[labnetwork] Nitrogen Gas Flow Meters

[Morrison, Richard H., Jr.]

Hi George,

We have been using N2 flow meters for the last 4 years here at Draper, they are totalizing flow meters from Sage Metering, model SRG-100. The units are located on the main trunk lines to 5 different labs.
The meters cost about $4K each, they use a RF comms link to report back to a central unit. We had a bypass installed on each meter so we can calibrate the meters without shutting of the lab space. The install cost per meter was around $2500 for each meter.

So each lab is billed on a monthly basis for the N2 that they use. So we know how much N2 was delivered. we know how much total was used (central unit report). We then divide the cost per month by the CFM delivered gets us $/CFM. Then each lab pays for CFM usage, and since we use the $$ delivered price everyone shares in the boil off amount.

Rick


Rick Morrison
Senior Member Technical  Staff
Group Leader Microfabrication Operations
Draper Laboratory
555 Technology Square
Cambridge, MA  02139

W  617-258-3420
C   508-930-3461



From: labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu [mailto:labnetwork-bounces at mtl.mit.edu] On Behalf Of George P. Watson
Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 4:15 PM
To: labnetwork at mtl.mit.edu
Subject: [labnetwork] Nitrogen Gas Flow Meters

Dear Labnetwork members,
Our engineering school Nitrogen cost has risen dramatically and our method of dividing the cost (mostly guessing everyone's usage) has become outdated.  We would like to meter each lab and facility to more fairly assign the cost.  Has anyone had experience installing and using these meters?
Can you recommend a meter capable of maintaining the N2 purity?  How much does such a meter cost, and how much is installation and hookup for remote readout?
What happens if there is a wide range of N2 flow rate, both from lab to lab, and at various times within one lab?  Will one meter meet our needs?
How do you monitor the N2 use?  Do you read flow totals from the units themselves, or are they connected to a network?
Thanks in advance,

Pat

George Patrick Watson (Pat), Ph.D.
Director of Operations
PRISM Micro/Nano Fabrication Laboratory
E-Quad J301A
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544
gwatson at princeton.edu<mailto:gwatson at princeton.edu>
(609) 258 4626
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://mtl.mit.edu/pipermail/labnetwork/attachments/20120628/d7b99d21/attachment.html>