Flow Meter – Case Study 

Have you ever seen an error message pop up on your equipment? Did you bang your head against the wall trying to figure out what the error message was? A brewery in Tennessee was having issues with their flow meter and/or controls system on their kegging line. Kegs were overfilling, then underfilling. The readings on the flowmeter were erratic and they were having to start and stop the process manually. The process was so troublesome that the brewer was intentionally overfilling kegs just to make sure they were not shorting their customers. The brewer was getting an ‘Error 900’ message, but after scouring their paperwork and the internet, no one could find that error message ANYWHERE! The kegging system was a European system with a European flow meter. The brewer was resigned to the fact that he was going to have to pay a technician to come from Europe to help identify and fix the flowmeter.

The M.G. Newell salesman and calibration technician stepped in to take a look at the process. When they first arrived, the system was down for cleaning. They took that opportunity to research the process and the equipment. The next day, they returned and spent an hour observing the process when they spotted the problem. The solution was short! Literally, a short – a loose wire on the back of the flowmeter. The M.G. Newell salesman made suggestions of how to proceed to identify the exact wire and how to fix it. Two days later, a follow up text from the brewer stated that they were up and running consistently – no overfilling, no underfilling. They were hitting their fill target exactly! He saved money on the service call and he doesn’t have to give away extra beer for free.

We all get frustrated when things don’t run the way you expect. Our engineers, sales team and calibration technicians have many years of experience across a wide range of equipment and processes. You won’t find much that they haven’t seen before. We are happy to share that experience with you. Contact one of our associates to see how We Make It Work Better.