Product Overview
The Series 735 is the economical irrigation tee — a four-bladed impeller in a removable PPS insert set in a Schedule 40 PVC tee, sized 1/2 to 1 in. with solvent-weld socket ends. Built for below-grade irrigation, municipal and groundwater service, it ships with direct-burial 18 AWG leads and reads ±3% of full scale from 2 to 20 ft/sec, rated 150 psig at 73°F. The two-wire raw frequency carries 2000 ft to a 300-series transmitter or FC-5000 display, and the impeller, bearing and shaft replace in the field without recalibration — the economical paddle-wheel for small plastic water lines where ±3% is good enough.
Other Impeller tee meters & electronics
PVC Tee Series 228 — Sch 80 PVC, ±1%, NSF / IAPMO
Inline Series 4000 — flow-through PVC / PVDF for corrosives
Metal Tee 228 & 250 — preassembled bronze / SS / cast-iron tee
300-Series Flow Transmitters — 4–20 mA, scaled pulse or relay flow switch
340 BTU Energy Transmitters — flow × ΔT hydronic energy over BACnet / Modbus / Metasys
Key Features & Benefits
- Economical irrigation tee — the budget paddle-wheel where a wet-utility check tolerates ±3% and the line is small and plastic
- Built for below grade — ships with 18 AWG solid-copper direct-burial leads for irrigation, municipal and groundwater service
- 1/2 to 1 in., solvent-weld — three small sizes with solvent-weld socket ends and optional BSP adapters drop into PVC irrigation plumbing
- Rated 150 psig — 150 psig at 73°F (75 psig at 110°F) covers typical irrigation and distribution pressures
- Field-serviceable, no recalibration — the rotor and its parts swap out in the field, and similar sensors interchange with no recalibration
- Raw signal travels 2000 ft — the two-wire square-wave frequency carries up to 2000 ft to a transmitter or display without amplification
Specifications
- Measurement principle
- Tee-mounted impeller (paddle-wheel) — a four-bladed impeller in a removable PPS insert set in a modified Schedule 40 PVC tee; an internal preamplifier and proprietary non-magnetic sensing send a frequency proportional to flow
- Service / fluids
- Below-grade irrigation, municipal and groundwater monitoring in small plastic lines
- Accuracy
- ±3% of full scale over the recommended design flow range
- Repeatability
- ±1.5% of full scale (linearity ±1.5%)
- Flow range
- 2 to 20 ft/sec
- Line sizes
- 1/2, 3/4 and 1 in.
- Tee / body material
- Schedule 40 PVC Type 1 tee and adapter (BSP fitting PVC Type 1)
- Wetted materials
- PPS sensor housing; 300-series stainless impeller and locating pin; tungsten-carbide shaft; UHMWPE bearing; EPDM o-rings
- O-rings / seals
- EPDM
- Process / fluid temperature
- Below 110°F (43.3°C)
- Pressure rating
- 150 psig at 73°F (22.8°C); 75 psig at 110°F (43.3°C)
- End connections
- Solvent-weld socket; threaded BSP adapters
- Signal / output
- Two-wire raw frequency (low-impedance square wave), 3.2–200 Hz, proportional to flow
- Signal transmission
- Travels up to 2000 ft (609.6 m) without amplification; supplied with 18 AWG solid-copper direct-burial irrigation leads
- Electronics options
- Pairs with a 300-series transmitter (4–20 mA, pulse or relay) or an FC-5000 display
- Field serviceability
- The impeller, bearing, shaft and o-rings replace in the field, and similar sensors interchange without recalibration
- Options
- Threaded BSP adapters
Common Applications
- Irrigation zone and main-line flow on small PVC lines
- Below-grade municipal and groundwater monitoring
- Turf, golf-course and agricultural water metering
- Landscape and reclaimed-water distribution
- Budget flow indication where ±3% is acceptable
For tighter accuracy, potable certification or larger plastic lines, the Sch 80 PVC Series 228 tee steps up to ±1% and NSF / IAPMO; for corrosives and ultra-pure water the inline Series 4000 is the flow-through body.
Design & Selection Considerations
- Size the tee to the line and the body to the fluid — the tee meter ships as one preassembled piece — the sensor already set in a tee of the right size — so installation is a single plumbing connection. Choose the body for the fluid: cast bronze for water, condenser and cooling-tower service, 316 stainless for aggressive or higher-purity water, cast iron where cost rules, and Schedule 80 PVC for potable and corrosive lines. Use the input form to give us the line size, material and fluid and we’ll spec the tee and the wetted stack.
- Give it straight run — it is still a velocity meter — mounted in a tee or not, an impeller meter reads one point in the flow profile, so the same rule applies: at least 10 pipe diameters of straight run upstream and 5 downstream of any elbow, valve or pump. Use the input form to send us the pipe run around the meter location and we’ll confirm it will read true.
- Read the accuracy class against the duty — the tee meters span a range of accuracy: the metal Series 228 holds ±1% of full scale, the compact Series 250 ±1% of rate over a 60:1 turndown, and the economical 735 irrigation tee ±3% of full scale. Use the input form to tell us how tight the reading has to be and we’ll match the meter to it — billing and energy sub-metering want the rate-accurate meter; a wet-utility check tolerates the economy tee.
- Keep the fluid clean and the pipe full — as with every impeller meter the rotor wants reasonably clean water and a full pipe; grit and heavy solids wear the bearing and a partial pipe under-reads. If the water carries solids, a strainer ahead of the meter protects it.
- Pick the electronics for the signal you need — the tee sensor is a two-wire raw-pulse device; pair it with a 300-series transmitter for a 4–20 mA, scaled-pulse or relay output, an FC-5000 display for local rate / total, or the Series 380DS path for energy. Use the input form to tell us where the reading goes and we’ll match the electronics.
To size & select the right Irrigation PVC Tee 735:
Use the input form to send your pipe size and material, the fluid with its temperature and pressure, and the flow range — with whether you need a local display, an analog or pulse output, or a Modbus / BACnet signal — and we’ll spec the insertion style or tee, the wetted materials and the electronics.
Flow Meter Application Sheet ›Talk to an engineer directly — Scott Prater, Principal · 917-580-0878 · scott@pratertechnical.com
Specifications compiled by Prater Technical Partners from Badger Meter Data Industrial impeller flow-sensor product literature.