Product Overview
The PVDF (Kynar) Industrial Oval Gear meter is the body to reach for when the fluid eats metal — acids, caustics, solvents and bleach / hypochlorite. The PVDF housing and cover ride on a Hastelloy-C spindle, and it measures the same way as the metal bodies: paired oval rotors sweep a fixed volume per revolution, so it reads actual volume directly with ±0.03% repeatability and no sensitivity to viscosity shifts. The plastic body is rated to 230 psi at 14 to 140°F and is offered in 1/4 in. (including low-flow), 3/4 in. and a 1 in. high-flow body in NPT and BSP, reading from about 0.01 to 45 gpm. Accuracy is ±1.5% of reading above 5 cP. Rotors come in 316L stainless, Ryton or Vectra and seals in Viton, Aflas, Kalrez or EPDM matched to the chemical, and it accepts the local ILR display, the ER-420 counter, the ER-500 monitor or an F-series register, with intrinsically safe sensors for classified areas.
Other Industrial Oval Gear bodies & registers
Stainless 316L Oval Gear — widest compatibility, to 3,000 psi, flange & Tri-Clamp
Aluminum Oval Gear — lighter, lower-cost body for petroleum & fuel
High-Flow Oval Gear — 1 in. high-flow body to ~45 gpm
ILR Registers & Sensors — local display, pulse & 4–20 mA
ER-500 Flow Monitor — alarms, ~6-yr battery; Modbus RTU on the ER-500A
Key Features & Benefits
- Handles fluids that destroy metal meters — the PVDF body and cover and the Hastelloy-C spindle resist acids, caustics, solvents and bleach that corrode aluminum and even stainless
- True volume on a chemical line — it measures actual dispensed volume directly, so chemical dosing and batching are accurate without a separate density or velocity correction
- Reading unaffected by viscosity — dosing additives and polymers that thicken with temperature does not shift the calibration the way it would on a turbine
- Light and easy to install — the plastic body is light and reads in any orientation with no straight run — suited to skid-mounted chemical-feed packages
- Intrinsically safe sensor options — NAMUR and open-collector IS sensors let it dose flammable solvents in classified areas
- Field-recalibratable — the electronic register stores the calibration factor and can be reprogrammed in the field as the chemistry changes
Specifications
- Measurement principle
- Positive displacement — paired oval rotors mesh in the metering chamber and sweep a fixed volume of fluid per revolution; magnets on the rotor ends trip a sensor in the register, so the rotation count is a true volume measurement
- Service / fluids
- The all-plastic body for aggressive chemicals — acids, caustics, solvents, bleach / hypochlorite and other fluids that corrode metal; a PVDF housing with a Hastelloy-C spindle gives broad chemical resistance
- Accuracy
- ±1.5% of reading on fluids above 5 cP; ±2.5% below 5 cP
- Repeatability
- ±0.03%
- Flow range
- 0.01 to about 45 US GPM (0.04 to 170 l/min) across the offered PVDF sizes, from the 1/4 in. low-flow body at the bottom to the 1 in. high-flow body at the top
- Sizes
- 1/4 in. (and 1/4 in. low-flow), 3/4 in. and the 1 in. high-flow body. (The 1/2 in. and plain 1 in. bodies are metal-only — not offered in PVDF)
- Viscosity
- To 1,000 mPas with standard rotors; to 500,000 mPas with the high-viscosity (HV) modified rotors
- Body material
- Kynar (PVDF) — all-plastic housing and cover
- Rotor materials
- 316L stainless, Ryton (PPS) or Vectra (LCP), selected to the fluid
- Spindle / bearings
- Hastelloy-C spindle (standard on all PVDF meters)
- O-rings / seals
- Viton, Aflas, Kalrez or EPDM o-rings, matched to the chemical
- Process / fluid temperature
- 14 to 140°F (−10 to 60°C)
- Pressure rating
- 230 psi (16 bar). Higher ratings on request
- Process connections
- NPT and BSP threaded
- Registers / outputs
- Meter-mounted ILR-700 / 701 / 750 local display (pulse and 4–20 mA on the 750), the ER-420 4–20 mA counter, the ER-500 flow monitor, or the advanced F-series; NAMUR / PNP / NPN / reed / Hall sensor boards for raw pulse
- Hazardous-area sensors
- Intrinsically safe NPN / PNP open-collector and NAMUR sensors — Class I, II and III, Division 1 (Groups A–G) in the USA and Canada, with ATEX and IECEx Ex ia IIC approvals
- Options
- High-viscosity (HV) rotors; 5-point calibration report; linearization with 5-point report (ILR-750 / ILR-701); silicone-free build; meter serialization
- Certifications / documentation
- Certificate of Conformance; NIST-traceable calibration certificate
- Calibration
- Factory-calibrated and field-recalibratable through the electronic register; 5-point calibration report available as a documented option to be specified at time of order
Common Applications
- Acid, caustic and solvent dosing and batching in chemical processing
- Sodium hypochlorite, polymer and coagulant chemical feed in water and wastewater treatment
- Corrosive additive injection on blending and dilution skids
- Bleach and cleaning-chemical dispensing
- Aggressive-reagent metering on packaged dosing systems
For non-corrosive oils, fuels and higher-pressure or higher-temperature service, the 316L stainless or aluminum bodies carry the higher ratings and the full size range.
