Flow meter Testing

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Mike S
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Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2011 7:26 pm

Re: Flow meter Testing

Post by Mike S »

Very interesting. I'd love to have one for the inlet of my calcium reactor.
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jsclownfish
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Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2011 7:52 pm
Location: Saint Louis

Re: Flow meter Testing

Post by jsclownfish »

Hi all,

A quick FYI...

I use small G1/2 flow sensors on an IO expansion module on my system to monitor flow from the various pumps. They work well to provide some data that water is flowing properly and there are no clogs are major flow issues. The downside of these is they are kind of small and in my experience they can stop working after about a year. On the positive, they are relatively cheap and I just use a T on the return lines to let any extra flow bypass the sensor. It also provides some back-up in case the flow meter got clogged (although that has never happened).

Anyway, I went to order a couple new flow sensors http://www.seeedstudio.com and was happy to see there are much larger versions available now. They can handle larger flow rates (up to 120L/min for a G1-1/4) and may be useful for larger flow lines. Here is a pic of some of the new ones I just got in...
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Damion
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Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2014 10:46 am

Re: Flow meter Testing

Post by Damion »

Has any one tried something like this?
puratekdotcom/products/insight-monitor-controller/accessories/flow-sensors

They seem more reliable and less likely to stop flow upon failure.
Granted, they don't tell you flow rate, but tell you if there is flow. This is more suited for a return pump or higher flow pump.
They work with a little "paddle" sticking in the flow stream and that paddle is connected to a micro switch.
Somewhere on his site I saw a non-intrusive level sensor, which seemed cool as well.
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jsclownfish
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Location: Saint Louis

Re: Flow meter Testing

Post by jsclownfish »

Those look interesting. I haven't had any problems with flow stopping upon failure. When they wear out or get stuck the water moves around the little paddlewheel pretty freely.

-Jon
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ewaldsreef
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Re: Flow meter Testing

Post by ewaldsreef »

If the readings are acurate this could be a very helpful add on. If you had a sensor on your return pump you could monitor for efficiency. I do aquarium maintenance for a living. There are so many return pumps out there working at lower capacity because of debris on the impeller. Also so many tanks with UVs and chillers that are running way to much or to little flow to be effective.
The big question is reliability and accuracy.
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jsclownfish
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Location: Saint Louis

Re: Flow meter Testing

Post by jsclownfish »

I use a number of them to monitor flow, but I don't really count on accuracy to determine efficiency of the pumps, just that the flow is working and in the general range I expect.


Jon
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ewaldsreef
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Re: Flow meter Testing

Post by ewaldsreef »

Jon
I was going to add one to my RO to monitor water usage to let me know when to replace filters. Do you think it would be accurate enough to accomplish this?
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