GPI FM-300H, FM-300HR Owner's Manual

Rev. C 920679-06

5252 East 36th Street North
Wichita, KS USA 67220-3205
TEL: [phone]
FAX: [phone]

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FM-300H and
FM-300HR

Electronic Disc Meter Owner’s Manual

06/10

GENERAL INFORMATION

General Information ............................ 2

Before Installation ............................... 3

Installation .......................................... 3

Before Each Use ................................. 3

Operation ............................................ 4

Calibration .......................................... 5

Maintenance ....................................... 6

Troubleshooting ............................. 9-10

Illustrated Parts List .......................... 11

Specifications ................................... 12

Service .............................................. 12

TABLE OF CONTENTS

This manual assists you in operating and
maintaining your meter. Please take a few
moments to acquaint yourself with the
information here.

If you need assistance, contact the dealer
from whom you pur chased your meter.

If You Measure in Litres

This manual commonly refers to “gal­lons.” If your meter is factory calibrated in
litres, consider all references to “gallons”
apply equally to “litres.”

This symbol is used throughout
the manual to call your attention
to safety messages.

Warnings alert you
to the potential for
personal injury.

Cautions call your
attention to prac­tices or procedures
which may cause
damage to your
equipment.

Notes give you information that can

improve efficiency of opera tions.

It is your responsibility to:

• make sure all operators have access to
adequate instructions about safe op­erating and maintenance procedures.

• know and follow all safety precau­tions as specified by your chemical
manufacturer for handling of the fluid
being metered.

Read Me!

For your safety, review the major warn­ings and cautions below before operating
your meter.

1. This meter is approved to handle
water, pesticides, fertilizers, and
most industrial fluids. Do not use for

gasoline, diesel or other fluids. Do not

use this meter with flammable liquids.

To the owner…

Congratulations on receiving your GPI
Electronic Disc Meter. We are pleased to
provide you with a meter designed to give
you maximum reliability and efficiency.

Our business is the design manufacture,
and marketing of liquid handling, agri­cultural, and recreational products. We
succeed because we provide customers
with innovative, reliable, safe, timely, and
competitively-priced products. We pride
ourselves in conducting our business with
integrity and professionalism.

We are proud to provide you with a qual­ity product and the support you need to
obtain years of safe, dependable service.

President

Great Plains Industries, Inc.

2

WARNING

CAUTION

3

2. When handling hazardous chemicals,
always follow the chemical manu­facturer’s safety precautions. Wear
protective clothing such as goggles,
gloves, and respirators, as instructed.

3. To avoid damage, DO NOT blow
compressed air through the meter.

Your electronic disc meter is designed
for measuring a wide range of chemicals.
The meter translates flow data from the
nutator disc into calibrated units shown
on the meter’s readout. A field replace­able battery provides power.

Upon receipt, examine your meter for
visible damage. Remove protective plugs
and caps for a thorough inspection. If any
items are damaged or missing, contact
your distributor.

To avoid damage, DO NOT blow
compressed air through the meter.

If the meter is located in a rigid piping
system where the fluid is trapped (for
example, by gravity, valves or nozzles)
thermal expansion of the fluid can create
pressure spikes that can damage a meter.
Install a thermal relief valve or otherwise
allow for thermal expansion of the fluid.

Connect Battery

To save power, this meter is shipped with
the battery disconnected. Before using,
connect the battery using the instruc­tions below:

1. Remove the two large and two small
screws from the battery coverplate
located on the lower portion of the
meter face.

2. Remove the battery and plug into
battery connections. When con­nected properly, numbers appear in
the meter readout.

BEFORE INSTALLATION

INSTALLATION

3. Replace the gasket and battery
cover and tighten securely. Torque
the screws to 9 to 10 in. lbs.

NOTE: To avoid damage to the inlet

and outlet, install this meter ONLY
on plastic hose end or pipe fittings.

1. To protect against leakage, seal all
threads with two or three turns of
Teflon

®

tape or a pipe thread seal­ant compatible with the liquid being
measured. Make sure the Teflon

®

tape or sealant does not interfere
with flow.

2. Hand-tighten the meter onto the fit­tings until snug. (Figure 1)

Figure 1

To avoid damage to the housing,
DO NOT use a wrench.

If the meter has been used before, make
sure it is flushed and cleaned as outlined
in the Maintenance Section.

Press and release the DISPLAY button to
ensure the meter is operating. Numbers
will display from the last use.

BEFORE EACH USE

CAUTION

CAUTION

4

If the display becomes dim, faded or the
low battery message appears (see below),
battery needs to be replaced. Reference
the Maintenance Section for details. Also
check battery terminals for corrosion. To
prevent corrosion from condensation,
coat the terminals with petroleum jelly.

