Confined Space Entry

Confined Space Entry (CSE) is a location that is substantially enclosed although not always entirely, and where serious injury can occur from hazardous substances or conditions within the space or nearby such as a lack of oxygen. As they are dangerous, it must be noted that any entry to confined spaces must be the only and final option in order to carry out work. Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. Approved Code of Practice, Regulations and guidance is for employees that work in Confined Spaces, those who employ or train such people and those who represent them.

Confined Space Identification

HSE classify Confined Spaces as any place, including any chamber, tank, vat, silo, pit, trench, pipe, sewer, flue, well or other similar space in which, by virtue of its enclosed nature, there arises a reasonably foreseeable specified risk, as outlined above.

Although, most confined spaces are easy to identify, identification is sometimes required as a confined space is not necessarily enclosed on all sides. Or exclusive to a small and/or difficult to work in space – grain silos and ships’ holds, can be very large. Although, these areas may not be that difficult to get in or out of, some have several entrances/exits, where others have large openings or are apparently easy to escape from. Some confined spaces (such as those used for spray painting in car repair centres) are used regularly by people in the course of their work.

There may be instances where a space itself may not be defined as a confined space, however, while work is ongoing, and until the level of oxygen recovers (or the contaminants have dispersed by ventilating the area), it is classified as a confined space. Scenarios include welding that would consume some of the available breathable oxygen, a spray booth during paint spraying, using chemicals for cleaning purposes which can add volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or acidic gases, or an area subjected to significant rust which has reduced available oxygen to dangerous levels.

What are the Rules and Regulations for Employers?

Under the new OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) standards, the obligation of the employer will depend on what type of employer they are. These include the controlling contractor, the host employer, the entry employer or sub-contractor.

The controlling contractor is the main point of contact for any information about PRCS on site.

The Host employer: The employer who owns or manages the property where the construction work is taking place.

Employer can’t rely solely on the emergency services for rescue. A dedicated service must be ready to act in the event of an emergency. The arrangements for emergency rescue, required under regulation 5 of the confined space regulations, must be suitable and sufficient. If necessary, equipment to enable resuscitation procedures to be carried out should be provided. The arrangements should be in place before any person enters or works in a confined space.

The Controlling contractor: The employer who has overall responsibility for construction at the worksite.

The Entry employer or Sub-Contractor: Any employer who decides that an employee it directs will enter a permit-required confined space.

Employees have the responsibility to raise concern such as helping highlight any potential workplace risks, ensuring that health and safety controls are practical and increasing the level of commitment to working in a safe and healthy way.

The Risks and Hazards: VOCs

A confined space that contains certain hazardous conditions may be considered a permit-required confined space under the standard. Permit-required confined spaces can be immediately dangerous to operator’s lives if they are not properly identified, evaluated, tested and controlled. Permit-required confined space can a defined as a confined space where there is a risk of one (or more) of the following:

Serious injury due to fire or explosion
Loss of consciousness arising from increased body temperature
Loss of consciousness or asphyxiation arising from gas, fume, vapour, or lack of oxygen
Drowning from an increase in the level of a liquid
Asphyxiation arising from a free-flowing solid or being unable to reach a respirable environment due to being trapped by such a free-flowing solid

These arise from the following hazards:

Flammable substances and oxygen enrichment
Excessive heat
Toxic gas, fume or vapours
Oxygen deficiency
Ingress or pressure of liquids
Free-flowing solid materials
Other hazards (such as exposure to electricity, loud noise or loss of structural integrity of the space) VOCs.

Intrinsically Safe and suitable products for Confined Space Safety

These products are Certified to meet local Intrinsically Safe Standards.

The Gas-Pro portable multi gas detector offers detection of up to 5 gases in a compact and rugged solution. It has an easy-to-read top mount display making it easy to use and optimal for confined space gas detection. An optional internal pump, activated with the flow plate, takes the pain out of pre-entry testing, and allows Gas-Pro to be worn either in pumped or diffusion modes.

Gas-Pro TK offers the same gas safety benefits as the regular Gas-Pro, while offering Tank Check mode which can auto-range between %LEL and %Volume for inerting applications.

T4 portable 4-in-1 gas detector provides effective protection against 4 common gas hazards: carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, flammable gases, and oxygen depletion. The T4 multi gas detector now comes with improved detection of pentane, hexane, and other long chain hydrocarbons.

Tetra 3 portable multi gas monitor can detect and monitor the four most common gases (carbon monoxide, methane, oxygen, and hydrogen sulphide), but also an expanded range: ammonia, ozone, sulphur dioxide, H2 filtered CO (for steel plants).

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Did you know about the Sprint Pro’s Ambient Air Monitor?

You probably know that the Sprint Pro has a host of useful functions, but have you ever scrolled through the menu of your Sprint Pro, found the ambient air monitor and wondered how you could use it?

Well, you need wonder no longer – because in this post we will look at the Sprint Pro ambient air monitor and its uses.

Who needs to carry out ambient air monitoring?

As a gas engineer, your need for ambient air monitoring may vary according to the type of work you do, but if you specialise in Carbon monoxide (CO)/Carbon dioxide (CO₂) detection – for example, if you have CMDDA1 certification for dwellings or undertake COMCAT (commercial catering) reports in the UK, or have equivalent domestic or catering CO/CO₂) certification elsewhere in the world – you will probably find this function very useful.

