 |  |
Look familiar? These pictures are from a mag meter project we installed last week in a can station. These can stations are all over the state.
This station is the last station before the ponds, and is the point where flow information is required to be gathered. For years, the operators had been coming to the station, climbing down into the can, retrieving the pump run times, and then using an old table for calculating the the flows. While not the easiest process, it worked for them for many years.
However, as the pumps have gotten older, they've began to run less efficiently. This means that they've been running longer to pump the same amount of flow. While this is really just a symptom of older pumps, it made the old table for calculating flows based off of the run times inaccurate.
It wasn't as simple as putting in a meter. The can station is pretty compact, and there wasn't enough room to T the pipes so that one meter could be used. However, there were two great pipes coming out of the pumps that were perfect for two mag meters. We installed a meter, a spool piece, and a knife gate valve for isolation purposes on both sides.
This station is the last station before the ponds, and is the point where flow information is required to be gathered. For years, the operators had been coming to the station, climbing down into the can, retrieving the pump run times, and then using an old table for calculating the the flows. While not the easiest process, it worked for them for many years.
However, as the pumps have gotten older, they've began to run less efficiently. This means that they've been running longer to pump the same amount of flow. While this is really just a symptom of older pumps, it made the old table for calculating flows based off of the run times inaccurate.
It wasn't as simple as putting in a meter. The can station is pretty compact, and there wasn't enough room to T the pipes so that one meter could be used. However, there were two great pipes coming out of the pumps that were perfect for two mag meters. We installed a meter, a spool piece, and a knife gate valve for isolation purposes on both sides.
The meter controllers were installed in a new enclosure up out of the can station. No more climbing into the can just to get the run time numbers. Now all information can be easily accessed from above the station.
It was a great little project that extended the life of the station, greatly improved the accuracy of the flow meters, and eased the operator's daily operation. Let me know if you have a similar station or metering site that could use some attention!
