Cole Parmer offers magnetic flow meters that are volumetric flow meters which require low maintenance; they have no moving parts, offer high accuracy and are insensitive to viscosity, pressure and temperature changes. Cole-Parmer offers magnetic flow meters for measuring liquid flow from 0.38 LPM to over 4,000 LPM.

A magnetic flow meter can handle a wide range of aggressive chemicals as well as heavy slurries but requires the media to be conductive (typically > 5µS/cm). Cole-Parmer offer two types of magnetic flow meter; a full bore version which is non intrusive offering virtually no pressure drop and a more economical insertion magnetic flow meter suitable for use in pipe sizes up to 10".

To find the right flow meter for your application use Cole-Parmer's on-line flow meter quick search. Alternatively contact our Application Specialists for free technical support and let us bring over 50 years of flow control experience to help solve your application needs.

Key Points for magnetic flow meters

• 
  
  Figure 1.
  
  There are two magnetic flow meter design styles: insertion and full bore. Coils in the meter produce a magnetic field. When a conductive fluid is passed through the field, a voltage is produced through an electrode in the meter wall or insertion probe. This generated voltage is proportional to the flow
• A magnetic meter has high accuracy of typically ±1% of reading
• A magnetic meter normally has a turn down ratio in the region of 10:1
• Magnetic flow meters need the media to be conductive, typically > 5µS/cm
• A magnetic flow meter normally requires a straight pipe run with a minimum length of ten times the diameter of the pipe before the flow meters inlet and five times the diameter of the pipe after the flow meters outlet
• A magnetic flow meter has no moving parts and the full-bore design offers no intrusion in to the flow stream
• The signal is useable down to zero flow which makes magnetic flow meters one of the best technologies to use if full you need to use the full flow range

Advantages for magnetic flow meters

• Non obtrusive flow in full-bore models
• No moving parts
• Virtually no pressure drop
• Insensitivity to viscosity, specific gravity, temperature and pressure (within certain limitations)
• Will work with laminar, turbulent, and transitional flows
• Can respond well to fast changing flows (for high-frequency DC pulse and AC excitation designs only)
• Good accuracy (0.5 to 1%)
• Can handle slurries and heavy particulates
• Lining protectors available for harsh, chemically corrosive, and abrasive fluids

Disadvantages for magnetic flow meters

• Fluid must be conductive (typically > 5µS/cm)
• Pipe must be grounded

Typical Application for magnetic flow meters

• Water monitoring in industrial plants
• Monitoring and control of a variety of industrial effluents
• Paper pulp waste
• Mining slurries
• Brine
• Sludge
• Liquid food products
• Detergents
• Sewage
• Corrosive acids
• Solid bearing fluids
• Electrolytes
• Process chemicals