Please follow these steps for servicing/troubleshooting STM2 sensors:
- Ensure all Gateways in various areas to be serviced are online - this is evident by a green light being on, on the bottom of the Gateway. If a red-light flashes or no lights are on then the Gateway should have its power reset (unplug for 30 seconds then plug back in, if hardwired to power disconnect power at the bottom of the Gateway). The reboot cycle can take 3-5 minutes before it is fully back online to send and receive sensor data. Also ensure all antennas are fully, properly mated as well as the power connection at the Gateway.
- Go to the area (or first area) to be serviced.
- Login to https://insights.
everactive.com/ - Go to the "Summary" tab located on the upper right-hand bar.
- Sort the Trap Tag column from low to high - as the Service list will be sorted this same way.
- Reference the list of "Traps to be Serviced" (if provided).
Below are the different potential issues with steps to be taken to ensure the sensor reports accurate data that is to be expected:
- Long Term Offline - this sensor has not reported in over 6 months. Possibly no reading is to be expected here but charging the sensor by taking it off the sled (SHM deck) and plugging in the charger at the USB-C connection for 3 minutes and then hitting the 'reset' button on the charger (at or very near the location of the trap). After charging - reconnect the sensor to the SHM deck and tighten the thumb screw fully. The sensors are set to report every minute so it may take a few minutes for the first few readings to come through to the associated Insights page - refreshing the Insights web page loads recent data. Look for expected temperature readings with recent (present time) date and time readings as well. Once readings come in it should be all set, if no readings (within ~5 minutes) or unexpected temperatures are reported the process may need to be repeated or other replacement steps may need to be taken.
- Extreme Temperature Probe (Steam or Condensate) - the sensor is reporting wild temperatures that are unrealistic. This can be due to the sensor not fully seating/mating at the USB-C connection or damage to the cable that connects the downstream bracket to the SHM deck, as well as a loose connection where the cable threads into the port on the SHM deck or at the downstream bracket and its cable connection.
2nd step if still reporting Extreme Temperatures is to replace the cable for a new one. Bending and shaping in a similar fashion as the original cable was shaped (keep in mind that the cable should not be bent anywhere within 1" from either end connection or boot). As well no bend should be less than a 1" radius, so keep the bends larger/wider as possible. Rethread the connection at the SHM deck port, and connect at the downstream bracket connection. Look in Insights for a recent/good data report (refresh the web page).
3rd step if still reporting bad temperatures would be to remove the SHM deck and replace it with a new one. Removing the sensor itself from the old/bad SHM deck and putting it on the new one is required (so the sensor to trap pairing remains the same). Remove the cable at the threaded connection, loosen the nuts fully and swing the SHM U-Bolt bracket off, replace with the new one in the same spot (or move to a better location on the trap assembly piping if there is a issue/question of where it was previously located). Reconnect the cable at the threaded port connection. Check for recent good data in Insights.
4th Step is to replace the sensor itself - this may be a bit more time consuming as you will have to go into the trap page under the "Edit Steam Trap" link and then "Change Sensor" by adding the new sensor MAC ID (the MAC ID string for STM2s is = bc:5e:a1:00:00:00:XX:XX) please copy this string and replace the "X's" with the last four printed on the new sensor.
5th Step would be to replace the Downstream bracket. Loosen the nuts, swing the U-Bolt out and remove the cable from the bracket insert port. Replace with new and reconnect the cable.
At this point all of the hardware would have been replaced, sensor charged and reset so this will in 99% of cases resolve any Extreme Temperature issues. Please call an Everactive contact to discuss this if issues are still seen with this trap/sensor.
- Swapped Probes - Temperatures are obviously swapped where the "Condensate" temps are reading what should be the "Steam" temps. The SHM deck is installed on the opposite side of the trap that was intended and/or the wrong SHM deck port was used. The preferred orientation is to have the SHM deck mounted on the inlet (steam) side piping before the trap with the BLUE port used for the cable to connect to - from there, having the cable go to the discharge (condensate side) U-Bolt bracket. If because of inability to mount the SHM deck on the inlet side of the trap - the SHM deck can be installed on the discharge (outlet/condensate) side of the trap piping. In this case the cable would be connected to theREDport and run to the U-Bolt bracket (that accepts the other cable end) on the inlet side of the trap piping. Correctly designated temps should be seen in Insights at this point - after refreshing the page.
- Harvesting Issue - Sensor data shows the temperatures seen were high enough where it should consistently report and it has not. Positioning of the SHM deck should be checked and repositioned to a better area on the piping. The TEG (Thermoelectric Generator) within the SHM deck harvests the heat of the piping and creates a low voltage that powers the sensor, by having the heat on one side of the TEG (at the piping it is attached to) and being cooler on the sensor side of the SHM. The positioning of the TEG (and the SHM itself) is important to consider, we do not want the SHM/sensor very close to other hot piping that may not allow there to be a temperature differential across the TEG. We prefer the SHM/sensor to be orientated in the horizontal plane. The worst orientations are directly near other hot piping or mounted where the SHM/Sensor is vertical straight above the trap piping. Reposition the SHM and mold the cable to fit this new orientation, reconnect and check Insights for a current report - this should be checked over the next ~10 minutes to view the 'charge' of the sensor to ensure it is climbing and getting better rather than slowly depleting which will result in a "Harvesting Issue" again. If the trap is currently cold, you will need to charge the sensor using the USB-C connection and the charger.
- PMU Reset Issue - This condition is a bug within the sensor itself only seen in older STM2s where the sensor reports very intermittently and there are big gaps in data seen in Insights. In this case, if we designated this as PMU Issue, the sensor itself will need to be replaced with a new one and the old one should be removed and shipped back to Everactive. Charge the new sensor for 3 minutes, reset the sensor using the charger reset button, attach the new sensor to the SHM deck, and then check its data in Insights to see that it is current and reading expected temperatures.
- Poor RSSI - This condition is obvious by looking at Signal Strength readings in its data history. The first step should be to charge the sensor and reset it - this 'resetting' recalibrates the distance from the Gateway to the sensor and broadcast strength is automatically adjusted based on distance. A second step may be to reorientate the position of the SHM/Sensor as the radio path may have been disturbed or blocked in its current position. In some cases there may need to be a new/additional Gateway installed in the area to provide better radio coverage - discuss this with your Everactive contact, if this is the case. Again after any work to better the sensor's readings, check Insights for recent & good (expected) temperatures, charge and signal strength.
- Not Reporting - This case there has been a MAC ID assigned to the trap but it has never reported data through the Gateway to Insights. First step (as this always should be) is to verify that the Gateway is currently online and connected to the cloud/Insights. This can be verified by the Green light only on the bottom of the Gateway as well as checking neighboring (sensors in the same space where you are servicing this sensor) trap pages in Insights to ensure other sensors are reporting as well. Second step would be to take the sensor off of the SHM deck and charge for 3 minutes and then resetting the sensor with the charger. Verify the correct last four digits of the sensor ID match what is in Insights, as in some rare cases the MAC ID may have been entered incorrectly and that would cause this case of 'not reporting'. Verify that Insights has a current reading with expected temperatures.
^^^ SHM Deck w/Sensor ^^^
^^^ SHM Deck w/Sensor ^^^
^^^ Downstream Bracket ^^^
^^^ Cable ^^^
^^^ Complete STM2 Assembly ^^^
Comments
0 commentsArticle is closed for comments.