Badger Meter/ATI FilterSmart™ Backwash Monitor
For decades, backwash cycles have been governed by two indirect numbers: flow rate and elapsed time. Both are proxies that tell an operator very little about what's actually happening inside the filter at any given moment. The Badger Meter/ATI FilterSmart™ Backwash Monitor changes that by directly measuring the two parameters that really matter in real time: media expansion and backwash turbidity.
Direct Measurement, Conditional Control
The FilterSmart Sensor is a submerged, microprocessor-controlled piezoelectric transducer that sends an ultrasonic pulse through the water column above the media. Because the sound wave travels at known velocities, elapsed return time converts cleanly into media level, expansion in engineering units, and expansion as a percentage of expandable media. A 90° scattered-light, pulsed-LED turbidity sensor is integrated into the same housing, giving operators backwash turbidity readings from 0 to 50 NTU alongside the level data.
The result is conditional backwash control. Cycles end when the filter is actually clean, not when a timer says they should. That translates to measurable savings in water, energy, and media wear.
Key Specifications
Two critical measurements, media expansion and turbidity, combined in a single submerged sensor
Range of 1.0 to 20.0 ft (0.305 to 6.1 m); accuracy of 0.2 in. at 10.0 ft
Turbidity repeatability of 1% at 50 NTU
IP68-rated sensor construction in ABS and epoxy, with stainless steel and rubber wiper
A single FilterSmart Controller handles 1 to 16 sensors over a wired or wireless mesh network, with no customer-side software integration required
RS-485 Modbus RTU plus dual 4 to 20 mA outputs for media level/expansion and turbidity
NEMA 4X / IP65 controller and power supply enclosures rated for indoor or outdoor installation
Built for Real Filter Applications
FilterSmart is purpose-built for granular media filters in drinking water, wastewater, and tertiary treatment, and it suits most municipal and industrial gravity filters. It can also be deployed in pressure filters subject to certain mechanical and installation considerations.
Whether you're running a single filter or a 16-bay plant, FilterSmart can be installed as a stand-alone instrument or as a fully integrated network operated from one controller.