MacCarb Technician, Mike Ruffolo, is adding telemetry easier than ever

The following is a guest post from Mike Ruffolo at MacCarb.

I’m a technician with MacCarb and I have a lot of installs under my belt. I like this job because it’s different every day and I love accomplishing things. I feel good about what I do for MacCarb and our customers.

One product that I really like and that I use on a lot of tanks is the Pulsa Link. There are definitely some benefits to the Link for customers and for me. If we show up and there’s a C-Stic or Level-Eye the whole process can be done in 45 minutes. I can easily get 6-7 installed in a day. As long as you’re getting a good signal from a Pulsa Gateway you’re good to go. The Link is probably the easiest telemetry to install. The hardest part is waiting a few minutes for the gateway to be ready.

Customers like that we can take an analog device like a capacitor rod and make it digital so we can keep track of the levels and service them even better. Pulsa gives it a 0-100% scale so they know where they’re 50% full and there’s no need for them or us to do any math- like figuring out how many pounds are left in a 750# tank it’s ⅓ or ¼ full. We just see the percent: 33% or 25% full. It’s so much easier. There’s also no need for recalibrating equipment.

Pulsa makes it easy for technicians because we can get on the Pulsa app 24/7 and get something done from anywhere and anytime so I can work on my schedule. When it comes to installs there are no phone calls to Pulsa needed.

There are times when I show up to a job alone but a scale is needed. It takes two people for a scale. In cases like that the Link is the way to go. I remove the float rod, put the capacitor rod in and add the Level-Eye, and go ahead and connect the Link.

It’s good to have solutions from Pulsa to handle what I come across. There are solutions for different tank needsー when there’s not enough space for a scale, for older tanks, and for newer tanks. Pulsa equipment is good to go right out of the box so it’s nice to install. When it comes to troubleshooting, honestly with Pulsa it usually comes down to just checking the battery. With the Link, I can change it so it sends measurements every 9 minutes instead of every 3 minutes to make it a little easier on the battery.

I use the system 100% hands-on. Pulsa has made it easy to set up and navigate. I set up the sensors in the dashboard and name them. At first there is a little setup with a new sensor and gateway. But once a location and tank have been set up, it’s already saved in there to choose from later. The measurements come in right away and I know it’s working. When I first add a sensor I wait 3-6 minutes for the first reading to come in to make sure everything is set up correctly. Then the readings start coming in regularly.

What I like about the Pulsa Dashboard is when I’m looking at a tank I can change the graph to view the measurements hourly (thanks to having the measurements come in at 3-minute intervals) or I can look at 24 hours. I can easily see the information that I need so we can catch things faster and I don’t need to physically go to the tank location.

It’s a satisfying feeling at the end of the day to be helping people. I’m helping MacCarb with delivery schedules, and helping the customer by saving them on deliveries. I leave the customer knowing that the product they’re getting will help them.

Read the next technician spotlight from Jeff Quigley at Kint Beverage Concepts.

Read more about Pulsa Link compatibility.