5 Best Water Flow Meters for 2024 | Australian Buying Guide

What is a Water Flow Meter? 

If you’re wondering how fast your garden hose flows or how much water you’re using with each water, you’ll want to consider investing in a water flow meter. 

A Water flow meter allows you to track your water usage and inevitably save on water and costs. 

Summer temperatures are increasing annually, which puts tremendous strain on resources like water. With the growing need to keep a close eye on water usage, investing in a water flow meter is an ideal solution for environmentally conscious irrigation. 

Water flow meters are mostly used for: 

• Gardening
• Pool + Pond Filing
• Lawn Watering

Some other names you may come across for a water flow meter include: 

• Flow Gauge
• Flow Indicator
• Liquid Meter
• Flow Rate Sensor

How Does a Flow Rate Meter Work? 

A flow meter measures the water quantity and allows you to control your water consumption. Most water flow meters allow you to track your current flow in litres per minute as well as your consumption per day, per season or per session. 

Flow rate meters are battery operated and attach to your tap. Modern meters will easily attach to most common tap and hose types. 

How Do I Choose A Flow Meter? 

Most modern flow meters work pretty well and will be able to cover your everyday gardening needs. 

Ideally, choose a garden flow meter that Is digital and mechanical as those work best. Leading meters come with a smart flow meter that regulates everything from pressure to consumption to temperature. 

Low cost, low-quality meters aren’t ideal as they generally aren’t as accurate as the higher quality models.

Which is The Most Accurate Flow Water Meter? 

Most digital water flow meters are quite accurate. In general, the accuracy of flow measurement devices is around 5%. Again, your quality of meter will affect your accuracy. 

If you’re really wanting the most accurate readings, a meter with an electromagnetic sensor is the way to go as it is most accurate.

1. Gardena Smart Flow Water Meter G8188

Able to connect to your tap, hose, sprinkler, pulse sprayer and even a pump – this water flow meter is ideal for your all-round household and garden needs.

It has a battery-operated Smart Flow meter that provides good accuracy. It’s also fully impact resistant making it far more durable. 

2. Digiten G3/4” Flow Water Sensor

This compact, easy to install meter is great for measuring flow, temperature, gases and your total flow. With a flow range of 1-60L/ minute, it's a solid choice to monitor real-time flow rate.

3. LinkTap G2 Water Timer & Gateway

This nifty garden flow meter is the perfect combination between innovation and smart irrigation. Water your plants anywhere, when they need it, with cloud-based control.

Easy to setup, easy to manage, you can enjoy low water bills and healthier plants easily and effortlessly. 

4. Nrpfell Digital LCD Display Water Flow Sensor Meter

This is an ideal option for those who want a no fuss garden water flow meter. With a temperature meter and long-lasting battery, it’s ideal for those who want convenience.

5. Snowinspring Us211M Lite Digital Flow Meter

This handy little comes with a compact LCD screen and is great for those who don’t want a cumbersome meter. It displays instantaneous, cumulative flow as well as the temperature of the environment of fluid.

Made by one of the best brands in the business, the Gardena Smart Flow Water Meter G8188 is our top pick as the best water flow meter of 2024!

With one press of a button, you’ll have an overview of water consumption per day, per season, watering cycle or current flow (litres per minute). It’s durable, impact-resistant and battery powered for convenience. 

All you have to do to install it is connect it to a tap or hose and you’re ready to go.

The Digiten G3/4” Flow Water Sensor is an affordable digital water flow meter that is a great everyday choice – and it won’t break your budget.

It has an easy-to-read digital display, a flow range of 1-60 litres per minute, and monitors real-time flow as well as total flow rates. You can set alarms for total flow alerts, monitor water temperature, and much more with this durable, easy-to-install flow meter.

If you want the best water flow monitoring tech at your fingertips, our premium pick – the LinkTap G2 Water Timer & Gateway – is for you. It’s cloud controlled, so you can schedule watering times and monitor garden watering wherever you are. 

It has automatic fault detection to alert you if water is cut off or if there’s a valve failure, and the real-time flow rate and 90-day flow monitoring help you reduce water wastage. It’s durable, easy to set up, and has a useful mobile app.

Water Flow Meter Frequently Asked Questions

How to Install A Water Flow Meter?

Once you’ve purchased the right meter for you, you’ll want to make sure you install it properly to ensure the most accurate readings. 

Depending on your meter, you may need a garden hose adapter which allows for easy connection between your meter and your garden hose. 

With an adapter you will easily be able to screw your water meter into your and then onto your hose. 

Some flow meters, like the Gardena mentioned above, come with their own, easy to use attachments. Meaning you can just pop it into your tap and start monitoring straight away.

How Fast Does/Should A Garden Hose Flow?

When it comes to the general flow speed of a garden hose, most average hoses should sit between 34-64 litres per minute. 

Should you notice that your flow rate is far lower, be sure to check your general water pressure.