My DIY wireless pressure gauges are two years old now, I've been using them non stop in my "field-trips", and I think it's time to run some tests and answer the main question about their function that only a certain amount of time could answer:
Can my DIY pressure gauges be trusted?
Allow me to elaborate on the origins of the "doubts":
Firstly - when I built the prototypes, my older "pressure-making solution" (can be seen here) that I used for calibration had the maximum pressure of 400 bar (with a lot of muscle input), so the calibration profile for the 600 bar sensor had to be interpolated. Not ideal. Since I have Pressure Maker II now, I can double-check if the profile is "good".
Secondly - all pressure sensors suffer from degradation, so I was wondering if the Gems Sensors that I used gained any off-set after two years of extensive use.
Thirdly - I used the 12-bit ADC built into the module's microcontroller, a couple of precision resistors, and a simple low pass filter to interface the sensors. This solution is simple and cheap, and it worked surprisingly well in all of my initial tests, so I was wondering if it also stood the "test of time".
As you know - FLUKE multi-meters are expensive not because they are filled with features, but because they have authority - i.e. they have been proven to be trustworthy over time. Tens of years for some models, actually. You can get far cheaper multi-meters with a greater resolution and added functionality, but how can you prove that they will still be good after 15 years of service if their model is only a couple of years old? I guess this can be applied to digital pressure gauges as well.
My solution can't boast that many years of service, of course, but still - two years is like twenty years in DIY gadget years...
I don't have a dead weigh pressure calibration stand (yet - I already have some ideas on how to build one, from industrial scrap, of course), so my pressure reference is the good old and time-proven Parker SCJN-600-01 - a pressure gauge that is better than its spec sheet says it is. If my pressure gauges are as good as the Parker - I am happy.
I have two transmitters in my toolbox - one uses a Gems Sensors 400 bar 0...10V pressure transmitter, and the other - 0...600 bar 4...20 mA transmitter. This is the test setup:
And these are the results (readings in bar):
Parker SCJN-600-01 | GEMS 3100-S0400-S01B-000, 400 bar, 0-10V | GEMS 3100-B0600-S01B-000 600bar, 4…20 mA |
0 | 0 | -0.2 |
20.0 | 20.2 | 19.8 |
40.0 | 40.0 | 39.8 |
60.0 | 60.0 | 59.6 |
80.0 | 79.9 | 79.4 |
100.0 | 99.9 | 99.6 |
120.0 | 120.0 | 119.7 |
140.0 | 140.0 | 139.1 |
160.0 | 160.1 | 159.2 |
180.0 | 180.1 | 179.5 |
200.0 | 200.0 | 199.4 |
220.0 | 219.9 | 219.5 |
240.0 | 240.0 | 239.8 |
260.0 | 259.9 | 259.6 |
280.0 | 279.9 | 279.5 |
300.0 | 299.9 | 299.4 |
320.0 | 320.0 | 319.3 |
340.0 | 339.9 | 339.5 |
360.0 | 359.8 | 359.5 |
380.0 | 379.8 | 379.4 |
400.0 | 399.8 | 399.4 |
420.0 | 419.8 | 419.1 |
440.0 | --- | 439.1 |
460.0 | --- | 459.1 |
480.0 | --- | 479.4 |
500.0 | --- | 499.4 |
520.0 | --- | 519.1 |
540.0 | --- | 539.1 |
560.0 | --- | 559.5 |
580.0 | --- | 579.6 |
600.0 | --- | 599.6 |
620.0 | --- | 619.6 |
And some pictures:
Conclusions:
Now I know I can trust my gadgets. And I can prove why.