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Quick Answer: Silver Automation Instruments heavy-duty volumetric mechanical meters for oil transfer handle DN15 to DN150 lines. Expect ±0.2 percent of reading accuracy for fuel oil, lube oil, heavy crude, and diesel, with a mechanical totalizer and optional 4-20 mA HART output. Send us your oil viscosity, pipe size, flow range, and pressure for a quote.
Oil transfer metering works better with direct volume measurement. A positive displacement meter traps a known oil volume between rotating gears and counts each pass. The total shows on a mechanical register. Because the register is mechanical, it works at truck loading racks, fuel depots, and barge offloading points without external power.
Silver Automation Instruments supplies heavy-duty volumetric mechanical meters for oil transfer in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Common sites include marine fuel transfer skids, lubricant blending lines, crude oil loading terminals, and diesel storage depots.
Turbine meters lose accuracy when oil viscosity shifts. A positive displacement meter does not. It measures volume directly, so a change from 5 cSt diesel to 380 cSt heavy fuel oil does not change the pass volume. Here is the thing. Most engineers skip this part. The mechanical tolerances set the repeatability, not the flow profile.
For oil transfer, repeatability is often more important than absolute accuracy. A repeatability of ±0.05 percent helps a terminal operator detect batch differences and avoid billing disputes. We recommend oval gear positive displacement meters for clean oil products. Crude oil with wax or sand should use a 40 to 60 mesh Y type strainer on the inlet line.
Silver Instruments positive displacement flow meters cover 0.5 m3/h to 400 m3/h. Sizes go from DN15 to DN150. Pressure ratings start at PN16 and go to PN40 or PN63 for crude oil truck loading and high pressure fuel injection lines.
The body is available in cast steel, aluminum, or 316 stainless steel. Cast steel suits most fuel oil and heavy crude applications. Aluminum works for low pressure diesel and lube oil. Stainless steel handles corrosive oil blends, contaminated fuels, and marine air.
Internal gears come in hardened steel, cast iron, or PPS with ceramic bearings. For heavy fuel oil at 120 °C, choose cast steel and hardened steel gears. For light diesel at ambient temperature, aluminum with PPS gears is enough. Specify viscosity and temperature when you request a quote. This changes internal clearance and bearing selection.
Mechanical totalizers are standard. They show total volume in liters, m3, gallons, or barrels. Field operators can read the dial without a laptop. The meter also has a pulse output from a reed switch or Hall effect sensor. You can connect that pulse to a batch controller, PLC, or remote terminal unit.
These oval gear flow meters handle 1 cP to 100000 cP after viscosity calibration. Light diesel meters at 3 cP. Heavy fuel oil at 50 °C may be 380 cSt. Some vacuum bottoms reach 50000 cP at 80 °C. Meter size changes because high viscosity oils need a larger internal clearance to avoid pressure drop and gear wear.
Last year a customer in Vietnam transferred 40 m3/h of heavy fuel oil on a DN80 line. Viscosity was 380 cSt at 50 °C and line pressure was 12 bar. A DN80 cast steel oval gear meter with hardened steel gears and a mechanical register handled the service. The 4-20 mA HART output went to the depot PLC for remote logging.
Standard meters suit -20 °C to 150 °C. For heavy oil that solidifies below pour point, use a heating jacket on the meter body. The jacket keeps oil above pour point during shutdown. Otherwise the gears can lock on the next startup.
A lubricant blender in Malaysia uses a DN50 meter for base oil transfer at 30 m3/h. A fuel distributor in the Philippines meters diesel into tanker trucks. In Nigeria, a DN100 heavy-duty positive displacement meter runs on a crude oil transfer skid. The meter uses a mechanical counter and a pulse output to a local batch controller.
Marine fuel transfer is another common application. A ship chandler in Singapore meters marine gas oil from a storage tank to supply barges. Salt air is present, so 316 stainless steel housing is a better choice. The mechanical register is enclosed and the pulse output is wired to a small PLC that records each run.
These are field instruments, not laboratory meters. Operators may not have a clean power supply or stable compressed air. Mechanical registers remove one failure point. That is why many oil transfer skids still use a positive displacement meter with a local dial for commercial totals.
Each meter can include a mechanical register, a pulse output, and a 4-20 mA HART transmitter. The register works without power. The pulse output can drive a flow computer or flow totalizer. The 4-20 mA HART signal sends instantaneous flow rate to a PLC or SCADA system. For hazardous areas, choose ATEX Zone 1 rated sensors and transmitters.
Modbus RTU over RS485 is optional. This is useful when the control room is 300 m away. A Modbus link gives total volume, batch total, flow rate, and diagnostic status. But do not replace the mechanical register with a digital display only. Field operators trust a physical totalizer during power failure.
Calibration can be performed on water or on the actual oil. Oil calibration is better for high viscosity products. We can supply a calibration certificate that shows meter factor and repeatability. That certificate is often needed for custody transfer approval by terminal operators and inspectors.
Q: Can a positive displacement meter handle diesel and heavy fuel oil on the same line?
A: Yes, if the viscosity range is defined in advance. The meter is sized for the highest viscosity and the lowest flow rate. A single meter can handle diesel at 5 cSt and heavy fuel oil at 380 cSt, but verify pressure drop and internal clearance.
Q: What pipe sizes do you cover?
A: We cover DN15 to DN150 as standard. Larger meters are available for bulk transfer, but the lead time is longer.
Q: Do these meters need external power?
A: The mechanical register does not need power. The pulse output and 4-20 mA HART transmitter need an external loop supply. You can install the meter with only a mechanical totalizer and add the transmitter later.
Q: Can the meter handle crude oil with wax or sand?
A: Use a Y type strainer upstream. For waxy crude, use a heating jacket and hardened internal parts. For sand or abrasive fines, use ceramic bearings and a larger internal clearance. Do not use a positive displacement meter without inlet straining.
Q: How do I get a quote?
A: Send us your oil type, viscosity in cP or cSt, flow range in m3/h, pipe size in DN, operating temperature in °C, and pressure in bar. We will recommend a heavy-duty volumetric mechanical meter and send a quotation with lead time.
Contact Silver Automation Instruments for heavy-duty positive displacement meters for oil transfer. Tel: +86-25-68650347. Whatsapp: +86-25-52155837. WeChat: +86 15365082610.
