Academic institutions are busy places with complex estate requirements and the last thing they need is disruption to the smooth running of their plant. Manchester University Estates Department were faced with a problem. Three blocks had been newly built including a large lecture theatre and reading rooms but there was insufficient metering for the 250mm+ pipework. Each block included a separate boiler house with a gas meter on each. Shutting down each system and draining it each time was time consuming, making it costly to undertake any repairs.
Assistant Mechanical and Energy Engineer Chris Cunningham called in contractors to remedy the problem but they failed to read the invasive heat meter manufacturers’ instructions correctly. Incorrectly installed invasive heat meters result in inaccurate data which can have considerable knock-on effects.
Chris had used the Micronics U2000 and 3000 clamp-on flow meters previously and knew that they were easy to install and, above all, allowed simple, low cost measurement without the need to cut into the pipe, saving time and cost.
A Micronics Ultraflo U1000, a cost-engineered permanent/fixed on flow metering solution for measuring pre-set flow rate was therefore specified for this project. It provides accurate measurement of liquid flowing within a closed pipe, without the need for any mechanical parts to be inserted through the pipe wall or to protrude into the flow system. It takes just a few minutes to install by simply clamping onto the pipe, connecting the power and entering the pipe diameter – indeed no specialist skills or tools are required. Furthermore, there is no need to shut down flow or drain the system and no programming is required.
Chris was pleased with the maintenance benefits offered by the non-contact technology saying: “I would thoroughly recommend the use of the U1000. It is compact, rugged and has proved to be completely reliable.”