Comparison Apator Powogaz JS 2.5-G1-02 Smart Plus DN 20 vs Apator Powogaz JS 1.6-02 Smart C Plus DN 15

Features of the design of a mechanical water metre (see "Principle of operation").

— Turbine. Metres in which water during operation passes through a turbine — a wheel with blades, the axis of rotation of which is parallel to the direction of flow. This mechanism is somewhat more expensive than the impeller (see below), but it allows you to effectively cope with the intense flow of water while providing good accuracy. Therefore, in mechanical metres with a nominal diameter (see "Diameter (DN)") of more than 50 mm, only turbines are installed; in 50 mm models, turbines are found along with impellers, and in devices of a smaller diameter they are not used at all. Also, note that all models with this type of metre are industrial (see "Type").

— Impeller. Water metres in which water during operation passes through an impeller — a wheel with blades, the axis of rotation of which is directed perpendicular to the flow of water. This design is simpler and cheaper than the turbine design (see above), but it has lower accuracy and is not well suited for large volumes of water. Therefore, only models with a nominal diameter (see "Diameter (DN)") of 50 mm or less are equipped with impellers; these are, in particular, all household appliances (see "Type") with a mechanical principle of operation, as well as some industrial metres of low productivity.

— Single jet. Metres in which water enters the measuring mechanism in a continuous stream, without divid...ing into separate jets. Compared to the multi-jet devices described below, such devices are much simpler, cheaper and more compact, but they are more prone to errors associated with uneven flow. This is not a serious drawback for domestic use but is unacceptable for accurate calculations. Therefore, only household metres are made single-jet (see "Type").

— Multi-jet. In metres with this feature, the water flow entering the impeller or turbine (see above) is pre-cut into several jets. Due to this, the most uniform effect on the measuring mechanism is ensured and the turbulence that occurs in the pipeline is compensated, which significantly increases the accuracy of measurements. The main disadvantages of multi-jet devices are the complexity of the design and higher price than that of single-jet ones. Thus, it makes no sense to use such metres for household measurements; but in the industrial sector (see "Type"), where accuracy is key, they are extremely common.

— Dry. Dry-running metres are called metres in which the counting mechanism is completely isolated from the water flowing through the device. Unlike wet-running devices, where this mechanism is in contact with water, in dry-running models, most of the hardware is separated from the water-measuring section by a sealed partition, and rotation is transmitted through a special magnetic coupling. This arrangement complicates and increases the cost of the design; on the other hand, metres are more reliable, resistant to dirt and durable than wet metres. In addition, they can provide some special features — for example, disconnecting the measuring mechanism without removing the entire device.

— Combined. Combined models are actually two metres in one case, connected in parallel. One of these metres is designed for small volumes of water, the second for intensive consumption; switching between them is carried out automatically — by a special valve that reacts to the flow rate. This design is not cheap, but it allows you to significantly expand the effective range of measurements and achieve high accuracy at both low and high flow rates. It makes sense to use combined models where the intensity of water consumption can vary over a very wide range, which cannot be covered by a conventional metre.

The nominal diameter of the pipes for which the water metre is designed. It is indicated in millimetres, but the addition of "mm" in the record is usually not indicated.

In the most general terms, DN can be described as the internal diameter of the inlet and outlet of the water metre. However, the actual inner diameter may differ from the nominal one by several millimetres. It is because the inner diameter is indicated by a number from the standard list, and in case of discrepancy, it is rounded up to the standard value: for example, diameters of 23 mm and 26 mm will both correspond to DN 25. This technique is used for both metres and pipes; however, in most cases, the differences from the standard are not significant enough to affect connectivity. Therefore, when choosing, it is quite possible to proceed from the fact that the nominal diameter of the metre must correspond to the nominal diameter of the pipe — especially since the diameters of the fasteners (thread or flange; see below for details) also depend on this size.

The list of nominal diameters that are most common in modern water metres looks like this: 15, 20, 25, 32, 40, 50, 65, 80, 100..., 150 and 200 mm.

Minimum water flow for this metre model.

