What is a non-magnetic water meter?

Currently, the term "non-magnetic sensing" in water meters is defined in contrast to magnetic sampling; it's a commonly accepted term. Specifically, magnetic sampling refers to the installation of a small magnet on the rotating pointer of the indicator dial in a mechanical water meter, with sampling achieved externally using a reed switch or Hall effect sensor. Non-magnetic means that the rotating pointer does not have this small magnet, but instead uses a metal plate unaffected by magnetism. This technology for collecting the rotation and direction of the metal plate is called non-magnetic sampling. (Note: The metal plate can be made of stainless steel, copper, or other metals unaffected by external magnetic fields.)

Working principle of non-magnetic water meters

The basic principle of non-magnetic water meters is the LC oscillation sensor. In this circuit, by adjusting switch K, a sinusoidal output circuit can be achieved on the LC circuit. The capacitor C is charged through K, and after being fully charged, K is connected to the inductor L. The charge in the capacitor will discharge through L. Due to the energy consumption of the inductor L, a gradually decaying sinusoidal output will be observed. Using this principle, non-magnetic water meters measure water consumption by detecting this sinusoidal decay process.

Advantages of non-magnetic water meters

Non-magnetic water meters can be used for measuring water consumption in homes or industrial settings. They can be integrated into meter reading networks using RS-485 automatic remote meter reading, M-Bus meter bus, and other wireless communication methods. This solution offers strong anti-interference capabilities and ultra-low power consumption.

With the improvement of living standards, residential water consumption is increasing, leading to a demand for more accurate and convenient water metering. Within an acceptable cost range, non-magnetic water meters have become a favored metering product for many water supply departments. Although non-magnetic water meters have not been widely used in China for a long time, we see a strong upward trend, with many manufacturers investing in the development and production of non-magnetic water meters for applications such as household metering and pipeline network monitoring.