Maintenance

Instrument maintenance can seem daunting for the beginner. The first step is to review the manual or training CD that comes with the meter. You will need to understand how to operate the meter and how to access the menus in order to perform the maintenance; including monthly calibrations. Once you’ve mastered the operation, maintenance is actually quite simple.

The primary parts of a gas meter are the pump, the sensors, the batteries and the electronics that join everything together. You’ll want to be sure to have the correct tools available in order to dismantle your meter when it comes time to replace sensors.

You’ll also have a few additional accessories like filters, tubing and most importantly your calibration kit. It should include the appropriate cylinder of calibration gas, a regulator and tubing. The calibration gas should match up with the sensor configuration of your meter.

For instance, if you have a meter set up for Oxygen, Combustibles (LEL), Carbonmonoxide and Hydrogen Sulfide, you’ll need to use a Quad Mix cylinder of gas that includes all these components. Keep in mind that when you add additional sensors, you’ll need a matching cylinder of gas in order to perform calibrations.

Visit our sister site CalibrationGas.com for more information.

The regulator threads onto the cylinder and is used to release the appropriate amount of gas. The manufacturer will recommend a certain flow rate, typically 0.5 – 1 liter per minute. Finally, the tubing routes the gas from the regulator to the meter during a bump check or calibration.

The regulator that we recommend is the Demand Flow Regulator and is for use with pumped instruments only. When you attach a gas meter with a pump to a cylinder of gas with a Demand Flow Regulator, the exact amount of gas demanded by the pump flows automatically. No twist knob or valve to turn to begin gas flow. This is the perfect calibration. Not only is the amount of gas exact, it is the identical method in which the meter will sample the atmosphere that you are testing.

Beyond this, any additional discussion about instrument maintenance will be dependent on the brand of instrument that you have. Again, refer to the manual or training CD that came with the meter or discuss any questions you have with the vendor where you purchased the equipment. We hope you’ll be impressed with the information that we’ve provided to you so far, and choose allsafeindustries.com as your sole source for gas detection instruments, calibration gases and accessories.

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