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Tung Oil Flow Meter and Paint Processing Control
Quick Answer: For tung oil measurement in paint production, choose an oval gear flow meter or a Coriolis mass meter. Tung oil is non-conductive and viscous, so magnetic flow meters will not work. A DN15 oval gear meter from Silver Automation Instruments delivers batch accuracy within 0.5% when paired with a PT100 temperature sensor.
What Makes Tung Oil Different in Paint Plants
Paint manufacturers use tung oil as a natural binder. The oil arrives at 20 °C to 30 °C but can thicken to over 800 cP if the temperature drops. In a small batch mixing process, you might dose 50 litres of tung oil into a reactor. The pump pushes oil through a 15 mm pipe. A standard turbine meter can clog or read low because of the sticky film. We have seen this on customer sites in Vietnam and Thailand. A chemical engineer in Ho Chi Minh City told us his turbine bearings seized after six months. The culprit: polymerised tung oil coating the rotor.
Oval Gear Meter: The Workhorse for Tung Oil Batching
Silver Automation Instruments supplies the OGF series oval gear flow meter for these duties. The meter body is cast iron or 316 stainless steel. Gears rotate in precision chambers. Each pocket traps a known volume. The sensor outputs a pulse for every 0.1 litre. With a PT100 integrated into the meter, the transmitter compensates for viscosity changes. A typical setup: DN15, flow range 0.6 to 60 L/h, max 80 °C, 4-20 mA HART output. The meter mounts directly downstream of the tung oil supply pump. You add a jacket if the oil drops below 15 °C. An ATEX Zone 1 rating is available for solvent-heavy paint areas.
Here is the thing. Oval gear meters do not need straight pipe runs. You can install them right after the pump discharge. That saves space in a cramped paint kitchen. The price is lower than a Coriolis meter. Many OEMs of paint dispensing equipment in Malaysia use our OGF-DN10 and DN15 meters for tung oil and linseed oil lines. They report maintenance intervals of 18 months with a simple mesh strainer upstream.
When to Move Up to a Coriolis Mass Meter
A Coriolis meter measures mass flow directly. It also reads density and temperature. In an automated paint plant, you might need to verify that the tung oil density stays within 0.92 to 0.94 g/cm³ at 25 °C. A Silver CMF series micro-Coriolis meter can do this. The meter gives you kg/h, density in g/cm³, and percent solids if you know the solvent mix. The price is about 3 to 4 times higher than an oval gear meter. But you get zero moving parts and no risk of gear seizure. A customer in Mexico who makes marine coatings uses a Coriolis meter on the tung oil main line. They batch 2,000 kg per order. The mass signal goes to the PLC via Modbus RTU. The dosing accuracy is ±0.2% of rate.
We recommend the Coriolis path if you handle raw tung oil and solvents in the same line. The meter cleans in place. I
Installation Tips We Learned on Customer Sites
Most engineers skip the warm-up loop. But tung oil flow measurement fails if the oil gels in the meter. Keep the oil above 20 °C. Use heat tracing or a water jacket on the meter body. Install a basket strainer with 40 mesh upstream. Tung oil contains fine seed particles that can scratch gear meters. We saw a case in a Philippine paint factory where an unprotected oval gear meter lost accuracy to 3% after two months. A simple strainer fixed it.
For batch control, use a flow controller that accepts the meter pulse. Open a solenoid valve and start counting. The controller closes the valve when the setpoint is reached. Avoid using a 4-20 mA loop with slow PLC scan times for small batches below 2 litres. The pulse output from an oval gear meter gives immediate volume resolution.
Mount the meter with the shaft horizontal. Tung oil can trap air. A horizontal shaft orientation pushes the air pocket to the top and maintains accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I measure tung oil with an electromagnetic flow meter?
No. Tung oil is non-conductive. Electromagnetic meters require a minimum fluid conductivity of 5 µS/cm. Tung oil has zero conductivity. Use an oval gear or Coriolis meter instead.
What is the right oval gear meter size for a paint trial plant?
A DN15 oval gear meter covers most pilot and small production lines. It handles flow rates of 0.6 to 60 litres per hour. This fits a typical 10 to 50 litre tung oil addition per batch.
Can the meter handle tung oil mixed with mineral spirits?
Yes. Both oval gear and Coriolis meters work with tung oil and solvent blends. Choose stainless steel gears and PEEK seals for solvent resistance. Silver OGF meters come with 316 SS internals as an option.
Do I need temperature compensation for tung oil batching?
Yes. Tung oil expands by 0.0007 per degree Celsius. If the oil temperature varies from 20 °C to 40 °C, the volume error exceeds 1.4%. A meter with integrated PT100 RTD corrects the volume to a standard temperature. This is built into our OGF-T version.
What output signal do I need for a PLC-based paint dosing system?
Pulse output works best for fast batch counting. A 4-20 mA HART signal is better if you also monitor flow rate and health. Both are standard on Silver meters. Ask for the MODBUS RS485 option if your PLC has spare serial ports.
Send us your tung oil temperature, viscosity in cP, pipe size (DN), and the batch volume you dose. Email Silver Automation Instruments or visit our oval gear flow meter for tung oil page to request a quote with full datasheet and price.
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