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This newsletter is e-mailed by McCrometer monthly to subscribers worldwide. It consists of flow measurement information of interest for professionals in this field.

For More information on our complete line of flowmeters go to: <<http://www.mccrometer.com>>

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McCrometer November 2002 Newsletter

Care and Maintenance of your Flowmeter

Flowmeters, like all instruments, require tender loving care. The extent of maintenance required depends largely on the type of flowmeter, the fluid being metered, and the acceptable uncertainty of the result.

We know intuitively that if the meter has moving parts, is installed in an aggressive atmosphere, or has to measure to a high accuracy, it will require more frequent examination, typically a weekly or monthly checkup. In addition, certain types of meters, such as orifice plates, are very susceptible to dirt or abrasive particles. When they are installed into a new pipeline, the user should remove them after a week to examine them and, if there is no damage, extend the examination period to two weeks, then to a month and so on.

Conversely, turbine meters can run successfully in cryogenic liquid applications for years without any adverse effects, especially if the liquid is extremely pure and carries no abrasive particles. To achieve this, the turbine meter needs to have very good bearings. There are also flowmeters, such as the V-Cone, that have a self-cleaning effect due to acceleration of the fluid past the measurement point. This dramatically reduces the V-Cone's maintenance requirements.

One solution to the problem of maintenance frequency is to build in automatic checking and diagnostics systems into meters to determine the optimum time for maintenance. Another approach, used by many Norwegian oil companies, is to duplicate many of the devices to allow built in redundancy. And lastly, one of the most useful techniques is to use endoscopes to examine a meter in line rather than go to the expense of removal.

Maintenance of our flowmeters, like our cars, should not be left until failure occurs. For more information about McCrometer's line of flowmeters, call McCrometer at 951-652-6811 or visit our web-site at www.mccrometer.com <http://www.mccrometer.com>.

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Copyright 2002 McCrometer