Just venting a bit about flow switch woes

sparkie

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Nov 2014
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Have any of you all ever brought a flow switch with a 1" process connection that did not fit in a 1" rigid tee? I mean, I guess I could have looked at the drawing, but I spoke with their engineering people and they assured me it would work.


Here is what I bought:
https://www.dwyer-inst.com/Product/Flow/FlowSwitches/Paddle/SeriesV8#specs


You can trim them down to 1". It just blew my mind that trimming it slightly before the 1" mark got me stuck in the pipe, and of course it broke getting out. Of course, with the flow switch being broken I doubt they will refund me for this one.


It started with us having issues with these flow switches. Now gotta dig a piece of busted plastic out of the system and I'm really, really ****ed off about it.


I will have some analog IO freed up on the system soon. The control voltage here is 24AC. Does anyone have any suggestions for a flow switch that will actually fit in a tee like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Fitting-Class-Female/dp/B004XEKQLW
 
Kobold PSR does not insert into a Tee, it comes in a housing/ coupling.

You need to carefully select the flow rate switch range.



The switch adjustment is purely empirical, the switch housing slides back and forth for increased or decreased switch points. There's no markings relating to flow rate.


The PSR style is considerably more rugged that the flimsy thin foil impact target.


https://koboldusa.com/media/flow/PSR-PS/datasheet-paddle-flow-monitor-psr-ps.pdf
 
Kobold PSR does not insert into a Tee, it comes in a housing/ coupling.

You need to carefully select the flow rate switch range.


The switch adjustment is purely empirical, the switch housing slides back and forth for increased or decreased switch points. There's no markings relating to flow rate.

The PSR style is considerably more rugged that the flimsy thin foil impact target.
https://koboldusa.com/media/flow/PSR-PS/datasheet-paddle-flow-monitor-psr-ps.pdf


The problem here isn't really selecting the flow switches, but that the switch doesn't fit into a 1" tee. The entire paddle has to be cut off for the switch to be put into a 1" tee. It is very impractical to break open the lines in this situation, so I need something that inserts into a horizontal pipe vertically.

EDIT: I'm going to look into these PSR switches.


i perfer IFM
several styles such as: https://www.ifm.com/us/en/product/SA6010

and IO link both Flow and Temp


Thanks, I'll check these out. I have him open to the possibility of electronic flow switches.


Also, the reason that I'm trying my best to stick to a switch that fits in a normal tee is because the factory valves in this heat skid are bleeding by and I really don't want to drain the whole system. There is at least 100 gallons in there.
 
Last edited:
+1 for IFM. Now that they sell direct, they are very competitively priced. They also are rebranded as ProSense for A/D at even lower prices.


Yea, but it looks like I can't mount those IFM switches in the Tee I need to mount them in.
 
Would using a switch sized for 3/4 pipe and a 1" to 3/4" bushing in the tee be acceptable. I'm guessing these switches are designed for a nipple welded into the span of the pipe and the tee's threads are too shallow to the centerline of the pipe compared to a nipple.
 
I'm going to give those FS-2 switches a shot from the same vendor. They are the same form factor as the Johnson Controls ones I had before, but they have a pretty well sealed unit with leads. I think this may do better with the condensation.


I called up the company this morning and asked them if that V-8 would fit into a rigid 1" Tee and was told yes. Then I let them know, funny thing is, it won't and explained what happened. They made a note that those switches are only good for PVC and are taking the one I had installed back as well. Good on Dwyer for doing that. I really didn't expect them to.

I was really wanting to avoid a flow switch with a bellows and mechanical linkage, but we will see how it holds up.
 

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