the pressure pulsation.

Over pressure

Over pressure typically occurs when a pressure gauge is subjected to a sudden rush of process
pressure, such as when full bore valves are quickly and completely opened under load. This short period
‘spike’ in the system subjects the gauge to more pressure than it is designed for, resulting in
permanent damage. To prevent this SA Gauge manufactures an overpressure protector that can be
adjusted and locked to shut the process pressure off at a given set pressure. The spring loaded
overpressure protector automatically opens again once the over pressure condition has passed. On
certain ranges there are diaphragm operated gauges available, capable of coping with five times over
pressure without any permanent damage.

For more information contact Chris du Plessis, SA Gauge, +27 (0)31 579 2216, chris@sagauge.com,
www.sagauge.com

Engineering News article 29-08-2014

SA Gauge
PUBLISHED 29 AUG 14
SA Gauge is a manufacturer and
supplier of pressure and temperature
measurement instrumentation, with
branches in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
and Kempton Park, Gauteng.
The company, which recently
celebrated its twenty-second year of
designing and manufacturing pressure
and temperature gauges for industry,
manufactures its products to
international and original-equipmentmanufacturer
(OEM) standards.
SA Gauge specialises in delivering
products to special OEM requirements
within short lead times. Special dials and ranges can typically be manufactured in two days. Customer
logos are designed and printed in-house, ensuring quick turnaround times.
Using conventional, computer numerically controlled machining centres and a range of hydraulic and
eccentric presses, the company manufactures parts for the instruments and related accessories in-house,
ensuring that all parts are available on time, when needed.
Besides pressure gauges and thermometers, the company also manufactures a range of related
accessories, such as diaphragm seals, pressure testing kits and related equipment for the accurate
measurement of pressure and temperature in the industrial, mining, chemicals, hygiene and process
industries.
Modern chemical processing and process manufacturing procedures demand greater accuracy and
reliability from their pressure measuring instruments. To reduce costs, production downtime must be kept
to an absolute minimum. ln some applications where there are chemical or hygiene considerations, it is
necessary to isolate the pressure measuring instrument, usually a gauge or a transmitter, from the process
medium.
This isolation is achieved by using a pressure-sensitive diaphragm made from a material resistant to the
process medium enclosed in a system fitted to the base of the instrument.
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Diaphragm seal accuracy at 20 ºC may vary from 0.5% to 1% according to the chemical seal. These
values must be added to the accuracy class of the indicating instrument. The accuracy of vacuum,
however, cannot be guaranteed beyond –0.85 bar in the standard executions. This is due to the fact that
most filling fluids contain microscopic amounts of air or trapped gases, which tend to expand significantly
as a pressure of absolute zero is approached. This expansion affects the measuring element in the
instrument.
The diaphragm is an elastic measuring element. It can be manufactured out of different materials such as
stainless steel 316, hastelloy, tantalum or other materials, and, if required, it can be provided with various
protection foils or coatings to ensure compatibility with almost any kind of medium.
Contact SA Gauge to assist with technical requirements and questions.
+27 (0)11 622 3744 Copyright Creamer Media (Pty) Ltd. All rights reserved.
+27 (0)11 622 9350
newsdesk@engineeringnews.co.za
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Elecra mining

SA Gauge will this year be exhibiting at the ELECTRA Mining show at NASREC in September.
We are pleased to be part of this years show. SA Gauge will be showcasing some new products.
They will also be marketing the fact that they have been accredited by SANAS for pressure metrology.

See you all their

SA Gauge website

SA Gauge is currently designing a brand new website where you as the customer would be able to place orders online. Also their will be a downloads page where you can download the entire brochure in pdf format or only the required pages that you need.

Added features are maps to our branches and enquiry forms.

The new site will be up and running in about 3 months time.

SA Gauge SANAS Accreditation

On 28 February 2008, SA Gauge recieved their ISO17025:2005 Sanas accreditation in the pressure metrology field. To view the accreditation schedule please follow the following link
SA Gauge Accreditation