Are you in the market to replace your irrigation flowmeters? If so, there are a few things you should know about them. While more expensive than others, magnetic flowmeters are better than mechanical meters because they don’t have any moving parts. There’s no pressure loss.

As water passes through the pipe, a magnetic field is created because “the meter makes the water become conductive,” says Scott Yakel, eastern regional manager at Seametrics. The higher the gallons per minute, the greater the electrical current.

The device interprets this electrical increase to track the flow rate. Concurrently, wireless telematics push the information up to the cloud, where it’s remotely accessible and can be documented in an Excel spreadsheet. The system’s telematics can also be connected to a farm management system. There are many practical applications for this data.

“If you had to report your usage to the Nebraska Resource District, you could generate reports,” Yakel says to give an example. 

Mechanical flowmeters are less expensive, but they sap water pressure as their propellers spin. Also, these legacy meters can’t stream data to the cloud without an upgrade. However, retrofit options are available, such as McCrometer’s redesigned 2024 FlowCom.

“If they have a mechanical style prop [flowmeter], you can retrofit it in the field to upgrade,” says Aimee Davis, vertical market manager at McCrometer, noting the device has a battery backup. “It has basically incorruptible memory, and we will keep your data for up to 10 years.”

The FlowCom has a small, watertight case that attaches to the pipe’s exterior. It can stream data remotely to the cloud, taking your legacy irrigation system into the modern era.