The reason we routinely produce a Statement of the Month on "Meter Freeze" is simple -- it keeps coming back!
Even for the most experienced gas measurement analysts, identifying orifice meter freeze and making accurate flow data edits can be a difficult task. This problem, of course, occurs with much greater frequency during the winter months, at least north of the equator. It can be a significant challenge to measurement departments working to generate accurate and accountable volume and energy statements within very tight timelines. To illustrate the relative severity of meter freeze, it occurs most frequently during a period of only about 4 months each year yet is often rated as one of the "Top 10" overall sources of measurement error. To qualify for this list, meter freeze must have been completely missed or incorrectly edited.
For your review and future reference, a list of tips to help minimize or, hopefully, completely eliminate this problem is summarized
here. Since colder temperatures have already begun throughout much of the nation, we strongly recommend that you put meter freeze at the top of your "Measurement Watch List," at least until this problem begins to lessen in frequency and impact. And for those new to the industry or measurement processes, please click
here to view common examples of meter freeze for both electronic gas measurement and analog chart recorders.
Stay warm, be safe, and have a very happy holiday season!
“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do, I stare
out the window and wait for spring.”
~ Rogers Hornsby, American baseball infielder, manager, and coach