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The history of
thermal flowmeters is fascinating. Thermal flowmeters were born on the West
Coast of the
United States
—the result of independent development by first two, then three separate
companies. One company was Fluid Components International (www.fluidcomponents.com),
which began by developing thermal flow switches that were used in the oil patch.
The switches detected the movement of oil in oil well pipes, but they didn’t
evolve into actual flowmeters until 1981.
The second strain of early
development in the flowmeter marketplace was a result of the collaboration of
John Olin, Ph.D., and Jerry Kurz, Ph.D. Both Olin and Kurz worked for Thermo
Systems Inc. (TSI) in
Minnesota
from 1968 until the early 1970s. They used hot-wire anemometers in their
research on air velocity profile and turbulence. The anemometers consisted of a
heated, thin-film element. While these anemometers worked well for research
purposes, they were too light for industrial environments.
While Olin and
Kurz were doing research using anemometers, they were more interested in
developing measurement products for industrial environments. This would require
a more rugged device than an anemometer. They
approached TSI about developing industrial products, but TSI wasn’t
interested. As a result, Olin and Kurz decided to start their own company,
incorporating Sierra Instruments (www.sierrainstruments.com)
in
Minnesota
in 1973. In 1975, they moved the company to
California
, packing the business up into two trucks, driving it across the Continental
Divide to set up shop in
Monterey
.
In 1977, Sierra Instruments was making both air sampling products and thermal
flowmeters. That year, Jerry Kurz decided to become independent and formed Kurz
Instruments (www.kurzinstruments.com). Sierra kept the air sampling products,
while Kurz Instruments kept the thermal flowmeters.
However, Sierra got back into the flowmeter market in 1983.
In the early
1980s, Sierra, Kurz, and Fluid Components were the only companies manufacturing
thermal flowmeters. However, over time, more thermal flowmeter manufacturers
arrived in the area of
Monterey
. These include Eldridge Products, Fox Thermal Instruments, and Sage Metering
Inc. Eventually, some of the larger
flowmeter companies entered the market, including Endress+Hauser and ABB.
Magnetrol, a manufacturer of level and flow switches, also entered the
thermal flowmeter market.
For more
information, go to www.flowthermal.com.
Coming
up next: The history of mass flow controllers
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