New Magnet-Powered Level Control Switch

New Magnet-Powered Level Control Switch MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 3-5-14 Here's a new level control switch unlike anything on the market and said to be "completely failure-proof under most bulk storage conditions." The key is in two magnets placed at opposite poles to repel each other. First introduced several years ago, the switch is now used on more than 95% of the world's oil rigs, but its inventor, Buford Wolford, Fergus Falls, Minn., says the switch has many agricultural uses. "It completely seals off all electrical components in a metal housing so nothing - dust, moisture or bulk materials - can interfere with its operation," says Wolford. "A magnet outside one wall of the housing is set at opposite polls to a magnet enclosed inside. When feed or other material pushes the outer magnet in, the magnet inside the housing moves also, activating the switch. "That makes it ideal for grain or feed bins where dust or wet feed can gum up a switch. It's been a great success for industrial uses in concrete or plaster storage, which involves very fine powders. With special housings, it can be used in acids or other corrosive solutions. The key is sealing off the electrical components from the elements." Switches -can be fitted to storage bins in` various ways: through the side of the bin; suspended from the top into the middle of it; or projected up from the bottom. For feed operations, the switches are often placed at different levels within a bin, one as a shutoff and the other as a turn-on switch. Wolford recently sold 450 of his controls to the Russians for use in a newly built, $850 million foundry, in what is to be the world's largest truck factory. Agricultural uses include feed mixing and grain drying operations, and as sludge controls in feedlots or buildings. The switches sell for about $98 each. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Buford Wolford, Proximity Controls, Inc., Drawer C., Fergus Falls, Minn. 56537 (ph. 218 739-3364).

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