Blog posts tagged with 'differential pressure'

Let’s say you need to measure differential pressure for a high temperature gas but the gas is way too hot for a differential pressure gauge to handle on it’s own. What can you do? A customer of ours asked us that very question and our technical support team was able to come up with a unique and cost effective solution. Allow us to introduce our most recent innovation – a differential pressure gauge assembled to two cooling towers:

We know what you’re thinking. Why did we use cooling towers instead of a diaphragm seal on each side? Isn’t that usually how you get the high temperature process away from the gauge to safely read the pressure? Yes, it sure is. However, when going the diaphragm seal route, you would actually have to take the differential pressure gauge and mount a diaphragm seal with capillary to each connection. So in the case of our assembly above, you would need two diaphragm seals and capillary assemblies filled with high temperature silicone on each side of the gauge – which can become quite costly.
In a more moderate and cost effective way, Kodiak’s technical support team suggested cooling the process before it got to the gauge. With this cooling tower approach, you can install the two towers in between the gauge and the process. The way these cooling towers are designed is to dissipate the heat allowing for media to cool at an acceptable level for the gauge to handle. This installation takes 10 minutes top – and a whole heck of a lot less expensive. No fillings needed, no strings attached.
If you’re in a similar situation with a unique application and/or looking for some technical support, give Kodiak a call. We promise to provide our expertise with cost efficient solutions.

For differential pressure applications with caustic or thick medias, mounting a differential pressure gauge directly to the process can be detrimental to the integrity of the gauge.  The wetted material of the gauge may corrode away or the differential gauge could potentially become clogged.

A solution to this problem would be to isolate the wetted parts of a differential gauge by mounting diaphragm seals made of a compatible metal or plastic to the inlet and outlet sides of the differential gauge.  However, unlike a standard pressure gauge with one port, you cannot mount a diaphragm seal directly to the differential gauge because the ports of the gauge are typically too close together to accommodate the size of the diaphragm seal.

A solution to this is to install capillary tubing in between the gauge and the diaphragm seal.  This allows for flexibility during installation, safety from high temperatures or vibration, and room for the diaphragm seals to fit on the gauge.  The entire assembly is a filled system just like a standard gauge mounted on a diaphragm seal.  The air is evacuated from the assembly and replaced with a fluid (usually silicone or glycerin).
For more information on differential gauges and/or mounting instruments to diaphragm seals, contact us.