Kelco F Series Paddle Flow Switch

Specifications

• Model: F Series Flow Switch
• Process Connection: 25B = 1 BSP Thread
• Wetted Parts: Supplied with a high-pressure 316 stainless steel process connection & a polypropylene paddle

WARNING
Please read these installation and operating instructions fully and carefully before installing or servicing this Flow Switch. The F Series flow switch is a mains voltage device. Death or serious injury may result if this switch is not correctly installed and operated. All electrical work on this switch must be performed by a fully qualified and licenced Electrician.

CHECK THE SWITCH MODEL NUMBER

MECHANICAL INSTALLATION

1. Before installing check the part number of the switch to ensure it is suitable for the application in terms of pressure, temperature and electrical load. The part number can be found on a label on the inside of the lid of the switch. Check the suitability against the tables of data on this sheet.
2. Cut the paddle of the switch using a hacksaw or tin snips so that when installed in the pipe the paddle clears the inside of the pipe at all points by at least 4mm. Paddle length can be found using our online paddle trimming calculator: http://www.kelco.com.au/paddle-trimming-calculator
   If you are unsure of the flow rate, cut the paddle so it intrudes 3/4 of the way across the pipe. If you think the flow rate will be low, cut the paddle so it just clears the bottom of the pipe. If you think the flow rate may be high, cut the paddle so it intrudes 1/4 to 1/2 way across the pipe. If you cut too much off the paddle and the switch fails to detect flow note that spare paddles are available from your supplier.
3. Select a suitable location for the switch in the pipework. Allow at least 5 diameters of straight pipe before and after the switch. This switch can be installed in either the suction or delivery pipework of a pump. The flow switch can be installed in either horizontal or vertically running pipework. When used in vertical pipework flow must be upward, not downward. Do not install this switch on the underside of horizontal pipework.
4. The switch can be installed in a pipe tee, a tapping saddle or a pipe socket welded to the pipe. The flow switch must be mounted square to the line of flow so flow impacts on the flat face of the paddle. The direction of flow arrow on the switch must point in the direction of flow.
5. Use Teflon tape or a suitable thread sealing compound and screw the switch into the socket allowing at least 4mm of thread between the top of the socket and the top end of the thread on the switch. Use a spanner and the spanner flats on the switch to screw the switch in. Never twist the switch body or use it to screw the switch into the pipework.
6. As supplied, the ‘F-H’ switches are set to their maximum sensitivity with the sensitivity adjuster wound fully in. If you need to decrease the sensitivity to flow, remove the red dust cap and adjust the sensitivity screw on the switch. Use a wide straight bladed screwdriver for this. Wind the sensitivity screw out (anti clockwise). It will require a higher flow to actuate the switch the further out the screw is wound. Replace the dust cap once the adjustment is complete.

The opposite is the case with the ‘F-RL’ switches as they are supplied at minimum sensitivity with the adjuster wound fully in. If you need to increase the sensitivity to flow, unscrew the sensitivity screw. It will require a lower flow to actuate the switch the further out the screw is wound. Replace the dust cap once the adjustment is complete.

Note: the F-RL switches will not operate with the adjuster fully removed.

ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION

1. This F Series flow switch may have been supplied with either a microswitch or a reed switch depending on the model ordered. The standard ‘F-H’ microswitch is suitable for the general purpose control circuit applications from 5 to 500VAC at 10A. The ‘F-RL’ models are available for low voltage signaling and Ex applications. Check the part number on the label inside the lid of the switch against the part number reference on this sheet before using this flow switch.
2. Check the electrical data tables on this sheet and ensure the switch is suitable for the application before wiring the switch up.
3. The terminals on ‘H’ model microswitches are marked ‘C’ for the common terminal, ‘NO’ for the normally open terminal and ‘NC’ for the normally closed terminal. In a two wire installation one wire will always be connected to the common terminal and the switch wire will be connected to either the normally open or normally closed terminal, depending on the application.
4. After wiring the switch, ensure the cable gland is correctly assembled and the cable gland nut is fully tightened. Also make sure the lid gasket is in place and the lid is fully tightened down.
5. For ‘F-H’ models only: Once the flow switch is wired up it can be functionally tested using the red manual override button located on the body of the switch directly under the cable gland. Pressing the red override button causes the switch to change state and simulates liquid pushing the paddle.

WARNING
After installing or servicing this flow switch always replace its lid and fully tighten its lid screw. Also ensure the cable gland is fully tightened. Never leave the lid off the switch for extended periods. Without its lid in place this flow switch is not water resistant and presents a potential shock hazard. Take great care not to splash water onto the inside of the flow switch’s electrical housing when the lid is not in place. Without its lid the flow switch is not weather or insect proof and presents a potential shock hazard that may result in death or serious injury.

