Arenal PCS vs Pisonics PS7000 — The Closest Comparison We Publish
Of every instrument we compare against, Arenal's is the one built on the same physics as ours. Arenal describes its method as ultrasonic spectroscopy combining acoustic impedance, time of flight and temperature. If you are evaluating both, you are choosing between two implementations of the same idea rather than between two principles — so the decision comes down to hazardous-area rating, temperature range, diagnostics and support.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Ultrasonic Slurry Density Meter | Arenal PCS QA03-SDA / QP010-UDP |
|---|---|---|
| Principle | Ultrasonic acoustic impedance, chirp pulse-echo | Ultrasonic spectroscopy — acoustic impedance + time of flight + temperature ¹ |
| Accuracy | ±1 % FS; the datasheet publishes ±1 % mass concentration | Two different published figures: "about 5 g/l in the full range 1..3 SG" (website) vs "up to 3 g/l" (brochure) ¹ ² |
| Range | 0–80 % mass concentration | 0–4000 g/l (brochure); the website separately cites 0–3500 ¹ ² |
| Probe face material | Sapphire | Sintered silicon carbide ¹ |
| Spool liner (option) | PTFE / rubber / ceramic, to duty | UPE-1000 (standard wafer) ¹ |
| Pipe size | DN50 – DN1000 (larger on request) | DN40 upward; "any size" for spool and wafer types ¹ |
| Process temperature | 0 – 80 °C standard; 120 °C high-temperature version to order | Two probe classes: 3–55 °C and 3–130 °C ¹ |
| Process pressure | ≤ 1.6 MPa standard | Standard UPE-1000 wafer ≤ 7 bar; steel wafer (SWC) to 600 bar with no sensor/media contact ¹ |
| Velocity limit | ≤ 5 m/s recommended, to control erosion of the spool and probe face | "up to 7 m/s" ¹ |
| Ingress protection | IP65 | Not published ² |
| Hazardous area | Ex d IIC T6 Gb optional | Not published ² |
| Response | Configurable | < 1 s ¹ |
| Entrained air | Keeps measuring in bubbly slurry; outputs a 0–100 aeration index and a bubble flag | Not addressed in published material ² |
| Calibration | Multi-point field regression, up to 20 points, online, no shutdown; r² acceptance check from 3 points | "No frequent calibration", but a good initial field calibration is required ¹ |
| Communication | 2 × 4–20 mA (NAMUR NE43), RS485 Modbus-RTU, HART 5, Bluetooth 5.4 BLE, Profibus-DP optional, 4G cloud optional | 2 × 4–20 mA out + 2 × mA in, Ethernet/Modbus TCP-IP, RS485 Modbus RTU; HART, Fieldbus, Profibus optional ¹ |
Competitor parameters cited from Arenal PCS QA03-SDA / QP010-UDP datasheet.
Takeaway
How the two measurements differ
Arenal: "A measurement of acoustic impedance, time of flight and temperature enables us to calculate specific gravity and density." Probe faces are sintered silicon carbide. (Manufacturer statement, Arenal SDA brochure.)
PS7000: chirp acoustic-impedance pulse-echo from a single wetted probe mounted flush with the pipe bore.
There is no meaningful argument to be made here about whose physics is better. What separates the two instruments commercially is what each company publishes and certifies, and what happens after the order.
Note on accuracy. A figure in g/l is an absolute density band; our ±1 % FS is a proportion of the configured range and our datasheet's ±1 % mass concentration scales with the concentration itself. None of the three converts into another, so this row cannot be read as a ranking. Ask both vendors to state accuracy against your range and your medium.
Two Arenal figures, two contexts. Arenal's website figure (5 g/l) is stated as achievable after a good initial field calibration across 1–3 SG; the brochure figure (3 g/l) is presented as best achievable. They are not interchangeable. Ask Arenal which applies to your range.
Model scope. The competitor column above combines Arenal's QA03-SDA analyser with the QP010-UDP probe family. The temperature classes (3–55 °C / 3–130 °C) and pressure ratings (7 bar wafer / 600 bar steel wafer) belong to specific probe and mounting variants, not to every configuration. Ask Arenal to confirm which variant carries which rating.
About entrained air. The PS7000 is designed to keep measuring in bubbly slurry — that means a stable reading in the presence of gas, not a guarantee of accurate density at any gas fraction. The probe face must not be covered by a continuous gas phase: a gas film, a gas pocket or an empty pipe stops the measurement rather than biasing it. The entrained-air index exists so the control room can see which of those two situations it is in.
About the Ex rating. The PS7000 datasheet states Ex d IIC T6 Gb (option, to be specified when ordering) and does not name a certification body. Please confirm the certification scheme required in your target market with us before treating this as equivalent to an ATEX or IECEx certificate.
When to choose Arenal
- Process temperature above 120 °C. Arenal's high-temperature probe class reaches 130 °C; the PS7000 is 80 °C as standard with a 120 °C version to order, so the gap here is narrow — ask both of us what the duty actually needs.
- Very high pressure. Arenal's steel wafer configuration is rated to 600 bar with the sensor out of media contact — a niche the PS7000 does not address.
- Velocity above 5 m/s is unavoidable. Arenal publishes 7 m/s; we recommend staying at or below 5 m/s to control erosion of the probe face and spool.
- You are already standardised on Arenal's analyser platform across multiple measurement points.
When to choose the PS7000
- The area is classified. Arenal publishes no Ex rating and no IP rating; the PS7000 offers an Ex d IIC T6 Gb option and IP65.
- Entrained air is present or suspected. Arenal's published material does not address bubbly service at all. The PS7000 was designed around it and reports it as a diagnostic value.
- You want configuration and calibration from a phone. Bluetooth 5.4 BLE means no laptop and no serial converter on the walkway.
- You need remote firmware updates and cloud telemetry as part of a fleet, rather than per-instrument site visits.
- Lead time and local support matter. This is the point where a direct manufacturer relationship usually decides the project.
FAQ
Are these the same technology?
Very nearly. Both derive density from the acoustic impedance of the slurry at a wetted probe face, and Arenal states its method also uses time of flight and temperature. The differences that matter commercially are certification, temperature class, entrained-air handling and connectivity — not the underlying physics.
Does silicon carbide make an instrument maintenance-free?
It makes the probe face very hard, which addresses abrasion. It does not address scaling, crystallisation or mud-cake build-up on the face, which is a different failure mode — and one that any interface-reading acoustic method shares, ours included. Ask about the medium's fouling tendency before treating either instrument as fit-and-forget.
Sources
- Manufacturer statement — arenal-pcs.com and the Arenal SDA brochure, 2018 edition, hosted by a distributor, accessed August 2026. Please verify against current Arenal documentation before relying on it.
- Not published, or published inconsistently, as of August 2026.
Competitor facts verified August 2026, all from the manufacturers' own websites, official PDF datasheets or officially hosted documents. PS7000 figures are from PS7000_技术规格书_中文.pdf Rev. A · 2026-08 (PS7000-DS-ZH-A). Manufacturers revise published data without notice — please re-check before relying on any figure here.
Talk to us
Pisonics — Xi'an Pisonics Information Technology Co., Ltd.
15B016, Block A, Olympic Building, Chang'an North Road,
Beilin District, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China
+86 159 0293 2017 | info@pisonics.com | www.pisonics.com
Send us pipe size, orientation, slurry velocity, particle size distribution and whether the line carries entrained air — we will tell you whether an acoustic measurement holds up on your line, or which principle fits better.