Moyomnandi ­- a magic machine

Homegrown stack sampler gains trust of sampling technicians

ECOSERV has made a clean break from using imported stack sampling equipment and is confidently putting its money on its own horse – Moyomnandi, a locally manufactured, fully automated stack sampler.

“At the end of last year, we started using Moyomnandi full time,” says ECOSERV director Allan Jansen, who developed the product along with fellow director Mark Baird.

“We have sold one unit to Xstrata, and have two units that are being used by sampling teams in Durban , Johannesburg and Cape Town . Gary Hall will take a fourth unit to our new branch opening in Sydney , Australia .”

General consensus among ECOSERV technicians is that Moyomnandi is a pleasure to use. “It is a wonderful piece of equipment,” says Allan.

Being locally manufactured, the knowledge that spare parts are readily available should the need arise gives technician great peace of mind. It is also highly portable and easy to move between clients. What's more, Moyomnandi is configured in such a way that makes it extremely quick and easy to set up.

“We have given Moyomnandi a 60m long umbilical cable,” says Allan. “This has numerous advantages. Instead of wasting time and effort pulling heavy sampling equipment up a stack, we can work with the controller and the laptop on the ground.”

The oven box and probe samples are sent up the stack, where the sampling of gases takes place. The parameters are measured and sent down the cable to the sample unit, where the operation is controlled by laptop.

“We have found the whole concept of using the controller at the bottom of the stack and having the probe and filter oven at the top works very well,” says Allan. “Of course, you still have the option of taking Moyomnandi up the stack - you simply use a shorter umbilical cable.”

Gary Hall has taken the concept of Moyomnandi one step further and has converted the back of a vehicle into a ‘mobile laboratory'. Fitted with air conditioning and a laboratory bench space, the vehicle creates a better working environment both for the technicians and the equipment. And if it rains, the main electronics are snug and safe inside the vehicle. “Moyomnandi is a fantastic machine with fantastic potential,” says Gary .

The Moyomnandi of today is a vastly improved product to the first model, with significant hardware changes and significantly improved devices.

“The development over the past few months is remarkable,” Allan says. “We have ironed out teething problems with the software and have handed the software over to a professional for the final refinements. Once he is finished with it, Moyomnandi will be more user-friendly and reliable, and communication between the laptop and the sampler will be very quick.”

Instrument technician Dustin Naicker project managed improvements to Moyomnandi's complete assembly, and reckons his changes have made a 200% improvement. “We outsourced the steel work and built a whole new unit from scratch,” says Dustin. “We redesigned the housing unit, making it out of aluminium, which is lightweight and more cost-effective. We re-laid the equipment inside and manufactured new pneumatic and electrical fittings. We've also refurbished the existing oven box and done some modifications on that.”

Moyomnandi is still evolving and is being improved on a daily basis. “We are continually looking for ways to make improvements and expansions,” says Allan. “Our next priority is to change the configuration of the probe, filter heater and condenser assembly. It looks like the old equipment and we want to give it our own unique stamp.”

ECOSERV believes Moyomnandi is going to be an absolute winner. “All that remains is to market it aggressively,” says Allan.