ELECTRICAL DATA FOR THE STANDARD ‘H’ SWITCH

The standard ‘F-H’ microswitch fitted to the F Series is a Single Pole Double Throw (S.P.D.T) high voltage switch suitable for general purpose control circuit applications up to 500VAC. It can also be used in low voltage AC and DC application, for example at 12 or 24V AC or DC.

IMPORTANT
The standard ‘H’ switch can operate at ANY voltage from 5 to 500VAC. It can be used to directly control pump motors up to 375 Watts (0.5HP) at 240VAC. For larger motors always use an interposing contactor or relay between the flow switch and the motor.

Note: Do not apply maximum voltage at maximum current across the switch contacts. See main data table for current limits at specific voltages and for specific loads.

ELECTRICAL DATA FOR THE STANDARD ‘RL’ SWITCH

The ‘F-RL’ reed switch models are supplied with a high compliance single pole double throw reed switch suitable for all low wetting current and low voltage applications. Such applications include PLC control, signaling in telemetry systems and relay logic circuits.

Please note: the reed switch models are not suitable for use with inductive loads such as contactors or high wattage relays.

• Switch Type:
  
  • Dry Contact Reed Switch
• Contact Configuration:
  
  • S.P.D.T Break Before Make
• Switched Power:
  
  • 20W / VA Maximum
• Switch Voltage Maximum:
  
  • 140V AC 150V DC
• Switched Current (Resistive):
  
  • 1 Amp Maximum
• Carry Current:
  
  • 2 Amp Maximum
• Breakdown Voltage:
  
  • 200V Minimum
• Typical Applications:
  • PLC, Telemetry & General Low Voltage Control

ENVIRONMENTAL LIMITATIONS

Please note: Maximum operating pressure of the standard all-Polypropylene F Series switches must be linearly de-rated as operating temperature is increased so that at 60°C (140°F) the maximum permissible operating pressure for the switch does not exceed one Bar (15 psi) absolute.

HAZARDOUS APPLICATIONS
The ‘F-RL’ flow switches can be used in hazardous areas. The flow switch is classed as a simple device and does not contain components capable of storing or producing an electric charge. As a simple device the ‘F-RL’ switches can be used in hazardous applications provided it is isolated via an intrinsically safe barrier (a Zener barrier).

MAINTENANCE

The F Series Flow Switch is a low maintenance device. Provided it is correctly installed it should function properly for many years. Factors that may reduce its useful life are pressures and temperatures in excess of its rating and electrical loads greater than the limits of its built in microswitch or reed switch. Should maintenance be required, spare parts, including spare paddles, are available from your supplier.

Warranty and Limitation of Liability

Thank you for purchasing Kelco Engineering Pty Ltd, (ABN 200 002 834 844) (“Kelco”) products (Kelco Products). This document sets out the terms and conditions of the product warranty and Limitation of Liability for Kelco Products. It is an important document. Please keep it with your proof of purchase documents in a safe place for future reference should you need to lodge a claim. This Warranty and Limitation of Liability (or any more recent version in effect when you purchase a Kelco Product) (“Warranty”) applies to all Kelco Products regardless of where you purchased the Kelco Products. When you place an order, you are deemed to agree to the Warranty, unless otherwise agreed in writing with Kelco. Kelco is located at 9/9 Powells Road, Brookvale, NSW 2100, AUSTRALIA and may be contacted by calling 61 2 99056425 or emailing: sales@kelco.com.au

Definition
The following terms used herein are defined as follows:

1. Australian Consumer Law or ACL: Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).
2. Brochures and Technical data sheets: Kelco brochures, including, without limitation, sales brochures and technical data sheets, whether or not provided electronically.
3. Customer Application: Any application of Kelco Products or component parts by a you including, but not limited to, embedding and/or using Kelco Products in your parts/components, electronic substrates, devices, equipment and /or systems manufactured by customers.
4. Non- Excludable Guarantee: a Consumer Guarantee applicable to these Warranty Terms under the Australian Consumer Law or New Zealand Consumer Guarantee Act 1993.
5. Fitness: (a) fitness for a particular purpose, (b) performance, (c) compliance with laws and regulations and (d) conformity to standards of a Kelco Product.
6. Kelco Products: flow switches, level switches and float switches, related products and electronic/mechanical components under the Kelco brand.
7. ‘You’ or “Customer” means the purchaser of the Kelco Products not having purchased the Kelco Products for re-sale, and ‘your’ has a corresponding meaning.
8. Usage Conditions: Usage conditions, rating, performance, operating environment, handling instructions, warnings, restrictions on use, etc. of Kelco Products described in the Brochures and technical data sheets.

Descriptions

You are deemed to accept the following terms and conditions regarding the descriptions provided of Kelco Products in the Brochures and technical data sheets when you adopt or use a Kelco Product or component thereof.

