Optical sensor (pulse for gas meter)

Getting Started FAQ
1

hi! Im very interesting in buying an Optical Utility Meter LED Pulse Sensor
will it work with any gas meter that has a pulse?
this is my gas meter (this is what it looks like)
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2

Hello Dave, and welcome aboard.

Yes, the sensor should work with your meter provided it puts out optical pulses.

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3

Don’t believe the “TTL” part in the description - it isn’t true TTL, it is an amplified and clipped version of the light sensor’s analogue output, and as such it does not have defined output levels. It does work normally, but it can be influenced by ambient light, so your meter needs to be in a shaded location.

There’s a lot written about it here: First try with EmonPi - Pulsecount stuck at 1 - #16 by Robert.Wall and Adjusting sensitivity of Optical Pulse Sensor - #21 by Kempson

4

thanks for the responses! do i need to be a developer to use one of these? I did find this article that explains the different pulse reading from various smart meters pge uses

if it doesnt work i wouldnt cry to much if im out $150, but i love that its all local and sends data to homeassistant over mqtt if thats configurable as well, i just need to find out what model my gas meter is right?

5

Here’s some info about monitoring gas usage via pulse counting:

https://learn.openenergymonitor.org/other-utilities/water-and-gas/introduction

6

I wouldn’t say so, but you do need to understand how you convert the pulse count to meaningful units in whichever CMS you use.

Do I take it your meter does not have an inbuilt optical pulse output, and the $150 you refer to is to add a pulse option to your meter? It wouldn’t surprise me that it doesn’t do that - because there’s no internal source of electrical energy in the meter, our (UK) smart meters rely on batteries and I believe report only half-hourly or hourly due to battery life constraints.

Looking at the data sheet you linked to, it appears that you do not need our optical pulse sensor with it. It looks to me as if the “pulser” itself provides electrical contacts and the IS Barrier is there to prevent enough energy to ignite the gas being provided by whatever it is that you feed the pulses into.
(N.B. I’ve worked around the mining industry so this is somewhat familiar to me.)