Fuel tank
An IoT fuel tank monitoring system reports the level of a plant's diesel tank, emergency fuel reserves or a construction dryer's fuel tank continuously and remotely. Operators plan refills on real values and detect theft or leaks early.
Fuel tank at a glance
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Monitoring tank fill levels via MQTT to safeguard operational readiness
The German state of Hesse records fuel tank levels at 48 critical infrastructure sites via ultrasonic sensors and MQTT on the VISUALYS platform. Manual inspection trips are no longer needed, saving one to three hours per site each week.
Cloud-based supply chain monitoring in Nigeria
Building drying: condition monitoring for heat engineering and plant service
Fuel tank monitoring system: level and use of every diesel tank
For the State of Hesse, an ultrasonic sensor with a 4…20 mA output measures the fill height on each tank. A router transmits the value via MQTT to the VISUALYS platform whenever it changes, and at least once a day. The routers connect via the local network or LTE, and their firmware is maintained remotely via OpenVPN. In Nigeria, level and flow data travel via Modbus/RTU to a Schildknecht DATAEAGLE 7000 cellular gateway with eSIM and on to the DATAEAGLE Portal. Thermotec connects retrofitted sensors via IO-Link to the ifm io-key, which sends data to the ifm Cloud via NB-IoT or 2G.
The State of Hesse now sees the levels at 48 sites centrally, an email warns before a tank drops below a threshold, and around one to three hours of inspection work per site and week are saved. After 100 litres of diesel were stolen, a large beverage manufacturer in Nigeria now detects anomalies such as theft or leaks automatically and calculates consumption. Thermotec gives construction companies insight into the fuel level of their dryers. Podcast episode #98 with Elena Eberhardt and Didier Kärst of Schildknecht explores the Nigeria project.
Podcast episodes featuring Fuel tank
Fuel tank monitoring system: frequently asked questions
How does a diesel tank monitoring system measure and transmit the level?
An ultrasonic sensor measures the fill height and outputs it as a 4…20 mA signal. For the State of Hesse, the sensor is connected to the analogue input of a router that polls the value continuously. If the level changes by a defined amount, the router sends it via MQTT to the VISUALYS platform. In addition, a value is sent at least once a day to check the connection.
How does IoT support fleet fuel theft prevention at company tanks?
IoT records level and flow at the tank continuously, so unusual drops stand out immediately. After 100 litres of diesel were stolen, a beverage manufacturer in Nigeria could not determine when it happened because this data was missing. Today, sensors send data to the cloud via a Schildknecht gateway, and the system identifies anomalies such as theft or leaks automatically. It also issues a warning when levels are low.
How does site fuel tank monitoring warn users when fuel runs low?
The platform sends a message automatically as soon as a limit is undercut. Thermotec uses the ifm io-key and the ifm Cloud for this, which notifies users by push message, text message or email. Construction companies also see the fuel level of their dryers there and reorder in time. For the State of Hesse, falling below a threshold triggers an email to the people responsible.
How does diesel fuel monitoring secure reserves for a power outage?
They measure the levels of all tanks automatically and receive a warning before a tank falls below a critical threshold. The State of Hesse records the fuel reserves at 48 critical infrastructure sites centrally in this way. An email notification ensures that no tank runs empty unnoticed and that a supply for several days is kept available. According to the provider, the VISUALYS architecture can be transferred to emergency generators.
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Container
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