Verify Meter Accuracy

Before using, verify calibration and check
the meter’s accuracy.

1. If desired, hold down DISPLAY for
three seconds to zero the meter’s
Batch Total. When zeros appear,
release the button.

2. Meter an exact known volume into
an accurate container. For best re­sults, meter with one continuous full
stream.

3. Check the readout. If the amount
metered is accurate, field calibra­tion is not needed. If not, refer to
the Calibration Section for further
instructions.

NOTE: Best performance can be ob-

tained by using the factory calibra­tion.

OPERATION

This meter is approved to handle
water, pesticides, fertilizers and
most industrial fluids. Do not use
for gasoline, diesel or other fuels.
Do not use this meter with flam­mable liquids.

WARNING

Computer Display

All operations are reflected in the LCD
readout. The large center digits indicate
amounts, where smaller words or “icons”
located above and below indicate
specific information regarding totals, flow,
calibration and units of measure.

Activate the Meter

Computer is on continuously and always
ready to perform. The computer is
powered by a field replaceable battery.
When display becomes dim, faded or the
low battery message appears, the battery
needs to be replaced. Reference the
Maintenance Section for details.

Batch and Cumulative Totals

The computer maintains two totals. The
Cumulative Total provides continuous
measurement and cannot be manually
reset. The Batch Total can be reset to
measure flow during a single use. The
Cumulative Total is labeled TOTAL 1,
Batch Total is labeled TOTAL 2 BATCH.

When the Cumulative Total reaches a
display reading of 999,999 the computer
will highlight an X10 icon. This indicates to
the operator that a zero must be added to
the 6 digits shown. When the next rollover
occurs, the computer will highlight an
X100 icon. This indicates to the operator
that two zeros must be added to the 6
digits shown.

Press the DISPLAY button briefly to switch
between the TOTAL 1, TOTAL 2 BATCH
and FLOWRATE (if applicable). Press
DISPLAY briefly to display the TOTAL 2
BATCH. Hold the DISPLAY button for 3
seconds to reset the Batch Total to zero.

When fluid is flowing through the meter, a
small propeller icon is highlighted.

5

CALIBRATION

Flowrate Feature

Some models have of Rate of Flow
mode. To use this feature, press and
release DISPLAY until FLOWRATE icon
appears. The factory set time base will
be highlighted to the right of FLOWRATE
(M = minutes). When FLOWRATE is
invoked, the display will be indicating
rate of flow.

Factory and Field Calibration

All calibration information is visible to the
user as icons on the top line of the display,
above the numeric digits.

All units are configured with a “factory”
calibration. Some models are calibrated
with gallons (GL) and others calibrated
with litres (LT). This factory calibration
(indicated with FAC) is permanently
programmed into the computer and is
not user adjustable.

The “field” calibration may be set by the
user, and can be changed or modified at
any time using the calibration procedure
described in the Calibration Section.
Totals or flowrate derived from the field
calibration are invoked when the FAC
icon is no longer visible on the top line
of the display.

Field Calibration

Factory calibration settings are custom­programmed into each flowmeter during
production, and are correct for light fluids
such as water or heavier liquids like pesti­cides or light oil. However, readings using
the standard factory calibration curves
may not be accurate in some situations –
variations in chemical formulation, viscos­ity, temperature, and flowrates all effect
meter accuracy. To ensure accuracy, it is
important to check accuracy frequently
and field calibrate when necessary.

Field Calibration Procedures
(Dispense/Display Method)

1. To field calibrate, press and hold the
CALIBRATE and DISPLAY buttons
for about 3 seconds until you see
FLdCAL. Release both buttons and
you will see dd000.0. You are now in
the field calibration mode.

2. Dispense a known amount of fluid
at a flowrate representative of the
application. Any amount between .1
and 999.9 units can be used. Display
will count up while fluid is flowing
through the meter.

3. The DISPLAY button can then be
pushed to select the digit location
and the CALIBRATE button can be
pushed to scroll the desired value at
the blinking position. Edit the amount
shown with the value that was dis­pensed above. Values from 000.1 to

999.9 can be entered.

4. When satisfied with the value, press
both CALIBRATE and DISPLAY but­tons simultaneously. CALEnd will
be displayed and unit will go back
to normal operation, less the FAC
(factory calibration) icon.

5. The meter will now be operating with
a custom calibration number unique
to the above dispense procedure. No
unit of measure (gallon, litre, etc.) icon
will be highlighted.

NOTE: If the field calibration mode is

entered and NO fluid is dispensed,
then upon leaving, the computer will
use data from the last successful field
calibration.