Alcoholic Flowmeters... Or rather, flow meters for use on alcohols. It is December after all.
The UK brewing industry has increased by around 60% over the past few years. There are now estimated to be around 3000+ micro-breweries in the UK alone, 300 of which were only started in the past year. This may be in part to tax breaks that were introduced – small breweries who produce less than 600,000 hectolitres each year (about 10-11 million pints) , qualify for a discount on the amount of duty they pay. Very small breweries who produce only 5,000 hectolitres each year, pay only 50 per cent of the duty compared to larger producers. This was called ‘the small breweries relief scheme. Time to change from manufacturing flow meters to producing beer perhaps? Maybe they will introduce a ‘small flowmeter manufacture relief scheme’. Similar things can be said of Gin, with the number of distilleries topping the 300 mark. A total number of 47 million bottles were sold in the past 12 months.
Where do Nixon Flowmeters' range of flow meters fit into all this?
We have two, fully certified, flow meters that can be used in hygienic applications. Our BNO series Turbine flow meters & also the Flomid Electromagnetic flowmeter. For this particular blog, we will discuss the benefits of using our Turbine Flow meter.
BNO series Turbine Flowmeter
The BNO series Turbine flow meters have been designed especially for use in the liquid food industries. The operating principle of the BNO series Turbine Flowmeter is the same as our NT industrial Turbine flowmeter but, has a slightly different type of construction. This is to ensure the absence of any bug traps & crevices where bacteria can lodge & breed.
Advantages
• Minimum of bacteria breeding crevices
Unlike our NT industrial version, the BNO flow meter has a special construction, with stepped hangers (reducing the contact area between the internal bore of the flow meter) that contain a fixed spindle and a free spinning Rotor. This ensures the absence bacteria forming crevices
• Hygienic materials of construction
Made entirely from 316L Stainless Steel, with PTFE Carbon graphite bearing bush – All FDA approved materials.
• Steam Sterilizing
The BNO turbine flow meters are suitable for both SIP (sterilization in place) & also CIP (clean in place) applications. The contact parts (see above) are suitable for use on Steam & also Hydrogen peroxide cleaning methods.
• High accuracy & repeatability.
A turbine flowmeter is accurate to +/- 0.5% of reading & has a repeatability of +/- 0.1% of reading. This makes them ideal for batching & totalising applications.
• Portability
The BNO flowmeters have a self- generating pulse output, which means they can be supplied with a battery powered display unit, for example our 100 series. This means a completely self-contained package, with no external power supplies needed. The following image shows our model BNO 1000, with 1” Tri-clamp ends & the F110 display mounted directly on top.
• There are a wide variety of end connections available.
Machined from solid 316L Stainless Steel bar, the BNO flowmeters can be supplied with a wide range of hygienic end couplings. For example, tri-clamp, RJT, Din 11851, ISS etc. We can machine your preferred type/size.