Greyline Instruments PDFM 5.1 User manual

USER'S GUIDE
Installation & Operation
Instructions
Portable Doppler Flow Meter
Model PDFM 5.1
Manual Series A.1.1

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
INDEX
BATTERY.................................................................................................................4
CONNECTIONS.......................................................................................................4
KEYPAD SYSTEM ..................................................................................................5
CALIBRATION MENU ...........................................................................................6
MESSAGE ICON......................................................................................................7
STATUS....................................................................................................................7
PASSWORD..............................................................................................................8
UNITS/MODE...........................................................................................................9
CALIBRATION........................................................................................................10
DATA LOGGING.....................................................................................................11
SPECIAL FUNCTIONS............................................................................................12
SENSOR MOUNTING LOCATION........................................................................14
FIELD TROUBLESHOOTING................................................................................18
COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS............................................................20
APPLICATIONS HOTLINE.....................................................................................22
PRODUCT RETURN PROCEDURE.......................................................................22
FLOW METER DATA SHEET................................................................................23
LIMITED WARRANTY...........................................................................................24
SPECIFICATIONS....................................................................................................25
APPENDIX A - CONVERSION TABLE.................................................................27
PIPE CHARTS ..........................................................................................................28
IMPORTANT NOTE: This instrument is manufactured and calibrated to meet product specifications.
Please read this manual carefully before installation and operation. Any unauthorized repairs or
modifications may result in a suspension of the warranty.
If this product is not used as specified by the manufacturer, protection may be impaired.
Available in Adobe Acrobat pdf format

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
BATTERY
- A built-in rechargable NiMH battery supplies power for 18 hours continuous operation when fully
charged.
- Display brightness is adjustable to conserve power.
- State of charge is shown for normal use, sleep mode and charging.
- When switched OFF with the AC power module connected the flashing battery indicates charging,
solid battery shows fully charged.
- The PDFM 5.1 will switch off automatically when the battery is fully discharged.
- Full charge requires approximately 6 hours charging.
- Sleep mode extends battery life for long term data logging. Maximum log time is 18 days at 5 minute
sample rate.
CONNECTIONS
SENSOR
Use type PSE4 supplied with 12 ft (4 m) cable. Optional 50 ft (15 m) extension cable available.
4-20mA
Active only when powered by AC charger, maximum load 500 ohm.
USB
Cable Part #USB-PD is supplied for connecting the PDFM 5.1 to a PC or laptop.
POWER
An AC powered 15 volt DC power module is supplied for battery charging and continuous use.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
KEYPAD SYSTEM
The following diagram shows the PDFM 5.1 menu system. Arrows show the four directions to leave a
menu box. Pressing a corresponding keypad arrow will move to the next item in the direction shown.
Move the cursor (highlighted) under numerals and increase or decrease numerals with the and 
keys.
To store calibration values permanently, press the .

