How to Protect Your Flow Meter with Fiberglass Sunshades

An ultrasonic flow meter is the perfect device for measuring the flow in your operation. While ultrasonic flow meters are versatile tools, there are several factors that can influence their readings, including prolonged exposure to the sun.When you use your ultrasonic flow meter in outdoor applications, it’s likely your meter will be exposed to sunlight, and the longer your meter is bombarded with UV rays, the greater the impact on your measurements. Fortunately, to protect your flow meter from the sun and other environmental stress, you can use a sunshade. Find out how you can protect your flow meter with a fiberglass sunshade so that you can take dependable and accurate flow readings.

Ultrasonic Flow Meter Basics

One of the best ways to understand why you should use sunshades to protect your flow meter is learning a little about how an ultrasonic flow meter works.To work correctly, an ultrasonic flow meter is mounted above your flow. Once installed, the flow meter sends an ultrasonic flow towards the surface of your flow. Then, the pulse echoes back from the flow and is read by your meter, giving you information about flow depth and rate. There are several factors that can impact the readings taken by your flow meter, including the temperature of the air.

Temperature and Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Temperature has a direct impact on the speed of sound, meaning that the temperature in your system can affect how quickly the pulse emitted by your flow meter reaches the flow, rebounds, and is read by your sensors. To account for this issue, many ultrasonic flow meters will include a temperature probe.In most cases, the temperature probe is installed in the same enclosure as the flow meter, allowing the probe to measure the temperature directly around the meter. While this is normally an effective solution for calculating how temperature may be affecting your flow measurements, the temperature probe will not work correctly when the flow meter is exposed to direct sunlight. The heat of the sun will interfere with the readings taken by the temperature probe, preventing from compensating for the air temperature so that your flow meter can work correctly.

Installing Fiberglass Sunshades

The best way to keep your flow meter out of the sun so that the temperature probe works correctly is installing a fiberglass sunshade. Fiberglass is very resistant to sunlight, and by covering your ultrasonic flow meter with a sunshade, your temperature probe will be able to make corrections for the air temperature and your flow meter will be able to accurately measure the depth of your flow. In addition, a sunshade provides allows you to easily read your flow meter and temperature probe without having to deal with glare.

Protect Your Flow Meter

If you the ultrasonic flow meter in your operation is exposed to direct sunlight, you should protect your device and the accuracy of your readings with a fiberglass sunshade from Tracom, FRP.Tracom’s sunshades are extremely durable and can easily protect your equipment, including flow meters, from the threat posed by UV light. Ask us about our sunshades and other dependable flow management devices.

Andrew Helbling

Product Production Manager

Andrew Helbling is the Product Specialist at Tracom, where he works with engineers, contractors, and product owners alike to assess and select the best open channel flow and general-purpose fiberglass products for their application. Andrew is passionate about clean water and helping operators and engineers provide the cleanest water possible.