For years Openchannelflow has offered staff gauges integrated into our flume, weir, and manhole products.  Over time, though, we have been asked to expand our offerings to include free-standing Staff (Level) Gauges.

Wide Range of Units

Openchannelflow’s standard free-standing staff gauges are provided in a dual scale configuration:  with cm on one side and 1/10th foot / 1/100th foot increments on the other.  Custom staff gauges can, however, have increments in whatever units a project requires. 

Some examples include: 

• Inches
• Meters
• Gallons per minute (gpm)
• Cubic feet per second (cfs)
• Million gallons per day (mgd)
• Acre-feet
• Liters per second (l/s)
• Cubic meter per second / hour / day (m3/s, m3/hr, m3/day)

Unlimited Sizes

Just like the units, the sizes of Openchannelflow’s custom staff gauges is unlimited.  Typical width range from 3-inches to 24-inches wide and lengths from 12-inches to 20-feet. 

Wide Range of Materials

Standard OCF free-standing staff gauges fabricated in fiberglass, although stencil cut gauges in stainless steel and aluminum are also available. 

Fiberglass Gauges

Unlike other fiberglass staff gauges on the market, Openchannelflow does not use adhesive-backed gauges surface applied to fiberglass sheet nor do we use printed paper cores - as both methods will fail over time.

For Openchannelflow fiberglass staff gauges, the gauge is printed on a U.V. stable core material and then encapsulated in a fiberglass laminate.   Gradations and text are usually black on a white or black on high-visibility yellow/green – although mixed / alternate gradation / background colors are available.

During manufacturing, a surface veil is applied over the visible side of the printed core to provide corrosion and abrasion resistance.  The face of the staff gauge is further protected by the application of clear, U.V. stable marine gel coat during the molding process. 

The face of all Openchannelflow staff gauges – regardless of construction - are smooth to minimize marine growth and for ease of maintenance. 

Metal Gauges

For applications where corrosion, abrasion, or vandalism resistance are at a premium, Openchannelflow offers stencil cut stainless steel and aluminum staff gauges. 

As with our other staff gauges, OCF metal gauges are typically provided in dual scale configurations – cm and 1/10th / 1/100th foot increments – although other scales are available.

To enhance visibility / readability, Openchannelflow metal staff gauges can be provided colored backing plates.  The backing plates can be one solid color or multiple colors as the application demands.