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
CALIBRATION MENU

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
MAIN DISPLAY
The main display shows the units selected from the Units/Mode menu, Flow or
Velocity rate being measured, TOTALIZER. The PDFM 5.1 will start-up with
this display.
Message is waiting. (Animated)
Unit plugged into charger.
Data logging is .off Data logging is . (Animated)on
(Animated when charging)
Battery
0% Battery 25% Battery 50% Battery 75% Battery 100%
MESSAGE ICON
Press from the MAIN display to view error/warning messages provided by the
instrument. The Message icon will appear on the MAIN display if error messages
are being generated by the instrument. Press to return to the main display.
STATUS
Press from the MAIN display to view instrument status. Velocity will be
displayed in ft/sec or m/sec.
Tot Displays the current totalizer reading.
Signal Cutoff Adjust the setting in percent to suppress flow readings at
zero flow when fluid swirling or pipe vibration may
cause the instrument to continue reading. Example:
Signal Cutoff at 5% will force the display and outputs to
zero when signal strength drops below 5%.
Signal Strength Displays percentage of signal being received by the ultrasonic
sensor.
20mA at Displays the flow rate set as 20mA in the Calibration
menu. Press to return to the main display.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
24 HR LOG
Press from the MAIN display to view a formatted flow report from instruments
with a built-in data logger. Press to scroll down one day or repeatedly to scroll
to a specific date. Up to 365 days can be stored. Newest date will overwrite the
oldest. Press to return to the main display.
PASSWORD
The password (a number from 0000 to 9999) prevents unauthorized access to the
Calibration menu.
From the Main display press the key to get to Password. Factory default
password is 0000 and if it has not been changed press the to proceed to the
Menu Selections screen.
If a password is required, press to place the highlight under the first digit and 
or to set the number, then to the second digit, etc. Press or to proceed
to the Menu Selections screen.
A new password can be stored by going to Special Functions/New Password.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
UNITS/MODE
From Mode press the and then the or to select Flow or Velocity.
Flow mode displays the flow rate in engineering units (e.g. gpm, litres/sec, etc.)
Press the to store your selection then the to the next menu item and to
enter.
From Linear press the key and then the or to select your units of
measurement. Press the to store your selection.
Press the key to move the symbol to each subsequent menu item and the to
save your selections.
Note: the volume selection "bbl" denotes U.S. oil barrel.
Press or to return to the Menu Selections screen.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
CALIBRATION
Press the to Calibration and to enter. Use or to position before
each menu item and to enter. When settings are completed press to store and
return to the Calibration menu.
*20mA at Press then or to change the numbers and decimal point.
Use this menu to set the corresponding flow rate that will be
represented by 20mA analog output. If maximum flow is
unknown, enter an estimated flow rate and observe actual flow to
determine the correct maximum value. Any velocity or flow rate
up to +40 ft/sec (12.2 m/sec) may be selected.
*4mA at Press or to set the flow rate corresponding to 4mA analog
output. This setting may be left at zero flow (or velocity or can
be raised to any value less than the 20mA setting, or lowered to
any velocity or corresponding flow rate down to -40 ft/sec (-12.2
m/sec).
Min Vel Press and enter a minimum velocity cutoff. Forward and
reverse velocities less than Min Vel will be forced to zero.
Pipe ID Place the highlight under the digits and then or to change
the numbers and decimal point. Pipe ID should be entered as
the exact inside diameter of the pipe where the sensor is
mounted. Refer to the Pipe Charts Appendix in this manual for
inside diameter of common pipe types and sizes.
Damping Increase damping to stabilize readings under turbulent flow
conditions. Decrease for fast response to small changes in flow.
Damping is shown in percentage (maximum is 99%). Factory
default is 20%.
Press to return to Menu Selections.
*Note 4-20mA circuitry is only powered by the AC power module.
To conserve power this output is not active in battery power mode.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
DATA LOGGING
Setup
Select Data Logging from Menu Selections.
Log Site ID Enter a number from 00 to 99. The site ID will become part of
the downloaded file name to help distinguish downloads from
different instruments. Press to store the setting.
Set Date Press or to scroll and select Month, Day and Year.
Press to store the setting.
Set Time Press or to select the current time in Hours, Minutes and
Seconds. Press to store the setting.
Interval Press or to select the logging interval.
Press to store the setting.
Log Select Start then to start logger. Select Stop then to stop
logger. Select Delete then to clear all previous logging
sessions.
RETRIEVE LOG FILE
Install Greyline Logger on your PC or laptop. Refer to the Help menu in the
program for detailed instructions.
- Connect the PDFM 5.1 to the PC using the supplied USB cable.
- Install the USB driver program from the install CD.
- Start the Greyline Logger Software.
- Select "xxxx scan for USB instruments xxxx" in the drop down window at the
top of the main window. PDFM 5.1 will be indicated.
- Click the download icon to start transferring data.
- Downloaded data appears in a pop-up window.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
Language Select English,French or Spanish
Backlight Select High,Medium or Low for continuous
backlight.
Select Key Hi/Lo for high backlight (for 1 minute)
after a keypress and then Lo backlight until a key is
pressed again.
Select Key High,Med or Low for backlight after
a keypress and then backlight off until a key is pressed
again.
Reset Totalizer Press and select Yes to erase and restart the
totalizer at zero.