1. Rated values and performance values are based on average performance established from batch production runs and Kelco does NOT warrant any rated values and performance values for multiple composite conditions.
2. Reference data is provided for your reference only. Kelco does NOT warrant that Kelco Products work properly at all times or continuously as provided in the reference data.
3. Application examples ( if any) are provided for your reference only. Kelco does NOT warrant the Fitness of Kelco Products under such applications.
4. Kelco may discontinue the production of Kelco Products or change their specifications for the purpose of improving such products or for other reasons entirely at its own discretion and is under no obligation to notify you of any such change.

Precautions
You are deemed to accept the following terms and conditions when you purchase Kelco Products:

1. You will use Kelco Products in compliance with Usage Conditions including rating and performance.
2. You will confirm Fitness and use your own judgment to determine the appropriateness of using of Kelco Products in a Customer Application. Kelco products are unlike conventional flow and level switches and pump controllers in that they can be applied to virtually any fluid or pumping system in any manner defined by an original equipment manufacturer, a wholesaler or end user or their agents. The knowledge and experience of such parties is outside the control of Kelco, and their having relevant knowledge and experience is critical to the successful application and operation of the Kelco Products. Kelco does NOT warrant the Fitness of Kelco Products in a Customer Application.
3. You will confirm that Kelco Products are properly wired and installed for their intended use in your overall system. In the case of Kelco pump controllers, the flexibility of their operating system means it requires an extensive knowledge of pumps and their characteristics and the intended overall goal of the system in order to select the correct functions and settings. Failure to understand the ramifications of incorrect settings may result in a system that fails to perform to your expectations and or may even damage the pump or system itself. It is therefore critical that correct settings are used to achieve a stable and reliable overall system and to provide any such system with appropriate pressure and or flow protection the pump controller is intended to provide. Kelco does NOT warrant Kelco Products against defective installation, incorrect programming, incorrect wiring or electrical overload in any form.
4. When using Kelco Products, you will make sure to (i) maintain a margin of safety in relation to the published rated and performance values, (ii) design to minimize risks to any Customer Application in case of failure of any Kelco Products, such as introducing redundancy i.e. critical systems should include double redundancy of all controls, (iii) adopt system-wide safety measures to notify risks to users such as independent backup protection. Such backup may consist of a simple or complex independent alarm system to alert an operator to any issue with the system, and (iv) conduct regular maintenance on Kelco Products and the Customer Application.
5. It will be your sole responsibility as user to determine and use adequate measures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for (i) data input and output, (ii) maintaining a means for reconstruction of lost data, (iv) preventing Kelco Products installed thereon from being infected with computer viruses and (v) protecting Kelco Products from unauthorized access. Kelco shall not be responsible and/or liable for any loss, damage,
   or expenses directly or indirectly resulting from any third-party software or hardware not contained in the product as originally configured by the manufacturer, the infection of Kelco products, or any computer equipment, computer programs, networks, databases or other proprietary material connected thereto, by service attack, computer viruses, other technologically harmful material and/or unauthorized access.
6. Kelco Products are designed and manufactured as general-purpose products for use in general industrial products. They are not intended to be used in the applications described in subsection 3…(5)(a), (b), and (c). If you are using Kelco Products in the applications described below, Kelco does not provide any warranty for such Kelco Products, except for specific applications where Kelco has specified that it intends to provide a warranty or by separate written agreement between the customer and Kelco.

• Applications with stringent safety requirements and applications that could cause physical injury to a person or result in loss of life.
• Applications under severe conditions or in severe environment, including but not limited to outdoor equipment, equipment exposed to chemical contamination, equipment exposed to electromagnetic interference and equipment exposed to vibration and shocks.
• Applications under conditions or environments not described in any of the Brochures and Technical data sheets.
• Kelco Products are not intended for use in Hydrocarbons other than Dieseline.

Warranty
Kelco warrants that Kelco Products will perform in accordance with the specifications set out in the Technical data sheets, subject to and in accordance with the following:

1. Warranty period: The Warranty shall apply for 12 months from the date of original purchase of Kelco Products by the customer.
2. Sole Remedy: Unless required to do otherwise as a result of statutory guarantees applicable under ACL, Kelco will provide, at its own discretion, either of the following two services as the sole remedy for a malfunctioning Kelco Product: Repair of the malfunctioning Kelco Product(s) or components by Kelco or Kelco authorised dealer at no charge to the customer, or Replacement of the malfunctioning Kelco Product(s) or components by Kelco or Kelco authorised dealer with the same number of replacement/alternative products or components at no charge to the customer. (3) Exceptions: This Warranty of Kelco Products does not apply if the cause of the malfunction falls under any of the following:

Usage in a manner other than the original intended use for the Kelco Products or component thereof.

