IP65 SMV inverter drives are protected against UV and acid

One of Australia's largest independent manufacturers of winery equipment is now specifying Lenze's IP65 SMV inverter drives to power a range of portable wine pumps for filling and emptying wine barrels without disturbing the sediment. Because the pumps are used outdoors under the harsh Australian sunlight, the customer is using the version of the drive with an enclosure moulded from UV-resistant polycarbonate.

The requirement for a sealed IP65 drive in this application is due to the outdoor operating environment and also the nature of the wine. The manufacturer wanted to avoid using expensive and bulky stainless steel bodied drives but had found that the acidic wine would damage the plastic on standard drives, resulting in frequent replacements being necessary. However, not only did the SMV provide the important ingress and UV protection, but the polycarbonate body is virtually impervious to the corrosive fruit acids in the wine.

When pumping wine in and out of a barrel it is important to keep a constant, smooth flow from the very beginning of the process; this avoids disturbing the sediment at the bottom and compromising the quality of the wine. Huge wine savings can be achieved, in excess of 1 litre per barrel, when this process is optimised. The drives that were previously used on the pumps struggled to provide smooth acceleration on start-up, whereas the SMV provides extremely good low-speed torque performance for a smooth start-up acceleration.

PID loop optimised for pumps

Set-up and operation are also said to be very easy with the SMV. On each drive a preinstalled PID loop, designed specifically for ease of use in pumping applications, means that once the drive is up to speed it will maintain a constant flow and pressure. This provides for fine control of the pump so that the speed range can be set very precisely, thereby balancing the need to deliver a fast turnover of barrels while making sure that the product is not wasted due to disturbed sediment. This easily justifies the expense of buying the variable-speed pump.

The pump manufacturer advertises the fact that they "offer products engineered to last" and so reliable, robust operation is important. The wine barrel filling and emptying pumps are portable and are availabel in a range of different models to suit wineries with as little as 100 or as many as 50,000 barrels to empty. Lenze says its SMV inverter is reliable when in constant use and can operate from either single-phase or three-phase inputs, which makes them suitable for all locations and power supplies. The range covers motor powers from 0.37 to 22kW.

Furthermore, the pump manufacturer is advertising a fast return on investment, quoting savings over 6000 per annum per 500 barrels, and a significant increase in productivity; filling 500 or emptying 400 barrels in aneight-hour shift I spossible with just one operator.

Follow the link for more information about the IP65 SMV inverter drives.