If you’ve recently purchased (or inherited) a Wilger flow indicator system, you might question which flow indicator ball you might need to best use your system.
Simply, the system works in a very mechanical way. The flow of the fertilizer (or liquid) you are applying through the final outlet (which might be a spray nozzle on a sprayer, or a shank on a planter) will suspend a weighted ball inside the column. If all of the balls in the column are suspended at the same level, then you’d know that the flow is the same +/- X%. As a very generalized idea, flow could vary within 10% before the ball leaves that

If a ball drops (relative to the balls beside it), you know you have an issue with that individual ball and outlet that are being fed by that column.

So, there are a few ways to actually identify which ball might provide the best resolution of what your flow rate is actually doing:
TIP WIZARD – with the ‘Flow Indicator’ sub-function. This is by far the handiest way to verify which ball to use. Simply enter your application rate, speed, spacing, and intended application criteria, and it will give you a best fit line which you are compared with the size of flow column that you have. (e.g. Ultra Low Flow column, Low Flow Column, Standard Column, OR the electronic flow monitoring system JET color – if applicable). Tip Wizard is available on the website or as a standalone app for Android and Apple devices.

EXCEL WORKSHEET – This is a slightly manual way of searching for your flow indicator balls to use. While it provides similar information to Tip Wizard, it requires use of spreadsheet programs. It is a perfectly fine alternative that allows you to easily ensure your flow rate requirement is calculated properly. Find this excel sheet in the DOWNLOADS section of the website, within the FLOW INDICATORS tab. It is available in both US Gal/Acre or L/Hectare worksheets.

REFERENCE CHART – This would be a third option, with a chart providing the typical operational flow use of each ball with each corresponding flow indicator size (e.g. Ultra Low, Low Flow, Standard column sizes). This relies on you knowing your application flow rate requirement, including any density shift due to the density of the liquid. For ease of use, a sample chart is also provided below.