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Sensor Installation & Field Troubleshooting

This page covers the physical side of Steam Trap Monitoring: mounting an Eversensor on a trap, diagnosing hardware issues in the field, and replacing a sensor. For the software-side condition model, see Trap States and Trap Conditions.

Installing an STM 2.0 Eversensor​

  1. Prepare the pipe. Remove insulation or insulation jackets as needed to expose about ½ inch of bare pipe on each side of the trap.
  2. Choose the mounting location. Seat the sensor assembly and outlet probe as close to the trap as possible. Avoid placement near strainers, bypasses, or check valves — proximity to these can bias the temperature readings.
  3. Mount the Sensor Harvester Module (SHM). Loosen the U-bolt nuts (they can typically stay threaded on the bolt to save time and avoid dropping them) and pivot the bracket open. Seat the assembly so the Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) makes firm contact with the pipe, then tighten the nuts about ½ turn past finger-tight.
  4. Mount the outlet probe. On the outlet (condensate) side, secure the U-bolt bracket the same way. Form the connecting cable to the correct length before connecting.
    note

    Do not bend the cable tighter than a 2-inch diameter circle (roughly the width of your wrist), and do not bend it at all within 1 inch of either end connector or boot. Do not insert the cable into the Eversensor without support — this can break the fitting.

  5. Connect the bayonet probe. The outlet-side probe uses a spring-loaded bayonet connector — press inward and turn a quarter turn to seat it.
  6. Connect the cable to the sensor. Press the cable connector into the SHM port until it clicks, then hand-tighten the threaded collar.
  7. Associate the sensor with the trap in Shoplogix IMS using the sensor's MAC address, or via a bulk CSV import — see Bulk Installation.

Probe Orientation​

The Eversensor distinguishes steam-side and condensate-side readings by which port each probe cable is connected to:

  • Preferred: mount the SHM on the inlet (steam) side of the trap, using the blue port, with the cable running to the outlet (condensate) side U-bolt bracket.
  • Alternate: if the SHM must be mounted on the outlet (condensate) side instead, connect the cable to the red port and run it to the inlet-side bracket.

If a trap's condensate and steam temperatures appear swapped in Shoplogix IMS, this is almost always a probe-orientation issue — verify which port the cable is connected to and correct it.

Installation Troubleshooting​

Steam reported off (or power lost) while steam is actually on:

  • Confirm the TEG (thermoelectric harvester) saddle is firmly attached to the pipe with adequate airflow across its heat sink.
  • Insulation covering the heat sink can starve the sensor of the temperature differential it needs to harvest power — keep the heat sink clear.

Inaccurate steam or condensate temperatures:

  • Confirm the remote temperature probe is mounted and making firm contact with the pipe.
  • If contact looks correct but readings are still off, wrap insulation around the probe and pipe together to even out the temperature reading.
  • Confirm the probe polarity matches Probe Orientation above.

Limited wireless range during install:

  • Check that gateway antennas are fully hand-tightened onto their connectors.
  • Confirm the Eversensor's top face is oriented toward the Evergateway.
  • Mount the Evergateway as high as practical and clear of line-of-sight obstructions.
  • If you need more placement flexibility, an antenna extension kit can increase effective range.

A previously-connected sensor drops offline:

  • Confirm the sensor hasn't been physically moved or disturbed.
  • Check for new sources of radio interference between the gateway and sensor.
  • Check the sensor's last reported VCAP voltage in Shoplogix IMS. VCAP above 2.5V indicates the sensor has enough charge to power on; below 2.5V, check the TEG connection or confirm the steam system is actually on and generating enough differential to charge the sensor.

Field Service Guide (STM 2.0)​

Before servicing any sensor, confirm the covering Evergateway shows Registered, cloud connected (see Gateway Status Indicators). If the gateway shows a disconnected or error state, power-cycle it — disconnect power for 30 seconds, then reconnect and allow 3–5 minutes for it to come back online — before troubleshooting individual sensors. Sort the trap list in Shoplogix IMS by service tag to match a provided service list.

