Frequently Asked Questions

Our flow meters are assembled by hand in Boulder, Colorado, using a mixture of domestic and imported parts. We try to source as many of our components as we can from local sources.

If you drive through any neighborhood, you will see about 1 in 5 houses with a broken sprinkler head pouring water down the sidewalk. Since most people water during the night, they don’t find problems with their systems until grass is dead, the water bill spikes, or even the basement starts flooding. Paired with a smart controller, a flowmeter in your system can alert you to leaks and broken or clogged sprinkler heads in real time.

Paddle meters have rotating parts within the flow with bearings that wear over time. They must often be removed during system blowout because they will exceed the maximum rotational speed of the bearings. The wearing causes a continual loss of accuracy and range over time. A vortex meter will never change calibration and does not have rotating parts or bearings.

A vortex meter works from the same principle as a flag waving in the wind. The flag pole “sheds” vortices which cause the flag to wave. The frequency of the flag waving is directly proportional to the wind speed. This same physics also works in water and is used by the vortex meter.

No, the vortex meter is not affected by system blowouts and does not have to be removed.

Since many problems can be traced to wiring or connectors, an easy test to see if the meter is working is to connect a 9V battery at the meter leads (disconnect the leads from the controller). If the display comes alive, you'll know the meter is OK and the problem is most likely in the wiring or connections.

No, our meter is made of ABS plastic, PVC, EPDM rubber, and stainless steel (in some models).

Yes, as long as the pipe is full at all times, the meter can be mounted in any orientation.

No. Because the calibration (+/-2% of NIST standard) is based only on the width of the vortex shedder and the diameter of the pipe-which are not going to change measurably over time-it does not change calibration.

The meter comes with the 6” of upstream straight run included as well as the PVC unions which are ready to glue (chemically weld) with the same glue found on any plumber’s truck.

The biggest reason that flowmeters have not been standard in residential systems is cost. Until Everydrop released our patented meter design, the most widely used meters were over $300 retail. Having accurate and reliable metering at a cost that is acceptable has only happened with the evolution of our new vortex meter.

Using the appropriate plumbing adapters, the meter can be installed with any kind of pipe and a range of sizes from ½” all the way to 1 ½”. Many sprinkler systems are ¾” and the meter works fine in these systems. Keep in mind that the pipe must be kept full with appropriate back pressure (10 psi min.) and the range of the flow meter must be taken into account. (i.e. A 1 ½” system may have flow rates that exceed the meter maximum of 30gpm.)

The current wired version works only with controllers that accept a frequency proportional to flow rate input. Currently, we know that the meter works with Spruce Irrigation, Rachio, and K-Rain. There may be others since there are dozens of controllers on the market. Our wireless meters are programmable and can produce pulse-per-gallon type outputs in addition to frequency outputs.

We strongly recommend consulting the controller manufacturers wiring instructions as they may change them over time.  The following connections currently apply for our 1004-EX wired meter:

Rachio:

Meter Red wire:  GEN 2 (S1 or S2)  GEN 3 (S1 or S2)
Meter Black wire:  GEN 2 (SC);  GEN 3 (24VAC –)

Spruce:

Meter Red wire: S1 or S2
Meter Black wire:  C terminal ONLY on the sensor terminal block, not the valve terminal blocks.

K-Rain:

Meter Red wire:  + Flow Input
Meter Black wire:  – Flow Input

It is very important to make solid electrical connections with waterproof (gel filled) wire nuts. The meter draws so little power than ANY oxidation on the leads can cause a loss of connection. We have also had customers with broken wires due to rodents.

This meter has not been through the certification process to be officially NSF 61 rated for potable water, which means it should be installed after a backflow device.

We always recommend shielded wire, but in some cases that is not necessary. Maintaining good practice of routing wires away from electrical noise sources (AC compressors, breaker panels, etc.) is important. You should also consult the controller manufacturer recommendations since even if the meter is not affected by noise, the controller could be susceptible. Some controllers have more robust flow meter drive circuits than others.

Some controllers (Rachio for sure) only sample the flow at the beginning of each zone. It then applies that measured flow rate to the entire duration of the zone. Flow is not perfectly stable and will tend to vary on some systems more than others. The meter will record these fluctuations but some controllers will not.

Everydrop Technologies provides a 30-day money-back guarantee for orders purchased from everydropmeters.com. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied with your Everydrop Flow Meter, you can return it within 30 days of purchase for a full product refund. Please reach out to sales@everydropmeters.com and we will help you! Keep in mind that you will be responsible for return shipping. If the meter is deemed un-sellable upon receipt by Everydrop Technologies, then a refund will not be offered. It is up to the sole discretion of Everydrop Technologies to determine if a meter is re-sellable.

Yes. Tariffs are paid by the importer of record (typically a shipping company like DHL), who bills the buyer of the goods (us). In addition to the tariffs, we also pay the shipper a fee for processing tariffs. Tariffs are effectively a sales tax. Foreign countries do not pay the tariffs, we do. Occasionally foreign suppliers provide a discount to help offset some of the tariffs, but this is rarely the case for small companies like us.

Tariffs comprise a significant fraction of the prices we pay for imported goods. We wish everything could be made in the USA, but that's just not possible. In some cases the US versions are 10 times as expensive and we would have to raise prices dramatically.

We continue to try to source components locally and domestically as much as possible. Many of our plastic components are made in Colorado.