New innovation lowers the total cost of ownership for customers that require active static grounding protection.
Newson Gale’s Earth-Rite MULTIPOINT II is the new innovation which will provide customers with a unique value proposition that makes the active static grounding of multiple items of equipment with interlock control more cost effective than other options available to the EX/HAZLOC industries.
Newson Gale’s new Earth-Rite MULTIPOINT II is an ATEX / IECEx / CSA certified static grounding system that enables customers actively monitor up to eight (8) discrete items of equipment at risk of discharging electrostatic sparks into flammable or combustible dust atmospheres. Whereas multiple items of equipment used in EX/HAZLOC operations require an individual grounding system to monitor each item of equipment, the Earth-Rite MULTIPOINT II is a single system that actively monitors the grounding status of eight (8) items ranging from railcars to powder processing equipment. This new innovation from Newson Gale provides customers with a unique value proposition that reduces total purchase and installation costs for projects where multiple items of equipment require static grounding protection.
The Earth-Rite MULTIPOINT II consists of a monitoring control unit that features an array of red and green LED indicators that verify when the equipment in need of static grounding protection has a resistance to a verified true earth grounding point of 10 ohms* or less. In addition to the LED indicators located in the monitoring control unit, equipment operators can refer to independent remote indicator stations that can be mounted closer to the process hazard. Each indicator station provides operators with a visual “GO / NO GO” reference that informs them when the resistance in the static grounding circuit is low enough (less than 10 ohms) to proceed with the operation. As the remote indicator stations are powered by the monitoring control unit’s intrinsically safe circuits power from external sources like 230 / 110 V AC supplies, that would be needed for more expensive Ex(d)/Ex(e) certified indicator stations, are not required.
The Earth-Rite MULTIPOINT II’s power supply houses eight (8) volt free contacts, each of which is controlled by the corresponding monitoring channel in the monitoring control unit. In addition to the grounding circuit relays, a group relay can be selected to control external equipment that requires a 0 to 10 ohm permissive condition from several monitored channels. A fault relay is also provided so that interlocked processes can be shut down in a fail-safe mode should the system’s self-monitoring function detect if the permissive resistance range of the grounding circuits rise above 10 ohms or if a fault is detected with the micro-controller’s software.
The monitoring control unit and remote indicator stations are ATEX / IECEx certified for installation in Zone 0 / Zone 20 atmospheres and cCSAus approved for installation in Class I, Div. 1; Class II, Div. 1 and Class III atmospheres. The power supply is ATEX / IECEx certified for installation in Zone 2 / Zone 21 atmospheres and cCSAus approved for installation in Class I, Div. 2; Class II, Div. 1 and Class III atmospheres. (SIL 2 pending).
*10 ohms represents the maximum resistance level that international guidelines like Cenelec CLC/TR 60079-32-1 and NFPA 77 recommend for static grounding circuits.
The Earth-Rite MULTIPOINT II is now available for quotation from Newson Gale and our global network of distributors. For more information contact us at:
• United Kingdom tel.: +44 115 940 7500 or e-mail: groundit@newson-gale.co.uk
• North America / Latin America tel.: +1 732 961 7610 or e-mail: groundit@newson-gale.com
• Deutschland tel.: +49 201 89 45 245 or e-mail: erdung@newson-gale.de
• South East Asia tel.: +65 6704 9461 or e-mail: ngsea@newson-gale.com