Negative Totals Select Yes to have reverse flow readings deducted
from the totalizer. Select NO to totalize forward
flow only and ignore reverse flow.
Flo Direction Select On to enable flow direction measurement.
Select Off to disable flow direction measurement.
Select Invert to invert the sense of the flow
measurement.
Cal Constant Scales the velocity reading. Factory value is close to
1.000 for a PSE4-A sensor.
Restore Defaults Select Yes and press to erase all user settings and return
the instrument to factory default settings.
New Password Select any number from 0000 to 9999 and press .
Default setting of 0000 will allow direct access to the
calibration menus. Setting of any password greater
than 0000 will require the password to be entered to
access the calibration menus.
Press to return to Menu Selections.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
SIMULATION
Exercises the 4-20mA.
Test Select Maximum and press to simulate maximum Flow or Velocity and
to output 20mA to the analog channel.
Select Minimum and press to simulate minimum Flow or Velocity and
to output 4mA to the analog channel.
To simulate measurements between minimum and maximum set Test to
Actual and then enter for the flow measurement. The analog output will
respond to the simulated value.
SLEEP MODE
Logging in sleep mode requires a minimum sample time of 30 seconds. Selecting
sleep mode for 10 second sampling rate results in instrument always being
‘awake’.
CHARGING
A flashing battery indicates charging.
A solid battery indicates fully charged.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
SENSOR MOUNTING LOCATION
The position of the sensor is one of the most important considerations for accurate Doppler flow
measurement. The same location guidelines apply to Doppler as most other types of flow meters.
Before permanently mounting a Doppler sensor onsite testing is recommended to determine optimum
mounting position. Use the sensor coupling compound (supplied with each Greyline flow meter, or
petroleum gel, acoustic compound or electrocardiograph gel). Take several readings around the axis of
the pipe and then at several points upstream and downstream from the selected position, checking for
consistent readings. Avoid high or low reading areas. Mount the sensor where consistent (average)
readings were obtained or continue testing on another pipe section.
VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL PIPE - Vertical pipe
runs generally provide evenly distributed flow. On
Horizontal pipes and liquids with high concentrations
of gas or solids, the sensor should be mounted on the
side (3 or 9 o’clock position) to avoid concentrations of
gas at the top of the pipe, or solids at the bottom. For
liquids with minimal gas bubbles (e.g. potable water)
the sensor should be mounted on the top of a horizontal
pipe (12 o’clock position) to obtain the best signal strength.
VELOCITY INCREASING DEVICES: Generally the sensor must be mounted away from flow
disturbances such as valves, pumps, orifice plates, venturis or pipe inlets and discharges which tend to
increase flow velocity. Velocity increasing devices often cause cavitation, or rapid release of gas
bubbles, and readings both up and downstream may show much higher velocity. As a guideline, mount
the sensor at least 20 diameters upstream or 30 diameters downstream from velocity increasing devices.
Required distance from a velocity increasing device will vary in applications depending on the flow
velocity and the characteristics of the liquid itself.
TURBULENCE INCREASING DEVICES: Elbows,
flanged connections and tees tend to introduce
desirable conditions of an evenly distributed flow
profile with some air or gases entrained in the flow.
Sensor mounting 6 pipe diameters upstream and 10
diameters downstream from these disturbances is
generally optimum.
The sensor is designed to mount longitudinally on a straight section of pipe. Do not attempt to mount it
on bends, elbows or fittings.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
SENSOR MOUNTING
Prepare an area 2" wide by 4" long (50mm x 100mm) for sensor bonding by removing loose paint, scale
and rust. The objective of site preparation is to eliminate any discontinuity between the sensor and the
pipe wall, which would prevent acoustical coupling.
A PC4 Sensor Mounting Kit is supplied with each Greyline flow meter. It includes recommended
coupling compound in a plastic applicator and a stainless steel mounting bracket with adjustable pipe
straps.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
SENSOR COUPLING
For permanent or temporary bonding, the following are recommended:
a) Dow Corning silicon compound #4 (supplied)
Additional supply: order Greyline Option CC
b) High Temperature compound
Additional supply: order Greyline Option AP-1W
c) Water-based sonic compound: Order Greyline Option CC30
d) Electrocardiograph gel
e) Petroleum gel (Vaseline)
The above are arranged in their order of preferred application.
d & e are only good for temporary bonding at room temperature.
DO NOT USE: Silicon RTV caulking compound (silicon rubber).
Use the PC4 pipe clamp (supplied) as illustrated above or
use a loop of electrical tape for temporary mounting. Apply
silicon coupling compound #4 to the coloured face of the
sensor. A bead, similar to toothpaste on a toothbrush, is
ideal. Do not overtighten (crush the sensor).
The sensor must be fixed securely to the pipe with coupling material
between the sensor face and the pipe. Sensor installation with
excessive coupling compound can result in gaps or voids in the
coupling and cause errors or loss of signal. Insufficient coupling
compound will create similar conditions.
Over time temporary coupling compounds (e.g. Petroleum Gel) may
gradually sag away from the sensor resulting in reduced signal strength and finally complete loss of
signal. Warm temperatures, moisture and vibration will accelerate this process. Dow Corning Silicone
Compound #4 as supplied with the PDFM 5.1 (and available from Greyline Instruments) is
recommended for semi-permanent installations.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
SENSOR MOUNTING/COUPLING RECOMMENDATIONS

