Flow Meter / Computer Data Collection / Help

[ChickenEngineer]

I need to install water meters on 2 4" lines coming into my plant. They are flowing around 500-700 GPM each at 20 PSI.

I have heard there are meters that can 'piggy back' in between the main line and the city meter that sits on top of it. It's some type of rotometer. I can't find anything like this?? Know what I'm talking about?

Also, once I do get a meter, are there software programs in existance to take the data from 2 meters, combine them for a total flow, then output reports for total flows during set time periods?

 

[DRWeig]

Chicken,

There are a wide variety of such meters. Data Industrial has some reasonable ones, model 220B flow transducers and model 1500 flow meter (rate and totalizer). The totals are usually put out in dry-contact pulses (so many gallons per pulse, or cubic feet, or whatever). Rate is usually 4-20 mA. Be certain that your flow velocities fall into the range of your transducer.

You'd then need a data logger that can count pulses and total them, and store analog values of you need rate info too. Hobo is a good source.

For more, google "water flow totalizer" and "datalogger".

The data loggers typically will have software packages for reporting....

Best to ya,

Old Dave