For many years Positive Displacement flow meters have been extensively employed in truck delivery of fuel products. Using a comprehensive array of mechanical accessories fitted to the fuel flow meter, it provides the user with a highly accurate measuring system. These accessories can include liquid strainer, air eliminator, batch preset register, large numeral reset totaliser, zero-start or accumulative ticket printer, flow non-return valve and mechanical batching valve. So, where an electronic output is required the flow meter can be fitted with a suitable pulse transmitter which can then be used to input to remote instrumentation. Pulse Transmitters are available with ATEX Approval where necessary. Exd Pump Switches can be fitted inside the LNC or a Pneumatic Switch Box can be fitted to switch the air supply for pneumatic batch systems.
The main, or master, flow tends to be fairly high at a flow rate of around 1000 to 3000 l/min and usually requires the use of a 3” or 4” flowmeter. The VAF MidFlow Series offers a ductile iron positive displacement flowmeter with a nominal accuracy of better than 0.1% of reading. The fuel flow meter is usually fitted with an Exd Shaft Encoder which provides a quadrature square wave pulse output. The flowmeter is both ATEX and MID Approved.
For fuel additives Flowquip can offer flowmeters from the VAF range of Positive Displacement flowmeters. For Marker Dyes and other additives the standard flowmeter is the B5023. This ductile iron flowmeter covers a flow range from 1 to 50 l/min and is fitted with a six digit non-reset mechanical totaliser. If signal retransmission is required there is the option of single or dual (quadrature) NAMUR pulse output(s). This fuel flow meter is also ATEX and MID Approved.
For fuel installations involving very low level additive injection the VAF Milliflow M31 piston flowmeter can provide the perfect solution. It is manufactured in stainless steel and is offered with the standard VAF options of non-reset mechanical totaliser and singe/dual NAMUR ATEX Pulse Transmitter(s). The standard flow range is 1 to 20 l/hr but for installations involving higher viscosity products the minimum flow can be greatly reduced
For Safe Area Installations the VAF ‘E’ Series flowmeters offer a very accurate and economical solution for fuel measurement. The fuel flow meter is available in ductile iron and incorporates a battery powered 7 digit LCD which will display instantaneous flow rate and cumulative/resettable total. Again, if retransmission is required there is the option of a single NPN scaled pulse output.
Flowquip offer the FT3 range of stainless steel Industrial Turbine flowmeters for low viscosity fuel applications where budgets are tight . These are available in various sizes to handle flows from 1 l/min to over 4000 l/min. The fuel flow meters can be fitted with battery or DC powered displays to show instantaneous flow rate and reset/non reset totals. Pulse and/or 4-20mA optional outputs are also available for remote recording purposes. (The FT3 system is also available with ATEX Approval)
There are other flow technologies which can be used for fuel measurement such as Coriolis mass flowmeters. Flowquip will discuss your application and propose the best fuel flowmeter to meet your application requirements. Call us on 01422 829920 or email [email protected]
Should you wish to hire a flow meter, this can be done through our sister company Flowhire Ltd www.flowhire.co.uk
