What is a battery powered flow meter?
As the name suggests, it is a flow meter that runs on batteries. This means the meter does not need an external power source.
What are the most common applications for battery powered flow meters?
Very often, an organization might come across a situation where there is no power available due to long distances from electrical substations which means it is very difficult to tap power from the grid unless extremely long cables are implemented. Without a reliable power source, the option is to buy and install a flow meter than runs on battery power.
How are battery powered flow meters different from other flow meters?
There are many types of battery-operated flowmeters. Some are used as portable flow meters while other are permanently installed in a flow line. In the Philippines, we have supplied battery operated solutions for turbine flowmeters, battery powered magnetic flowmeters and ultrasonic types. One of the main differences in the design often has to do with the electronics. To ensure a longer working life for the battery it is often required that the electronic circuits are a low power consumption type. Where this is not possible, it is recommended to minimize the data retrieval. For example, if a flow meter is reporting the flow rate to an external device every 500 ms, then the battery life is compromised due to the larger energy consumption. This issue can be mitigated by setting the output, data logging or data output to a more reasonable time interval e.g. one a day.
What are the advantage of using a battery-operated flow metering device?
- Lower capital expenditure
- Minimized wiring or no wiring at all
- Ability to measure flows in remote areas
- Ability to measure flows in difficult to access areas
- Installation requirements minimized
- Flexibility, especially if it needs to be relocated to another project.
Another huge advantage of a battery-operated flowmeter is the ability to obtain flow data very quickly. In some cases, the user may even opt to measure the flow rate using a locally available ultrasonic flow meter which has virtually no installation requirements except for the clamping of flow sensors to the outside of wall of a pipe.
What applications are common for battery operated flow sensors?
The most common are measurements on water flows, wastewater, sludge and various chemicals.
Do you supply flow meters without the need for batteries?
Yes, these types of meters are purely mechanical which means that the flow measurement mechanism does not depend on a power source and instead uses a rotation or oscillation of the mechanical section to drive a magnetic coupling. There are various water and oil meters available that fit this description including standard water meters and various PD meters using an oval gear or some other positive displacement mechanism.
