Mechanical Flow Meter: Technical Specifications and Installation Requirements

This article has widely explained the mounting with the installation guidelines for the mechanical flow meter. This will be the best information for anyone beginning with flow meters in general.
This specification with the installation guidelines is the best guide for mechanical flow meter issues. These guidelines will be used around every flow meter, depending on the area of installation.
Physical specification for each flow Meter Application
- Know the needed range of water flow and pipe sizes
- Find the accuracy requirements over the flow range.
- Identify the physical installation requirements for meter location, straight pipe lengths, and find communications with suitable needs.
- Communication interoperability. Follow standardization on communication between meters with other data acquisition systems.
- Know how the data will be taken then processed. Does the metering equipment vendor give this function or service?
- Know the effort needed to make a process to collect, store, then get the data?
Flowmeter installation guidelines
All flow meters all have a minimum flow rate they will measure for each pipe size.
There is no flow meter that reads below 0. A lower limit will result from the flow velocity not containing adequate momentum to make the paddle wheel to the spine. In other situations, the flow velocity reduces the paddle to no longer spin around with the flow rate. This is the lowest flow rate the meter can appropriately measure.
Several times the mechanical flow meter rates under this value, although will have a significant inaccuracy. At some point, the flow velocity will be too low, and the meter will show 0, even when there is still flow.
Other flow meters will focus on measuring low flows. These meters operate in a clean water laboratory. However, with dirty water and biological growth, the meters will not function as needed.
The pipe must be full of liquid.
This is particularly a problem if the meter is installed on pipes that have a downward flow direction. Vertical pipes having a downward flow are very prone to this problem. Big flow variations will be known on the meter when the pipe isn’t complete.
To the horizontal runs having partially filled pipes, the outcomes of being either no flow reading if the paddle isn’t in the flow. This can be because of the meter being mounted on top of the pipe or above readings.
The pipe depends on the assumption that the flow rate is uniform in the pipe.
To make a uniform flow profile in the pipe, enough straight sections of pipe should be both upstream and downstream of the meter. Some people have experimented with flow straighteners and found it helps, but it has no substitute for a good straight pipe.
The whole idea of necessary pipe lengths is to create a uniform flow and get accurate results within the flow meter.
When a good run of straight pipe isn’t possible, a reduction in accuracy can result. Normally the issue is uniform across the flow rate range. So when the flow rate can be known by some other means, the flow meter may be increased to account for the problem. But to the smaller pipes, the flow may run into a tank having a known volume for some time. The volume divided by the time will lead to the flow rate. The use of this value may calibrate the meter.
Conclusion
These mechanical flow meters are relatively easy devices, and when the above installation requirements are followed, they should function as required.
Choosing the correct water meter needs you to address the considerations specific to every application you make.