The Xflo meter addresses the challenge of diminishing [image-nocss] metering accuracy. As fuel meters wear over time, measurement precision is diminished and unmetered fuel within NIST Weights and Measures tolerance is given away in small increments. This can add up to large profit losses. Retailers must recalibrate meters to re-establish their accuracy. The Xflo fuel meter features innovative engineering with axial flow architecture and a screw rotor designed to reduce the amount of friction and wear between internal components, significantly improving accuracy.
"In today's environment, continuous recalibration is simply not an efficient use of resources," said Rick Milne, director of Physical Resources for Susser. "Before Dresser Wayne developed the Xflo meter technology, recalibration was our only option to help keep meter drift in check. The Xflo meter's precision significantly reduces our recalibration efforts and the amount of unmeasured fuel that is dispensed, yielding a dramatic cost savings for us."
The SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, an international leader in technology research and certification, performed tests confirming that the Xflo meter exhibited no appreciable meter drift even after metering high volumes of fuel up to 1.5 million gallons, an amount equivalent to six years of use at a typical site. The results demonstrate that the Xflo meter reduces meter drift by 0.1% or more, Dresser Wayne said.
"Fluctuating fuel prices have made the cost of meter drift even more of a concern," said Scott Negley, director of North America Product Management for Dresser Wayne. "The Xflo meter's accuracy improvement can correlate to a fast return on investment and substantial ongoing savings."
Stripes stores also stand to benefit from the improved flow rate provided by the Xflo meter's less-restrictive design, said Dresser Wayne. It features a more direct hydraulic flow path that reduces pressure loss by 30%. Consequently, Stripes can serve more customers in less time.
Dresser Wayne, Austin, Texas, is one of the largest business units of Dresser Inc., and is an industry pioneer for the retail fueling industry. It offers self-service consoles and fuel blending dispensers, in-pump card readers and cash acceptors, in-pump radio frequency identification payment systems and dispenser-mounted touchscreen payment/communication systems. In addition, it designs and markets software systems that enable its retail fueling customers to manage the convenience store aspects of their businesses more efficiently, including inventory control, price book management, labor management and site administration.
Corpus Christi, Texas-based Susser Holdings is a third-generation, family-led business that currently operates more than 510 convenience stores in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma under the Stripes and Town & Country banners. Restaurant service is available in more than 290 of its stores, primarily under the proprietary Laredo Taco Co. and Country Cookin' brands. The Company also supplies branded motor fuel to approximately 370 independent dealers through its wholesale fuel division.
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