Pros and Cons of Digital Pressure Gauges

Digital pressure gauges are built to last because like the magnetic flow meters, they require minimal moving parts. In fact, the instrument only features one moving part, in this case the diaphragm. Basically, it’s an electric circuit—called the Wheatstone bridge–which measures the amount of pressure using the piezo resistive technology.
Before anything else, a transducer is an instrument that can convert energy into another element. In this case, the type of matter to be converted is the pressure in the matter—cooking oil, petrol and even grains of sand—into an electrical quantity.
In principle, the less moving parts there are, the less susceptible the instrument is to friction or wear and tear. However, what makes the digital pressure gauges special is that they are designed to withstand overpressure without sustaining any damage.

Analog Pressure Pros and Cons

There are also analog or dial pressure gauges in the market today, and certainly they are cheaper compared to the digital instruments. However, these types of tools feature a lot of fine gears, mechanical and moving parts. When sudden overpressure occurs, or when exposed to intense vibration, the tendency is they can sustain long-term damage.
But they do have their own advantages as well, and these include:

  • The engineer won’t have any problem viewing the numbers from a distance
  • They do not require much power
  • They also gauge rate changes accurately

Digital Pressure Gauges Pros and Cons

On the other hand, a worker with no prior experience can immediately read the rate through the digital results. Speaking of results, they are comprehensive because the worker can read the psi, the bar and the MPa. It also has a memory setting where the worker can access the maximum and minimum pressure with just a push of the button.
Because the rates are easy to read, there’s zero chance of misinterpretation. In the same vein, parallax error is negligible while the numbers can still be read even during intense vibrations. As already stated, because they have almost no moving parts, damage caused by friction and wear and tear are minimized so the owner saves on maintenance and repair costs.

However, some drawbacks to choosing digital pressure gauges include:

  • These instruments require power
  • It’s difficult to get the reading from a distance

Extremely adaptable

One characteristic of the digital pressure gauges is their extreme flexibility. In terms of acidic or critical media, for instance, the manufacturer can recommend some fixtures to protect the diaphragm sensor. This protects the sensitive circuitry at the back of the diaphragm. If the media to be measured have lower aggressive properties, there’s also appropriate lining and sealants that can amply shield the instrument without sacrificing accuracy of results.

In terms of power, the owner can opt for solar, battery or loop. Each has its own pros and cons as well. For instance, batteries can be undependable because they may drain at the most critical time. Solar power, meanwhile, needs constant source of sunlight while the loop needs a power supply to work.

1 thought on “Pros and Cons of Digital Pressure Gauges”

  1. I like that you mentioned that these digital pressure gauges can check the statistics of the wheels. My father has trouble with using a manual pressure gauge for his tires. We could use an industrial mechanic to talk to about this, it could help us a lot.

    Reply

Leave a Comment