Omniflex has released the iREF8 cathodic protection monitoring module to its PowerView protection range, giving businesses a way to remote monitor existing CP systems.

The solution aims to be a convenient and cost-effective way of adding remote monitoring capabilities without a complete overhaul.

The iREF8 comes with eight isolated inputs and can monitor reference half-cells and other inputs like the transformer/rectifier (T/R) voltages and currents. Unlike previous systems, the Omniflex solution also provides the ability to real all reference electrodes in a CP system at the same time.

In the past, CP systems cycled through the references, taking readings sequentially. In an instant off test, this could require the system to be turned on and off multiple times while the reading was taken. Eventually, this can impact the polarisation of the structure being protected while the test is in progress.

“The new iREF8 module is a completely new design, allowing all the references in a PowerView CP system to be read at the same time. This means that, regardless of the size, the PowerView CP system only needs to be cycled on and off once to read all the references in an Instant Off test,” Omniflex managing director David Celine says.

“The new PowerView iREF8 module has eight fully isolated inputs that can be used to read reference potentials from -3V to +3V DC with an accuracy of 0.2% and an input impedance of greater than 100mΩ. This versatile module can also monitor current shunts as low as 50mV and T/R voltages as high as 60V making this an ideal module for monitoring existing CP systems with minimal intervention. Each input has surge protection to protect the inputs to surges in excess of 60V.”

Remote monitoring is no longer just the most cost-effective way of gathering system data, it is now the only way to do so in many cases. If you’re a consultant working from home and you’re responsible for monitoring CP systems fitted with an iREF8 monitoring module, you can continue to monitor system performance 24/7, despite the disruption caused by the pandemic.