Description

A water flow meter kit measures the volume of water moving per unit of time. These meters will normally attach directly to piping and measure the amount of water flowing through the pipe per time. Most commonly this unit will be measured in liters or meters cubed per minute (L/min = m³/min), or gallons per minute (gal/min) for those lagging behind the metric system.

A variety of designs and types of water flow meters exist, but they all achieve the same result—measuring the amount of moving water directly or indirectly. Flow meters utilize a variety of technologies from mechanical gears to electromagnetic technology to ultrasonic technology to measure this water flow.

Think of a classic water wheel being pushed by a river, and imagine that wheel is now inside of a water pipe. Based on how fast the wheel spins it will correlate to a specific flow rate of the water inside the pipe. This is an example of direct water measurement via a mechanical flow meter.

Basically, by measuring how long it takes a volume of water to pass through the flow meter dimensions, one can relate that number to liters per minute (and the meter will perform this calculation). The advantage of each approach technology depends on the level of accuracy, maintenance, and environment in which these meters will operate.