Design & Selection Considerations
- Chemistry and pressure set the body — the body alloy is the first decision and it is fluid-driven: 316L stainless is the industrial workhorse, the highest-pressure body with the widest fluid compatibility; 6061 aluminum is the lighter, lower-cost body for petroleum, lubricants and fuel where the fluid is aluminum-compatible; and Kynar (PVDF) is the all-plastic body (Hastelloy-C spindle) for acids, caustics and solvents that attack metal. Pressure capability follows the body alloy, and it also falls as the size grows and as you move from threaded to flanged ports, so the alloy and the connection are decided together. Use the input form to give us the fluid and the working pressure together and we’ll set the body and the connection.
- Viscosity sets the rotor; chemistry sets the wetted stack — standard rotors handle fluids to 1,000 mPas; for greases, heavy oils, polymers and adhesives the high-viscosity (HV) modified rotors run to 500,000 mPas — an order option on the same body, not a separate model. Within the meter the rotor and o-ring materials are matched to the fluid, so the whole wetted path is spec’d to service. Use the input form to tell us the fluid and its viscosity at operating temperature and we’ll specify standard or HV rotors with the right seals.
- It is a positive-displacement meter — no straight run, any orientation — because the measurement is mechanical displacement rather than velocity, the meter needs no upstream straight pipe run or flow conditioning, reads true in any orientation and in tight pipework, and is unaffected by viscosity shifts and pulsating flow. That is the opposite of a turbine or paddlewheel, whose reading moves with the flow profile. It is the meter for accurate batching and totalizing where a velocity meter would need pipe it does not have.
- Keep the fluid reasonably clean — the oval rotors mesh on close tolerances, so abrasive grit and hard particulate are the wear enemy — a strainer ahead of the meter protects the gears on debris-prone fluids, and the meter is not the right choice for abrasive slurries. Use the input form to tell us the fluid’s cleanliness and we’ll advise on upstream filtration.
- Size to the flow, not the pipe — each port size covers its own flow band, with a dedicated low-flow body at the bottom of the range and a high-flow body at the top, and the meter reads its tightest accuracy class in the larger sizes on fluids above 5 cP — so the right size is the one that runs mid-band at your normal flow, not the one that matches the line. Use the input form to send the normal and maximum flow and we’ll pick the size that reads mid-band at your pressure.
- Pick the register for what the reading has to do — the meter mounts a register or sensor on top, and the choice follows the host: a local display at the meter (ILR family), a remote analog counter (ER-420), a monitor with alarms and a fieldbus (ER-500), or the advanced F-series for HART, RS-485 or batch control — with intrinsically safe sensors where the area is classified. Use the input form to tell us the output, protocol, power and area classification and we’ll configure the register into the part number.
To size & select the right PVDF (Kynar) oval-gear meter:
Use the input form to send your fluid, its viscosity at operating temperature, the normal and maximum flow, the line size and the working pressure — with any corrosion or hazardous-area requirement — and we’ll spec the body alloy, rotors, seals, connection and the ILR, ER or F-series register for your application.
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 Industrial Oval Gear positive-displacement meter product literature.