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water flow meter

boatsandsteam

By boatsandsteam
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boatsandsteam Engager

boatsandsteam

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I am thinking of buying a £20 water flow meter off ebay to measure litres of water used.

 

Anyone done it? Is it best to install between tank and pump or after pump - or does it not make any difference. Are there any reasons why I should not install one?

 

Reason for doing it is because when I have my daughters on board, I am never sure how much water is left in the tank and running out would put me in a bad place.

 

Thanks

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magnetman Veteran II

magnetman

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Its an interesting idea - I have considered it. I suppose there may be potential for it to get clogged up and cause a blockage if it is used between tank and pump - does it come with an inline filter of some sort?

 

Have you got a link to the item you are looking at ?

The other option is a tank level meter - do you know exactly how big the tank is?

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OldGoat Veteran II

OldGoatDonate to Canal World

Posted
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Sledgehammer to crack a nut??

 

I have a T-piece in the pipe by the tank (as it happens) with a length of clear plastic pipe vertical. Inserted a small fishing float within.

Hey Presto - tank level meter.

Cost - norra lot...

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MoominPapa Veteran II

MoominPapa

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We have one installed after the pump. Been there for years and never caused any problem. We know the size of the tank, and have got in the habit of reading the meter whenever we fill up, so we always know, to within a litre or two, how much water we have left. It's great!

 

MP.

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Tony Brooks Veteran II

Tony BrooksDonate to Canal World

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An MCS tank level guage is what you need. Not cheap but well worth the money. A sight level tube would need to return to the top of the tank otherwise you may fill your boat with water when filling the tank.

 

http://mcsboatproducts.co.uk/portfolio/fresh-water-gauge/

 

No, it needs a tap at the top to ensure the pump cannot draw air down the tube so unless taking a reading that tap will be closed.

 

I rely on the muddy waterline at the bow to show when the tank needs topping up.

Edited by Tony Brooks
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Tom and Bex Rising Star

Tom and Bex

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We have a water meter fitted after the pump. Find it really useful to decided if we have enough water to put the laundry on or if we need to fill up first. Also means you don't run out in the middle of a shower!

 

Tom

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Flyboy Experienced

Flyboy

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No, it needs a tap at the top to ensure the pump cannot draw air down the tube so unless taking a reading that tap will be closed.

 

I rely on the muddy waterline at the bow to show when the tank needs topping up.

I agree if the sight glass tee's off between the tank & the pump. A properly engineered sight glass would come directly from the base of the tank & then back to the top of the tank. In this way the contents are correctly displayed whether the pump is running or not.

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magnetman Veteran II

magnetman

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I agree if the sight glass tee's off between the tank & the pump. A properly engineered sight glass would come directly from the base of the tank & then back to the top of the tank. In this way the contents are correctly displayed whether the pump is running or not.

I haven't tried it but I would have thought if you put a cap on the top of the sight glass/tube with a small hole maybe 1/8 inch 3mm it would probably stop the pump from drawing air and also make installation easier by not requiring two tank connections.

 

Obviously it may be inaccurate while the pump is actually running but the small bleed hole would correct that fairly quickly.

May require some experimenting with size of the air bleed hole.

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MoominPapa Veteran II

MoominPapa

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Ok no probs. I guess you need to fill the tank and zero the meter each water fill?

We have a domestic-type meter because they're dirt cheap, so no zero facility. We just have a three digit thumbwheel switch next to the meter where we record the meter reading of 100s, 10s and unit litres when we fill the tank. The tank is known to be 600l, so some simple arithetic gives the number of litres left to very good accuracy at any time.

 

MP.

Edited by MoominPapa
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magnetman Veteran II

magnetman

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That sounds good.

 

What device are you using?

Would it be possible to connect one to a hose?

I was thinking if you mpty the tank completely then fill it again with flow meter on the hose you could find out the volume of the tank?

 

My tank is built in at the front of a barge with fairly complicated shape at the front so its quite difficult to accurately calculate its volume.

Edited by magnetman
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MoominPapa Veteran II

MoominPapa

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That sounds good.

 

What device are you using?

Would it be possible to connect one to a hose?

I was thinking if you mpty the tank completely then fill it again with flow meter on the hose you could find out the volume of the tank?

 

My tank is built in at the front of a barge with fairly complicated shape at the front so its quite difficult to accurately calculate its volume.

 

I guess you could connect it to a hose, but I just permanently installed the meter, then filled the tank, noted the meter reading, then ran the tank dry to find out the tank capacity. The meter I'm using came from BES, but a search on Ebay reveals dozens suitable for 15mm pipe for £15-£20.

 

MP.

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boatsandsteam Engager

boatsandsteam

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Hi magnetman

As MoominPapa says there are several on eBay. I have not chosen which one yet. Having read everyone's replies I think I will go ahead after the pump.

 

Thanks to all who contributed

Hi magnetman

As MoominPapa says there are several on eBay. I have not chosen which one yet. Having read everyone's replies I think I will go ahead after the pump.

 

Thanks to all who contributed

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abraxus Collaborator

abraxus

Posted
Posted (edited)

If you mean something like this:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LCD-Water-Flow-Monitor-ideal-for-Water-Filters-Stores-Data-COUNT-DOWN-/111290639151?hash=item19e970632f:g:J2YAAMXQ0v1Rc89q

 

Then I installed one last year and it's been great.

 

You can get them as count "down" or count "up" meters, to either show how much has been used or what's left. I chose count down, and so you need to know or measure the capacity of the tank, and set it when you first install it. After that you just hit reset after each fill.

 

They're also supplied in different sizes, so check the size of your hoses.

 

I installed mine right after the pump, and extended the cable for the remote monitor so that I could mount it above the sink. It was easy to install, and fitted and up and running in less than an hour. Since fitting it it's worked flawlessly, and is very handy to have.

Edited by abraxus
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dor Veteran II

dor

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My vote goes for the MCS gauge, s linked to above by Flyboy. The current one has been competely reliable since fitting 9 years ago. Pick up the power from the water pump feed then mount the meter anywhere convenient. Easy to fix and not a lot of money. Tells you how much you have got and useful to see when the tank is getting full during filling.

My one has a digital readout in percentage which he might not be doing now, but has other display units. Very helpful supplier also.

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