SymptomLikely CauseField Fix
Long Term Offline (no report in 6+ months)Depleted chargeRemove the sensor from the SHM, charge via USB-C for 3 minutes, press reset on the charger, then reinstall and fully tighten the thumb screw.
Extreme Temperature Probe (implausible steam/condensate readings)Loose or damaged cable connectionReseat the cable at the SHM port first. If that doesn't resolve it, replace the cable (respecting the 2" bend radius and 1" no-bend zone near each end). If still unresolved, replace the SHM, then the sensor, then the outlet bracket in that order — reassociate the new sensor's MAC address via Change Sensor in Insights if the sensor itself is replaced.
Swapped Probes (steam/condensate values reversed)SHM mounted on the wrong side, or wrong port usedCorrect per Probe Orientation.
Harvesting Issue (should be reporting but isn't, given observed temperatures)Poor TEG placement — insufficient temperature differentialReposition the SHM away from other hot piping and orient it horizontally rather than vertically above the trap. Recheck charge trend over the next ~10 minutes to confirm it's climbing.
PMU Reset Issue (older STM2 units only — intermittent reporting with large data gaps)Known power-management bugReplace the sensor. Charge and reset the new unit before installing, then return the faulty unit to Shoplogix.
Poor RSSI (weak signal strength in history)Radio path degraded, or sensor too far from gatewayCharge and reset the sensor first — this recalibrates broadcast strength for the sensor's distance from the gateway. If that doesn't help, reposition the sensor or consider adding gateway coverage in the area.
Not Reporting (MAC assigned, never reported)Gateway offline, incorrect MAC entry, or dead sensorConfirm the gateway is online and neighboring sensors are reporting. Verify the last four characters of the MAC address match what's configured in Insights (STM 2.0 MAC addresses follow the pattern bc:5e:a1:00:00:00:XX:XX). Charge and reset the sensor.

Resolving Inaccurate Temperatures — Step-by-Step​

If a sensor keeps reporting implausible temperatures after a basic reseat, work through these steps in order:

  1. Confirm the SHM clamp is centered on the pipe, the onboard probe is making contact, and there's no debris around the clamp or probe.
  2. Confirm the remote probe cable end is making clean contact with the pipe — insulation paste, paint, rust, or corrosion at the contact point will skew the reading.
  3. Remove and reseat the cable at the SHM port: push in until it clicks, then hand-tighten the collar (finger-tight only — overtightening does not improve contact).
  4. If the issue persists, swap the SHM and remote probe module positions and reconnect the cable to the opposite port.
  5. If none of the above resolves it, the probes likely need physical replacement — contact your Shoplogix account team.

Replacing an Eversensor​

  1. Record the MAC ID printed on the body of the old sensor.
  2. Loosen the thumb screw on the sensor and slide it out of the SHM.
  3. Record the MAC ID of the new sensor, slide it into the SHM, and tighten the thumb screw.
  4. In Shoplogix IMS, open the trap's detail page, select Edit Steam Trap → Change Sensor, and enter the new sensor's MAC ID along with the installation timestamp.
  5. Confirm the change and verify a current, plausible reading appears against the trap.

The previous sensor's history stays attached to the trap up to the swap timestamp; the new sensor's data is attributed from that point forward, preserving a continuous record on the asset. See Gateway Pairing & Sensor Installation for the general sensor-association workflow.

Shared Condensate Lines​

Some steam traps drain into a shared condensate line rather than an independent return. In this configuration, a failed trap can raise the condensate temperature seen by a neighboring trap's sensor, biasing that trap's reading even though it hasn't itself failed.

In most cases this bias only affects the temperature measurement and can be safely ignored. But for trap types whose operation depends on a specific downstream pressure — Thermostatic, Thermodynamic, Balanced Pressure, or Orifice traps — a pressure change caused by a neighboring failure can push an otherwise healthy trap into a false failure reading.

Mitigation: install a check valve downstream of each steam trap on a shared condensate line. This isolates each trap's discharge from pressure and temperature fluctuations caused by its neighbors. Note the presence or absence of a check valve on the trap's configuration record so this effect can be accounted for when triaging unexpected readings.