The minimum flow rate is the smallest flow rate at which the counting mechanism can provide measurement with an acceptable error of ±5%. This deviation is higher than the counter error in the standard mode (from Qt to Qn, see below for details), it is considered undesirable, but generally acceptable. But when the flow rate drops below Qmin, the error increases to unacceptable values, and there is no question of acceptable measurement accuracy. So, ideally, it is worth choosing a metre in such a way that its Qmin is not higher than the water consumption at the minimum intensity of consumption. Detailed recommendations for estimating the actual water consumption for different water supply systems can be found in special sources.

Nominal flow rate for this metre model.

It is the highest flow rate at which the device can work indefinitely (during the entire service life) without failures, malfunctions and exceeding the maximum allowable error (± 2%). For a short time, a higher flow rate is also allowed (for more details, see “Maximum water flow (Qmax)”), however, the regular mode is still the mode in which this rate does not exceed Qn. So this parameter is the main one when choosing a device. Ideally, the actual water flow should always be in the range between the nominal and transitional (see above) flow.

Maximum water flow for water metre .

The maximum flow rate is considered to be the highest flow rate at which the device can operate for a short time (less than 1 hour per day and less than 200 hours per year) without failures, malfunctions and exceeding the maximum allowable error (± 2%). For several reasons, this figure is usually twice the nominal flow rate Qn (see above). When choosing a metre for maximum flow, you need to take into account the peak consumption of the system that it serves — that is, the flow rate when all consumers are turned on maximum at the same time: this rate should not exceed Qmax, otherwise the metre will not be able to cope with its task normally. If the system is constantly operated in the maximum consumption mode, then it is worth choosing not by Qmax, but by Qn.

The highest water temperature allowed for water metre.

This parameter is directly related to the purpose (see above): in devices only for cold water, Tmax is usually in the range of 30...40 °C heating water in a pipeline exposed to the sun). For metres that can be used with hot water, this figure is 90...95 °C.

Of course, in no case should the maximum water temperature be exceeded — this can lead to damage to the metre and even an accident with a flood” Putting a metre with Tmax at a level of 90 °C and above in a cold water supply system makes sense only if the device was originally designed for both hot and cold water; see "Suitable for" for details.

Sensitivity threshold for this water metre model.

The sensitivity threshold is the lowest flow rate at which the device begins to respond to the movement of water and record the flow; at a lower speed, the measuring mechanism simply does not distinguish between flow and still water. The lower this indicator, the less likely it is that, at low consumption, water will be consumed without accounting. In household models (see "Type") the sensitivity threshold does not exceed 40 L/h, there are also much lower figures — 10 L/h, or even 5 L/h. In industrial metres designed for large industries, there are values of hundreds of litres per hour.

The size of the threaded connection provided in the metre with the corresponding type of installation (see "Connection type").

Ideally, the metre itself, other components of the metering system (such as a filter and a check valve) and water pipes should have the same threaded connection diameter — this eliminates fuss with adapters and problems associated with speed drops due to uneven internal diameters. However, in some cases, you can use adapters. These situations are described in more detail in special sources.

Traditionally, water pipe thread sizes are indicated in inches and fractions of an inch. In modern water metres, the following sizes are mainly found: 1/2 ", 3/4", 1", 1 1/4", 1 1/2", 2", 2 1/2". In this case, the thread diameter is associated with diameter DN (see above): larger DN requires larger fasteners. However, there is no rigid dependence here — for example, a metre with DN 20 can be equipped with both 3/4 "and 1" threads.

General water metre dimensions in length, depth and height. Sometimes only one size can be indicated in this paragraph — the length: it is most important during installation, it is the length that is taken into account when choosing the required distance between the ends of the pipes. At the same time, it is worth remembering that between these ends, not only the metre itself is most often located, but also other devices and parts: connecting fittings, a valve, a coarse filter, a check valve, etc. Details on this can be found in special sources; here we note that for some models, the specifications separately indicate the length with complete mounting fittings (see below). Without fittings, the length can be from 80 – 100 mm in the most compact devices to 250 mm or more in the largest.

Depth and height, in turn, allow you to estimate how much free space around the pipe is needed for the normal placement of the metre.