Company Profile

Portable Flow Meters: Strapped Transit-Time External Pipe Verifiers with Smart Logging

Quick Answer: Silver Automation Instruments offers portable transit-time flow meters that strap onto the outside of pipes. They verify flow rate, total, and velocity without cutting pipe or stopping the process. The built-in data logger stores readings for later analysis and reporting.

These instruments are compact industrial tools for field checks, pump audits, and temporary measurement. You clamp the transducers onto DN15 to DN6000 pipes. You set the pipe material and wall thickness. You read live flow data on a backlit screen.

What Makes a Strapped Transit-Time Verifier Different

Strapped transit-time meters use ultrasonic signals. Two transducers sit on the pipe exterior. One sends a signal through the liquid. The other receives it. The meter measures the time difference between upstream and downstream signal travel. That time difference is proportional to flow velocity.

No cutting is required. No process shutdown is needed. Installation often takes 10 to 20 minutes. This suits temporary measurement in operating plants. We have supplied these units to water treatment contractors in Vietnam and to chemical plants in Indonesia. They use them for balancing, leak checks, and pump performance verification.

Smart Logging That Engineers Actually Use

The smart logging function records data at intervals you select. You can set 1 second for fast tests or 60 minutes for long surveys. The internal memory can hold up to 8 million data points depending on the model. You can export CSV files through USB or RS485. No special software is required on most versions.

Here is the thing. Most engineers skip software training. They want a meter that gives them a CSV file they can open in Excel. Our portable flow meters do that. You can also read total flow, velocity, signal strength, and battery status on the local display.

In practice, a plant engineer in Australia used one unit to check cooling water flow on a 300 mm pipe. He set the logger to 5 minute intervals. He came back two days later and exported the data. The system showed flow swings at night that explained a pump control issue.

Field Scenarios and Common Installations

Oil and gas teams use portable flow meters for produced water measurement, cooling water, and diesel fuel transfer. Water and wastewater crews use them for pump station audits, filter backwash checks, and distribution line balancing. Chemical plants use them for dosing line verification and heat exchanger flow balance.

Food and beverage plants use these units for CIP water, syrup lines, and utility water. Marine engineers use them for ballast water checks and engine cooling water. A shipyard in Malaysia used a clamped transit-time meter to verify fire pump flow during a class survey.

Because the sensors are non-intrusive, you avoid contamination risk. That matters in food and pharmaceutical applications. You also avoid pressure drop. The meter does not touch the liquid.

Key Specs to Compare Before You Quote

You should ask for these parameters before buying. The standard portable flow meter covers DN15 to DN6000. Pipe materials include carbon steel, stainless steel, PVC, HDPE, and copper. Liquid temperature range is usually -30 °C to 160 °C with standard sensors. High temperature sensors can go higher on request.

Accuracy is typically ±1.0% of reading for flow velocity above 0.3 m/s. Repeatability is ±0.2%. The transmitter has a 4-20 mA output and an RS485 Modbus RTU port. Some models include a pulse output for totalizer integration. The data logger stores flow rate, total, velocity, signal quality, and diagnostic codes.

Battery life is around 10 hours on a full charge. You can also run the meter from a 90 to 240 VAC power supply. The housing is IP66 rated. For hazardous areas we can supp