Note: this article is a reference solution based on a customer enquiry and the feedback received after delivery; it is not a documented on-site installation report.

Background & Challenge

A customer in Indonesia needed to measure wastewater flow in 4-inch pipes at a process temperature around 40–50 °C. The pipes were not all the same material — the line includes iron, PVC and HDPE — and the customer’s previous experience with an economy clamp-on flow meter had been poor: every time the panel was restarted after a fault, all the settings and the configuration were lost, even though they had been saved in the internal controller. The configuration had to be entered again each time.

Why the KUF100B

The economy clamp-on meter the customer had used is generally limited to water and to carbon-steel and rigid-PVC pipes. The KUF100B clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter is not restricted that way — it measures a wider range of media (water and oils, as described in the manual) and supports more pipe materials, which is what this multi-material wastewater line required. Because it clamps to the outside of the pipe, no cutting or shutdown is needed.

Solution & Installation

Before the meter is configured, the pipe details decide the setup:

  • The pipe material and dimensions of each section — iron, PVC and HDPE in this line — are entered so the instrument computes flow from the measured velocity.
  • The medium is selected for wastewater, and the process temperature is set for the 40–50 °C range.
  • The transducers are mounted on the outside of the pipe at the spacing the instrument calculates for the pipe size.

Keeping the configuration in the instrument itself — rather than in an external panel that has to be re-programmed — is what avoids the repeated re-entry the customer had suffered with the economy meter.

Results

After delivery the customer tested the meter and reported that they were very satisfied with it. A clamp-on instrument suited the multi-material pipework without any cutting, and the flow measurement was obtained on a line where the previous economy meter had not been appropriate.

Related Products

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can a clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter measure wastewater?

A: Yes. Clamp-on ultrasonic measurement suits wastewater because it is non-invasive: the transducers mount on the outside of the pipe and nothing enters the flow. The correct model has to be selected for the medium, the temperature and the pipe material.

Q: Why did the earlier economical flow meter lose its settings?

A: The economical instrument is intended for a narrow duty and, combined with a control panel that did not retain the configuration, its settings had to be re-entered after every restart. The underlying issue was that the application sat outside the instrument’s intended envelope.

Q: Does the flow meter work on PVC and HDPE pipes?

A: The KUF100B supports a wider range of pipe materials than the economical model, which was limited largely to carbon steel and rigid PVC. Pipe material is part of the acoustic path, so it must be confirmed for the specific installation.

Q: Does the pipe have to be cut to install the meter?

A: No. Both instruments are clamp-on types: the transducers are fitted to the outside of the pipe, so the line does not need to be cut or taken out of service for installation.

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