Vortex meters are not usually recommended for batching or other intermittent flow applications. This is because the dribble flow rate setting of the batching station can fall below the meter's minimum Reynolds number limit. The smaller the total batch, the more significant the resulting error is likely to be.

Low-pressure (low-density) gases do not produce a strong enough pressure pulse, especially if fluid velocities are low. Therefore, it is likely that in such services the rangeability of the meter will be poor, and low flows will not be measurable. On the other hand, if reduced rangeability is acceptable and the meter is correctly sized for normal flow, the vortex flowmeter can still be considered.

If the process fluid tends to coat or build up on the bluff body, as in sludge and slurry service, this will eventually change the meter's K factor. Vortex-shedding flowmeters are not recommended for such applications. If, however, a dirty fluid has only moderate amounts of non-coating solids, the application is likely to be acceptable. This was demonstrated by a 2-year test on a limestone slurry. At the end of the test, the K factor was found to have changed only 0.3% from the original factory calibration, although the bluff body and flow tube were badly scarred and pitted.

When measuring multi-phase flow (solid particles in gas or liquid; gas bubbles in liquid; liquid droplets in gas), vortex meter accuracy will drop because of the meter's inability to differentiate between the phases. Wet, low-quality steam is one such application: the liquid phase should be homogeneously dispersed within the steam, and vertical flow lines should be avoided to prevent slugging. When the pipe is horizontal, the liquid phase is likely to travel on the bottom of the pipe, and therefore the inner area of the pipe should be kept open at the bottom. This can be achieved by installing the bluff body horizontally. Measurement inaccuracy in such applications is about 5% of actual flow but with good repeatability.

The permanent pressure loss through a vortex meter is about half that of an orifice plate, roughly two velocity heads. (A velocity head is defined as V2/g, where V is the flow velocity and g is the gravitational constant in consistent units.) If the pipe and meter are properly sized and of the same size, the pressure drop is likely to be only a few psi. However, downsizing (installing a smaller-than-line-size meter) in order to increase the Reynolds can increase the head loss to more than 10 psi. One should also make sure that the vena contracta pressure does not drop below the vapor pressure of the process fluid because that would cause cavitation. Naturally, if the backpressure on the meter is below the vapor pressure, the process fluid will flash, and the meter reading will not be meaningful.