Company Profile

Alicat Flow Meters: Scientific Grade Gas Mass Calibration Instrumentation

Quick Answer: Alicat flow meters are used for scientific grade gas mass calibration in laboratories, test benches, and production skids. Silver Automation Instruments supplies these meters and equivalent thermal mass flow instruments for buyers in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Oceania. Send us your gas type, pressure (bar), temperature (°C), pipe size (DN), and flow range to get a fast quote.

Gas Mass Calibration Requires More Than a Rotameter

Most gas flow calibration jobs fail when the flow meter only measures volumetric flow. A gas volume changes with pressure and temperature. Mass flow does not. For scientific grade work, the target is kg/h or standard litres per minute. This is why engineers use Alicat flow meters or Silver Instruments thermal mass flow meters on calibration benches.

We have seen many customer sites where a small temperature change shifted the reading by more than 5 percent. In practice, mass flow control avoids this drift.

Where Alicat Flow Meters Fit in Calibration Systems

Alicat flow meters handle gas flow ranges from 0.5 SCCM to 5000 SLPM. A typical unit uses laminar differential pressure technology. The meter reads mass flow, volumetric flow, pressure, and temperature on one display. This reduces the need for separate PT100 sensors and pressure transmitters on small skids.

Last year a customer in Vietnam asked us for a 0 to 20 SLPM air flow meter for a paint booth test bench. The site used a basic rotameter before. After switching to an Alicat flow meter with RS-485 output, the calibration cycle passed on the first audit.

Key Parameters for a Gas Mass Calibration Quote

If you send us a request, include these details. Gas type matters. Air, nitrogen, CO2, and natural gas have different conversion factors. Operating pressure in bar matters. We need the minimum and maximum flow rate in kg/h or SLPM. Pipe size in DN15, DN25, or larger changes the body type. Temperature of the gas in °C also affects sensor selection.

Most engineers skip this part. The ambient temperature around the skid can change the reading more than the gas temperature in some cases. We ask for site conditions to avoid a field error.

Signal output matters too. Many process loops in the Middle East still run on 4-20 mA HART. Other sites prefer RS-485 Modbus RTU. We configure the meter for your control system before dispatch.

Common Industries We Supply

Oil and gas test benches in Malaysia need repeatable natural gas flow. Biogas sites in Thailand check methane mass flow. Desalination plants in Saudi Arabia measure air flow for ozone generator calibration. Chemical dosing lines in Mexico use gas mass flow meters for inert gas blanketing. Food and beverage plants in the Philippines check CO2 mass flow for carbonation. Marine engine test cells in Singapore calibrate air intake with thermal mass flow meters.

We also support OEMs and skid builders who need a reliable flow meter supplier for repeat orders.

Air or Nitrogen: Which Calibration Gas Should You Specify

Many sites calibrate with air because it is cheap. But if the process gas is CO2 or methane, air calibration can cause an error of 3 to 8 percent. We recommend calibrating with the actual process gas. If that is not possible, tell us the gas mixture and we apply the correct conversion factor.

Calibration Data and ISO Audit Trails

Many calibration labs need a paper trail. Silver Instruments ships each meter with a serial number and a calibration certificate. The certificate shows the test gas, the flow points, and the error in percent of reading. For ISO 9001 audits, this certificate is often enough. We can also provide a paperless recorder for automatic data logging.

One customer in Indonesia runs