• Usage other than as described in the Usage Conditions.
• Usage that is not in accordance with Section 2 (Descriptions) and Section 3 (Precautions) above.
• Modification or repair made to the Kelco Products by persons other than Kelco.
• Causes which could not have been foreseen with the level of science and technology at the time of shipping from Kelco.
• Replacement or repair of any (1) consumables (including cables, paddles and circuit boards), or (2) lost parts or accessories.
• Service of any product whilst it is outside Australia.
• Causes originating from other than Kelco or Kelco Products (including force majeure such as but not limited to natural disasters)
• Causes from any environmental factors. Such factors may include but are not limited to water or chemical ingress, fire damage, lightning damage, mechanical damage, sun damage or degradation, failure  due to over-heating, freezing or vibration. Failure due to customers over tightening threads or fittings. Failure due to power supply fluctuations, surges, spikes, brown outs. or AC supplies that do not provide a pure sine wave output.
• (4) If you intend to make a claim under this Warranty you must contact Kelco to register your claim by telephone on (02)99056425 and provide the following details to enable Kelco to assess the claim: (i) proof of purchase; (ii) evidence of the particulars of the claim that gives rise to the application of the Warranty ; (iii) confirmation that the cause of the malfunction was not an Exception set out above; and (iv) your phone number, email and address details. You must provide or make the Kelco product available to Kelco for evaluation. If you are required to return the product to Kelco for repair replacement or evaluation, Kelco will provide delivery details and a return goods authorisation number to you. The Kelco Products will be at the owner’s risk whilst in transit to and from Kelco, unless transported by Kelco or its authorised representatives. The Kelco Product presented for repair may be replaced by refurbished products of the same type rather than being repaired. Refurbished parts may be used to repair the product. To the extent permitted by law replacement of the product or a part does not extend or restart the Warranty Term. Kelco may seek reimbursement of any costs incurred by them when the Kelco product is found to be in good working order.

Non-excludable Statutory Guarantees
(1) The Warranty is given by Kelco in addition to other rights and remedies which you may be entitled to under by law, nothing contained in this agreement excludes, restricts or modifies any condition, guarantee, warranty or other obligation which is applicable to or is conferred on Kelco pursuant to law where to exclude, restrict or modify any such condition, warranty or other obligation is unlawful. (2) Australia: To the extent that you are a consumer for the purposes of the ACL, Kelco Products come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the ACL. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure. “Acceptable Quality” and “major failure” have the meaning they have in the ACL. (3) New Zealand: For Kelco Products provided by Kelco in New Zealand, the Kelco Products come with a guarantee by Kelco pursuant to the provisions of the Consumer Guarantees Act, section 345(1)(i) of the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 and the Fair Trading Act. Where the Kelco Product was purchased in New Zealand for commercial purposes the Consumer Guarantee Act does not apply.

Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability
TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW: (1) SELLER MAKES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OTHER THAN AS STATED IN SECTION 4 ABOVE AND SELLER DISCLAIMS AND EXCLUDES ANY WARRANTY OF ANY OTHER KIND. (2) THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR MALFUNCTIONING KELCO PRODUCTS SHALL BE AS SET FORTH IN SECTION 4. ABOVE. (3) KELCO AND THE DISTRIBUTORS OF KELCO PRODUCTS ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHICH MAY ARISE FROM OR BE RELATED TO KELCO PRODUCTS.

Confidentiality
You accept that if you make a Warranty claim, Kelco and its agents may exchange information in relation to you to enable Kelco to meet its obligations under this Warranty.

Export/ Import Controls
Customers of Kelco Products shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations of Australia and/or other relevant countries with regard to security export/import control, when exporting/importing Kelco Products and/or technical documents or providing such products and/or documents to a non-resident of Australia. At its discretion Kelco may not provide customers with Kelco Products and/or technical documents should they fail to comply with such laws and regulations.

Kelco Engineering Pty Ltd ABN 20 002 834 844 

• Head Office & Factory 9/9 Powells Road, Brookvale 2100 NSW Australia
• Postal Address PO Box 7485 Warringah Mall Brookvale 2100 NSW Australia
• Phone: +61 2 99056425
• Fax: +61 2 9905 6420
• Email: Sales@kelco.com.au
• Web: www.Kelco.com.au

FAQs

Q: Can the flow switch be installed in any orientation?
A: The flow switch can be installed in either horizontal or vertically running pipework. However, in vertical pipework, flow must be upward, not downward.

Q: How do I adjust the sensitivity of the switch?
A: To adjust sensitivity, remove the red dust cap and use a wide straight-bladed screwdriver to wind the sensitivity screw out (anti-clockwise) for higher sensitivity.

Documents / Resources

Kelco F Series Paddle Flow Switch [pdf] Instruction Manual 25B, SS, F Series Paddle Flow Switch, F Series, Paddle Flow Switch, Flow Switch, Switch

References

• User Manual