Compared with small-caliber water meters for household use, large-caliber water meters are used in a wider range of scenarios.
Needs for water mains, farmland irrigation metering, firefighting pipelines, and industrial scenarios are indispensable. In recent years, with the vigorous development of smart farming, smart water meters have also contributed.
So, how to choose a large-caliber water meter?
Today, we analyze it from several different dimensions such as measurement performance, water use conditions, installation environment, and cost.
Measuring Performance
General mechanical water meters, no matter the rotor type or the screw type, are mainly used to measure the water flow velocity. The ultrasonic water meter is based on the working principle of the time difference method of ultrasonic downstream and countercurrent propagation, and the time difference is approximately proportional to the water flow velocity. Moreover, the large-diameter ultrasonic water meter can be installed with multiple sound channels, which can greatly improve the measurement performance, and can better reduce the sensitivity to flow field distortion. The more sound channels, the better the measurement performance of the ultrasonic water meter.
Reflected in the numerical value, the maximum flow range Q3/Q1 of the mechanical water meter is 160:1. The flow range Q3/Q1 of the ultrasonic water meter can reach 400:1. Through the numerical value, we can get that the measurement performance of the ultrasonic water meter is better.
Water Condition
Generally, the water flow in the pipeline has the following four situations: steady flow, slowly changing flow, transient flow, and intermittent flow.
Our commonly used mechanical water meters, such as horizontal screw-wing type and vertical screw-wing type, have good performance in dealing with these four water flow conditions. Ultrasonic water meters are only suitable for use in stable water flow conditions.
Installation Environment
The adaptability of mechanical water meters to the temperature, humidity, and electromagnetic interference of the installation environment is obviously better than that of ultrasonic water meters.
However, in terms of water quality, because the ultrasonic water meter is a straight-through pipe section, the requirement is not as high as that of the mechanical water meter. After all, impurities may affect the impeller work of the mechanical water meter. Moreover, ultrasonic water meters are also more resistant to water shock than mechanical water meters.
Cost
Generally speaking, the cost of ultrasonic water meters is slightly higher than that of mechanical water meters. However, the larger the caliber, the smaller the price difference. Moreover, the ultrasonic water meter can natively support the output of various data. If you need the remote transmission function, choose a mechanical water meter, and you need to add some extra fees.