Thank You To Our Customers - A TECO Crawfish Boil

TECO occasionally hosts crawfish boils at our customers' facilities. We think this is a great way to say thanks and to do something a little out of the ordinary for them. It gives everyone an opportunity to get to know each other, tell a good story and maybe have a laugh or two - all around some really great food.

Thompson Equipment Company

Flow Meter Remanufacturing, Custom Flow Solutions, Full Service Repair, Calibration, and Valve Automation Center. http://www.teco-inc.com | 800-528-8997

New Smart Valve Sensor Provides Preventive Maintenance Diagnostics on Quarter-Turn Valves

The ifm MVQ101 Smart
Valve Monitor

Good news for valve automation companies. ifm’s new smart valve sensor, the MVQ101, provides continuous position feedback and preventive maintenance diagnostics on quarter-turn valves. The sensor features built-in functions that can identify different wear conditions via IO-Link, ifm’s digital communication interface. For example, the sensor can indicate a change in the valve’s operation, which can be a warning that deposits are interfering with the valve’s ability to close or that the seal is wearing.

https://teco-inc.com
800-528-8997

Remanufactured Process Instruments Save You Money, Resources and Time

TECO is the world's largest remanufacturer of magnetic flow meters, instrumentation and valves. Their secret is the combination of experience, trained technicians and facilities. TECO can remanufacture virtually any process instrument or valve. Every remanufactured item meets or exceeds the original OEM specifications and performance standards.

Send TECO your worn-out flowmeters, instruments and valves and get them back as good as new (or better)!

Thompson Equipment Company
https://teco-inc.com
800-528-8997

Severe Service Flowmeters by TECO

For flow measurement of extremely abrasive slurries in Mining, Dredging, Fracing, and Oil and Gas Exploration.

Capabilities include:

• Liners: magnesia stabilized zirconia ceramic, aluminum oxide ceramic, polyurethane rubber, neoprene rubber, Linatex, Teflon (PTFE), rotationally molded Tefzel (ETFE), PFA, and others. 
• Electrodes: SS, Hastelloy C (C-276), Hastelloy B, zirconium, titanium, platinum/iridium, solid tungsten carbide, tungsten carbide coating, etc. 
• Exotic tube constructions available (100% titanium).
• Specialty Coatings: epoxy paints, powder coat, custom colors, etc.

TECO

https://teco-inc.com

800-528-8997

Happy 4th of July from Thompson Equipment Company

"The United States is the only country with a known birthday. All the rest began, they know not when, and grew into power, they know not how.... There is no "Republican," no "Democrat," on the Fourth of July, — all are Americans."

James Gillespie Blaine

ABB Rotameter (Variable Area Flow Meter) Application Notes

The Variable Area Flowmeter is an instrument for measuring the flow of liquids and gases in pipelines. It includes a vertical tube through which the fluid flows whose diameter increases from the bottom to the top and a float which can move vertically in the tube.

As the flow increases this float moves to a higher position until its resistance to the fluid flow is balanced by the float’s buoyed weight in the fluid, a value which is constant and independent of the flowrate. The position of the float is a measure of the flowrate. The flowrate values can be read on a scale.

Here is a listing of applications where rotameters (variable area flow meters) are commonly used and links to where their PDF documents can be downloaded.

• Variable Area Flow Meters for Tank Purging Applications
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Gas Analyzers Applications
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Plant Potable Water Flow Monitoring
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Plant Gaseuous Fuel Monitoring
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Air Leakage Testing
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Alarms
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Bubble Tube Purge Level Measurement
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Continuous Forced Lubrication of Bearings
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Cooling Water to Protect Heat Generating Equipment
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Laboratory Measurements
• Variable Area Flow Meters for Hot Water Chill Water Flow Balancing in Large Buildings

Important Flowmeter Performance Metrics

Animation of differential flow

Common to most flowmeters are rated levels of performance; some of the more universal
performance metrics include accuracy, precision/repeatability, turndown ratio, resolution, ease of installation, straight pipe run requirements, on-going operations and maintenance, and costs.

Accuracy
Accuracy is the difference between a measured value and the actual value. No flowmeter is 100% accurate and most manufacturers provide a range of accuracies in their product line - tighter accuracy requirements are typically more expensive and may also be more restrictive to specific applications.

Precision/Repeatability
The precision or repeatability of a measurement entails the ability to reproduce the same value (e.g., flow rate) with multiple measurements of the same parameter, under the same conditions.

Turndown Ratio

Rotameter
(ABB)

The turndown ratio refers to the flow rates over which a meter will maintain a certain accuracy and repeatability. For example, a steam flow meter that can measure accurately from 1,000 pounds per hour (pph) to 25,000 pph has a turndown ratio of 25:1. The larger the turndown ratio, the greater the range over which the meter can measure the parameter within the accuracy stated.

Resolution
The resolution is the smallest increment of flow that can be incrementally registered by the meter. For example, a water meter designed for a small diameter pipe may be able to provide a resolution of 100 pulses per gallon (or more) as a signal output, but a meter designed for a larger pipe or higher maximum flow may only be able to provide 1 pulse per 100 gallons. Further, a very large flow meter may only be able to provide 1 pulse per 1000 gallons. The metering system may have limitations with regard to peak signal frequency or minimum time between pulses to properly register the data signal.

Ease of Installation
Select make-and-model decisions considering size and weight constraints, specific electrical and communications needs, and the overall environment the flowmeter will operate in.

Magnetic flowmeter
(TECO)

Straight-pipe Run Requirements
Applicable to some types of fluid (gas, liquid and steam) flowmeters, straight-pipe run requirements relate to the length of unobstructed straight pipe required leading up to and immediately following the flow meter’s location. Obstructions in the fluid flow (such as elbows, tees, filters, valves, and sensor fittings) cause changes in the flow pattern (flow regime and velocity profile). Straight-pipe runs allow the flow pattern to normalize/stabilize making measurements by velocity-type and differential-pressure-type flow meters less prone to measurement error. Straight-pipe run requirements are usually expressed in terms of the number of pipe diameters.

The straight pipe requirement is in addition to the length of the flowmeter itself. The straight-pipe run requirements can be reduced with the addition of flow straightening or flow conditioning devices installed upstream.

Ongoing Operations and Maintenance

Vortex flowmeter
(ABB)

The lowest cost flow metering technology may not be the best choice if it has high associated maintenance costs (e.g., frequent service, calibration and recalibration, sensor replacement). As with most capital purchases, a life-cycle cost approach (including all capital and recurring costs) is recommended for decision making.

Installation Versus Capital Cost
In some situations, the cost to install a flowmeter can be greater than the capital cost; this can be true where system shutdowns are necessary for flowmeter installations, or where significant redesign efforts are needed to accommodate a flowmeter’s physical size, weight, or required connection. In these cases, decision makers should consider alternative technologies that may have a higher capital cost but a much lower installed cost. A good example of this is the use of non-intrusive flow metering technologies (e.g., ultrasonic flowmeters) that typically have a high capital cost but often a significantly reduced installed cost. It is recommended that meters be installed with isolation valves or switches making it easier to remove, replace, or service the meter in the future.

Reprinted and abstracted from US Department of Energy paper titled "Metering Best Practices: A Guide to Achieving Utility Resource Efficiency, "