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
FIELD TROUBLESHOOTING
Possible Causes: Corrective Action:
METER READING LOWER THAN EXPECTED
Calibration Error

Review UNITS/MODE menu and Pipe ID
Lower flow rate than expected

Investigate pump/valves. Compare velocity
with alternate instrument
Signal not penetrating far enough into the flow stream

Relocate sensor closer to elbows or flow
disturbances
Improper mounting of sensor

Reinstall Sensor with careful application of
Coupling Compound
Pipe is not full

Remount Sensor on vertical pipe
METER READING WHEN THERE IS NO FLOW
Vibration on pipe

Adjust Status / Signal Cutoff setting
Install in another location
Variable Speed Drive interference

Follow Drive manufacturers wiring and
Grounding instructions
Relocate Flowmeter, Sensor and wiring away
from VSD
Sensor connections incorrect

Refer to Connections diagram
METER READING ERRATIC
Sensor mounted too close to valve, pump or elbow

Change sensor placement. Recommended 6-10
diameters from elbows, and 30 diameters from
pumps, controlling valves, orifice plates,
nozzles or open pipe discharge
NO FLOW INDICATION
Not enough suspended particles or gases in the fluid

Relocate sensor in more turbulent pipe section.
Mount sensor at 12 o'clock position on
horizontal pipe

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
Possible Causes: Corrective Action:
Coupling compound washed out, or sensor loose on
pipe

Remount sensor
Use Dow Corning Silicone #4
METER READING TOO HIGH
Calibration error

Review UNITS/MODE menu and Pipe ID
Vibration or noise on the pipeline

Install in another location.
Pipe is not full

Remount Sensor on vertical pipe
Nearby velocity increasing device (pump, valve, orifice
plate)

Relocate sensor >30 pipe diameters from
velocity increasing device
Variable Speed Drive interference

Follow Drive manufacturers wiring and
Grounding instructions
Relocate Flowmeter, Sensor and wiring away
from VSD
BATTERY CONDITIONING

To restore or condition your PDFM 5.1 battery
for best performance fully discharge the unit
(leave it on with backlight lit until it switches
off) and then charge for 6 hours, disconnect
charger momentarily, reconnect and charge
again for 6 hours.

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PDFM 5.1 Portable Doppler Flow Meter
COMMON QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The pipe vibrates. Will it affect the flow meter?
Common vibration frequencies are far lower than the sonic frequencies used by the Greyline flow meter,
and will not normally affect accuracy or performance. However, applications where very weak Doppler
signal is present (when sensitivity is adjusted to maximum and signal strength is low), accuracy may be
affected by pipe vibration, or the flow meter may show readings under no-flow conditions. Attempt to
relocate the sensor on a pipe section where vibration is reduced, or arrange pipe mounting brackets to
reduce vibration at the sensor mounting location.
The flow meter must be installed in a high noise environment. Will this affect operation?
Greyline flow meters are designed to discriminate between environmental noise and the Doppler signal.
High noise environments may affect the flow meter’s performance where low signal strength and/or low
flow velocities are being measured. Relocate the sensor in a more quiet environment if possible.
Will pipe corrosion affect accuracy of the flow meter?
Yes. Rust, loose paint etc. must be removed from the outside of the pipe to provide a clean mounting
position when installing a Doppler sensor. Severe corrosion/oxidation on the inside of the pipe may
prevent the Doppler signal from penetrating into the flow. If the pipe cannot be cleaned, a spool piece
(PVC recommended) should be installed for sensor mounting.
What effect do pipe liners have on the flow meter?
The air gap between loose insertion liners and the pipe wall prevent the Doppler signal from entering the
flow. Better results can be expected with bonded liners such as cement, epoxy or tar, however an on site
test is recommended to determine if the application is suitable for a Doppler flow meter.
Why is Doppler only recommended for liquids containing suspended solids or gases?
The Doppler sensor transmits sound into the flow stream which must be reflected back to the sensor to
indicate flow velocity. Gas bubbles or suspended solids act as reflectors for the Doppler signal. As a
guideline, Greyline Doppler flow meters are recommended for liquids containing solids or bubbles with
a minimum size of 100 microns and a minimum concentration of 75 ppm. Most applications (except
potable, distilled or deionized water) will meet this minimum requirement.
Can the sensor be submerged in water?
Yes, for short periods of time or by accident, but it is not recommended for continuous operation. The
sensor is constructed to withstand submersion to 10 psi without damage, but external liquid moving in
contact with the sensor can be interpreted as flow and cause false readings.
What is the purpose of the Signal Strength Display?
Doppler signals of very low strength are not accepted or processed by the instrument. This feature
assists in rejection of environmental noise and vibration. Use the display to evaluate signal strength in
your application. Strong signals will increase in percentage to a maximum of 100% or greater.