Glaciers melting, the ozone getting damaged, and the planet getting hotter every year is the result of the continuous pumping of CO2 emissions in the air. We humans have been doing that for years, be it by driving cars, opening up manufacturing plants, or improperly disposing of plastic waste. All these things contribute towards the polluting of our environment. Not only do they harm our environment, but they also harm our lungs, hearts, brains and other organs too.
Over the last few decades, we’ve found more and more solutions to all of these problems, or at least ways to minimise their negative impact on our health. That’s why our cars have catalytic converters and more people are starting to use cleaner energy sources. While climate change and air pollution might not be as easy, there are many ways to monitor and control emissions. There is a device that has been used for many years now and comes as a portable unit called a flue gas analyzer.
What Is a Flue Gas Analyser?
These portable electronic devices are also known as combustion analyzers, and they help measure the levels of combustion from both commercial and domestic appliances. Everything that’s fossil-fueled can have its emissions measured by using an emission analyzer. Flue gas analyzers are also capable of measuring the ambient air quality inside buildings or rooms.
How to Use a Gas Analyser
Taking Samples
There are multiple measurements you can take using a flue gas analyzer, and each one requires taking a sample. To do this, you need to take the flue pipe you want to test and make a hole big enough to fit the probe in. For the most accurate measurements, make sure to place the probe prior to any draft diverter or damper.
Temperature Measurements
To make a temperature measurement you need to place the thermocouple probe of the emission analyzer at the base of the flue. By this, I mean at a point where the exhaust gas temperature is at its highest. You should also place the probe towards the centre of small ducts.
O2 measurements
When it comes to O2 measurements, you need to calibrate the device first. When the device is ready, start the combustion process and place the flue analyzer where the emissions are released. The measurement time needs to be about 3 minutes before you take a look at the readings.
Particulate Measurements
When you’re tuning up other equipment, or just performing regular maintenance, you should make particulate or soot measurements. These two are the same, and they involve extracting a sample of the exhaust gasses with a manual sampling pump. The measurements are then made from that sample with an analyser that has special filters on its probe.
Records
It’s vital when taking measurements to keep all your readings documented properly. Keeping records of all of the measurements can help you understand long-term issues and help you come up with a solution on your own. This will maximise the efficiency of repairs.
What Makes a Good Flue Gas Analyzer
Readings
You should look for a flue analyzer that shows readings in a way that even a beginner would understand. This includes an intuitive UI, as well as a clear quality display that won’t get affected by the sun’s rays. Features need to be laid out nicely and you shouldn’t be forced to do additional calculations.
Display
When it comes to the display, you can’t expect 4K quality, but you should look for a bright, easy-to-read display. The resolution doesn’t need to be that high, because, at the end of the day, flue gas analysers have relatively small displays so even if you have one with the highest resolution, it won’t matter that much.
Sensors
The ability to perform multiple measurements on the device will depend on the number of sensors, or rather attachments, a flue gas analyzer comes with. The more attachments there are, the more measurements you can do. You’ll also have the ability to perform measurements in hard-to-reach places.
Detection
Something that is typical for this type of device, but often users tend to overlook or take for granted is gas detection. You should look for a unit that is versatile in this department, meaning the device should be able to detect more than one type of gas. Typically, devices that can detect different types of gasses are able to do so by the amount of excess air. Try to look for combustion analysers that can detect gasses such as nitrogen and oxygen alongside CO2.
USB
While this feature is mostly found on computers and tablets, it should also be part of a modern-day flue gas analyzer. Why? Because you might want to print out readings in paper format and doing so requires transferring files to a computer. If having copies of readings is your thing, then definitely consider a flue gas analyzer with a USB port.
