Hand held flow meter

Unknown

was in the $100 - $150 range . I was going to buy it on the spot but didn't have the cash . Forgot all about it till this big job came along . Thanks Jerry .

Unknown

I remember seeing

a handheld flow meter at a plumbing supply . It hooks around a pipe like an amp meter does with a wire . Anyone know the brand name ? This would've come in real handy on a big church job with 40+ rads - noone was sure which rads were on which zones .

Thanks in advance . Ron

[Deleted User]

Wirsbo...

has a hand held flowmometer, but it has to be used with their special fittings. I think it works on the doppler effect.

If it were me, I'd buy a pair of those 10 mile walkie talkies (under $20.00 for the pair), and a non surface contact infrared thermometer(~$150.00 at Graingers). Fire the boilers,with all loops closed, then open them one at a time and have your apprenti do all the running around, shooting the rads and reporting back to you, sitting on the 5 gallon bucket in the mechanical room with pad and pencil in hand.

Then when you're done, you've got 2 new tools to increase your efficiency. The IR thermometer is great for finding leaks in floors, and general trouble shooting. The WT's are great for saving steps. "You call me in the mechanical room before you leave the truck just in case I think of something else we need..."

They also come in handy when doing remote purges. "OK, open the next valve and close the last one..."

Work smarter, NOT HARDER!

ME

Unknown

Good idea Mark , but ....

I was sent back alone the last day to bleed all the rads of air . With all the zones running I had to hit all the rads twice except for the ones on the same level as the boiler - they were all fine . I finally finished around 2ish , which is when I was asked which rads connect to which thermostats . Since everything was hot already , no dice . I do have a cheapo Craftsman IR , but my hand on the rad works just as well for this situation . We all have Nextel phones too , but of course , noone to talk to on the other end for this job . I remember seeing this item at Wales Darby , our main supplier of Wirsbo . And I thought what an easy way to figure out whats connected to what . Just turn on a thermostat , bleed a rad and watch to see if flow is going through after the bleed .

I'm gonna check out the Wirsbo meter , thanks for the heads up Mark .

jerry scharf_3

They are expensive

Ron,

They are called ultrasonic flow meters and work just like you describe. A decent one will cost you 1-2 grand. Many of them are European. Let me know if that's in the budget and I'll track some down for you.

jerry

hr

Circuit setters

would be the ideal method. B&G and other have meters that connect to the setters to dial in, and read the exact flow rate you need. Reps will often let you borrow the meter if your company does not own one.

I don't know of any clamp on that doesn't require the "sender" unit. The meter has to be able to read a signal generated by something.

Blue and White and Lectro make flow meters. Istec makes flow setters with windows to read flow rate. But these all need to be piped in the line.

hot rod

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