Paddle wheel

Paddle flow meter, paddle wheel flowmeters A paddle flowmeter (also known as a paddlewheel flow meter) uses a very simple method to determine the amount of fluid flow. This type of sensor has a paddlewheel that is placed directly in the fluid flow so that it can rotate freely as the fluid passes it. The faster the fluid flows past it, the faster the paddle wheel rotates. Each paddle or web of the paddlewheel has a magnet mounted in it so that a sinusoidal waveform is produced when it passes the detector mounted in the head of the sensor. A frequency-to-voltage converter is used to convert the sine wave signal to a variable-voltage signal. It should be noted that in order for a paddle flowmeter to measure properly, it must be mounted in a straight run of piping. The paddlewheel is a low-cost sensor used in applications that do not require a high degree of accuracy.