Protect Your Pressure Gauge With a Gauge Protector

Protect Your Pressure Gauge With a Gauge Protector

Many piping systems are heavily dependent on pressure gauges for monitoring and maintenance.gauge protetor And while a gauge can be incredibly useful, the device can also be delicate and susceptible to damage without the proper protection. This is especially true in fire protection applications, where sudden, brief pressure spikes are common. If a bourdon-tube gauge, or any other type of pressure instrument, is subjected to excessive system pressure for too long, its internal components can be permanently broken. Fortunately, there is a way to prevent this: the gauge protetor.

Every pressure gauge has a maximum working range that it can operate within safely.gauge protetor This is printed front-and-center on the dial or face of any analog or digital pressure gauge, and it’s a good idea to select a unit with a higher maximum rating than your expected system operating pressure to provide a cushion against damaging overpressure. Some manufacturers also list an additional figure on data sheets called proof pressure. This number, which is reported as a percentage of the gauge’s full-scale rated pressure range, indicates how close to the maximum pressure limit the device can operate without damaging its inner components.

The concept of proof pressure doesn’t really apply to many analog gauges, which rely on the movement of a bourdon tube (a flattened circular tube coiled into a circle) to turn a needle on a dial.gauge protetor But even digital models, which utilize the movement of a diaphragm or pressure transducer under pressure to control electrical output, have limits that can be exceeded. If the device is pushed past these physical limits, it can be damaged and the numbers will freeze or reset.

Fortunately, most gauges don’t come close to their proof pressure during normal operation.gauge protetor Damaging overpressure usually occurs when the pressure surges rapidly, often for two reasons: a valve is opened suddenly or a pump is fired up and ramped up quickly. These brief spikes can produce an enormous amount of fluid pressure, well above the gauge’s maximum rated pressure, in a very short period of time.

The gauge protetor is designed to isolate pressure instruments from system pressure using a sealing mechanism. It separates piping and process media from the instrument to prevent debris, corrosive chemicals or liquids containing suspended solids from entering the gauge. In addition to protecting the gauge from damage and clogging, the gage protector can also help prevent costly repairs by eliminating the need for special alloy gauges for ultra-pure and highly-corrosive applications.

Tags:dual pointer pressure gauge | electronic strain gauge load cell