Hi folks, good to see something like this unit get off the ground. We install OFF grid wind and Anaerobic digestion mini AD plants. they produce methane. We are installing a beta model in Ireland soon .We need to monitor the gas output in m3 remotely. Some models of commercial gas meters have a pulse counter installed. E.g Elster BK-G6U10. Does any body have experience of a compatible gas meter that connects to the Base unit. I am aware there is a IR pulse counter available. Many thanks for all your help, keep up the good work .
see for meter http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Elster-BK-G6-U10-1-Natural-Gas-Meter-Domestic-Industrial-Houses-Schools-etc-/121491993837?var=&hash=item1c497cb4ed:m:mFtW4FYTqwDt-qrHfxlSqrg
The emonPi does of course have a pulse input, but generally, we don’t connect directly to an emonBase, but either to an emonTx or emonTH. You can use a GPIO input on a Raspberry Pi, but that is not a standard configuration that is supported off-the-shelf, either in hardware or software.
To get a pulse from other types of (mechanical) gas meter, we usually have to resort to a reed switch, hopefully found on the fastest drum of the register. There’s quite a lot about this, including the problem of contact bounce, in the ‘Archived’ forums.
If your meter has a piece of metal on the “6” of the last digit that reflects the IR light, then you can use something like I did with an IR sensor, a schmitt trigger and a Wemos board.
See Measuring gas consumption · daturach/Documentation Wiki · GitHub for more info.
It works pretty well when you have correctly set the Schmitt Trigger levels.
Walter
Hi thanks for the reply. I have ordered the gear and will give it a go and post the type of meter i used. I have been using some American/Ukranian Pi monitors with current shunts and J type thermouples. Its a stand alone unit with a small UPS . Take care.
Hi John
I have an Elster gas meter which has an internal magnet inside the first digit wheel. If the front face has “Imp= 0,01m^3” it would suggest your meter does also have the magnet fitted.
The company do make a reed switch module which will give you a closing contact which will give you one impulse for every 0.01 cubic meter. The module is an IN-Z61 however several people have done a DIY detector using either a miniature reed switch or a solid state (Hall) magnet sensor.
meter interface INZ61_it.pdf (323.5 KB)
Hope this helps.
Graham