Field notes
Articles
Notes from commissioning visits: the measurement problem that was actually found, why the obvious instrument did not solve it, and what was installed instead.
TCO & Maintenance
The calibration interval nobody budgets for
Instrument price is the smallest part of the number that matters: consumables, access and verification decide the second-year cost.
Installation & Wiring
What the pipe wall takes away from a clamp-on ultrasonic reading
Couplant, straight run and mounting position cost a clamp-on ultrasonic more accuracy than the electronics ever do.
Troubleshooting
Why an electromagnetic flow meter reads zero on a plastic pipe
A zero reading on a plastic pipe is almost always a grounding problem, not a meter problem. Here is how to tell the difference.
Selection Guide
80 GHz radar or ultrasonic in a foaming wet well
Foam reflects ultrasound before it reaches the water. What that means for a wet well, and when radar is the only non-contact option left.
Content plan — the field notes
- Planned series: a short sequence on non-contact level, one note per failure mode, each linked to the packages it changes.
- Planned topics: electromagnetic against clamp-on ultrasonic on a lined pipe; what a district meter’s nightly minimum actually shows; drift on a pressure transmitter in a sludge line.
- Per note: a photograph of the measuring point and the readings recorded during commissioning, so each claim on the page can be checked.