How does ambient air monitoring work?

In general terms, ambient air monitoring is simply the measurement of pollutants in the atmosphere, but in a gas detection context it refers to analysis of how much carbon monoxide is in the air.

In some cases, the level of CO₂is also measured. The Sprint Pro 4 and Sprint Pro 6 both have a direct CO₂infrared sensor fitted, therefore they can measure both CO and CO₂.

Ambient air monitoring may be carried out anywhere that CO and/or CO₂present a risk. For example, to detect CO leakages in the home (perhaps from a boiler), or to monitor CO₂levels in commercial catering premises.

With the Sprint Pro, ambient air monitoring is carried out over a given time period, which may be anything from a few minutes to several days, during which time the analyser samples the ambient air at intervals of between one and thirty minutes. At the end of the test, the device gives readings for the current, peak and whole-test average rates for both CO and CO₂. You can save these directly to your log and/or print them out as paper reports.

Even when it comes to report printing, the Sprint Pro gives you options, so you can print as much or little of the relevant information as you need. This can be very handy when you have just taken literally hundreds of samples over a 7-day period!

Ambient air monitoring for CO is available on all Sprint Pro models

Why do I need ambient air monitoring functionality?

Regardless of specialist certification, having the capacity to analyse ambient air is increasingly useful to HVAC professionals and gas engineers. This is particularly true in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the benefits of fresh air and good indoor ventilation have been highlighted. Excessive CO and CO₂are threats to both human and environmental health, and with growing awareness of this, and sustainability becoming an increasingly important social/political/policy topic, the need to quantify and measure them is likely to increase.

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Our Partnership with CSL

Background

CSL is one of the largest providers of gas detection in the Irish market and the leading provider of plant and supporting services to the water, wastewater, environmental and industrial sectors. With headquarters in County Carlow, Republic of Ireland, CSL provide 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year maintenance and support to their customers nationwide through their network of engineers and support personnel located across the country. CSL is a customer-focused company providing a one-stop-shop to their clients. With over 30 years of experience, CSL delivers effective gas detection solutions for the long term. CSL supplies a wide range of gas detection products, from portable devices to complete fixed gas detection systems and customised installations in many sectors.

Views on gas detection

As a critical safety issue, CSL put the design, equipment selection, long-term maintenance, and clarity of the alarm system to the forefront of our gas detection solutions. “We understand that there is always a balance between investment and striving for the highest level of gas safety. Still, from our point of view, safety wins every time as cutting costs in an area as vital as gas safety is a false economy. This is one of the main reasons we work very hard to develop the relationship and partnership and promote the Crowcon Gas Safety product range. When we meet with our clients and discuss their gas safety challenges, the conversation inevitably discusses costs. Because of the sizeable Crowcon product range, we always have a solution that will meet their budget and safety requirements.”- Peter Nicholson, Head of Marketing.

Working with Crowcon

A 30-year partnership and continued communication have allowed CSL to supply their customers with gas detection solutions. “Providing fixed and portable solutions ensures a gas safety package that will work for any company or organisation that depends on high-quality gas detection and related equipment.” – Peter Nicholson, Head of Marketing. We’re thrilled to be working alongside CSL to provide gas detection to the Irish market and support with services to the water, wastewater, environmental and industrial sectors. With over 30 years of experience, CSL delivers effective gas detection solutions for the long term through the supply of our portable devices and fixed gas detection systems.

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What are the Dangers of Carbon Monoxide?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, poisonous gas produced by incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels, including gas, oil, wood, and coal. It is only when fuel does not burn fully that excess CO is produced, which is poisonous. When CO enters the body, it stops the blood from bringing oxygen to cells, tissues, and organs. CO is poisonous as you cannot see it, taste it, or smell it but CO can kill quickly without warning.

Regulation

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prohibit worker exposure to more than 20ppm (parts per million) during an 8-hour long term exposure period and 100ppm (parts per million) during a 15 minute short term exposure period.

OSHA standards prohibit worker exposure to more than 50 parts of CO gas per million parts of air averaged during an 8-hour time period. The 8-hour PEL for CO in maritime operations is also 50 ppm. Maritime workers, however, must be removed from exposure if the CO concentration in the atmosphere exceeds 100 ppm. The peak CO level for employees engaged in roll-on roll-off operations during cargo loading and unloading) is 200 ppm.

What are the dangers?

CO volume (parts per million (ppm) Physical Effects

200 ppm Headache in 2–3 hours

400 ppm Headache and nausea in 1–2 hours, life threatening within 3 hours.

800 ppm Can cause seizures, severe headaches and vomiting in under an hour, unconsciousness within 2 hours.

1,500 ppm Can cause dizziness, nausea, and unconsciousness in under 20 minutes; death within 1 hour

6,400 ppm Can cause unconsciousness after two to three breaths: death within 15 minutes

Around 10 to 15% of people who obtain serve CO poisoning go on to develop long-term complications. These include brain damage, vision and hearing loss, Parkinson’s disease, and coronary heart disease.

What are the health implications?

Due to the characteristics of CO being so hard to identify, i.e., colourless, odourless, tasteless, poisonous gas, it may take time for you to realise that you have CO poisoning. The effects of CO can be dangerous.

Implication to Health	Physical Effects
Oxygen Deprivation	CO prevents the blood system from effectively carrying oxygen around the body, specifically to vital organs such as the heart and brain. High doses of CO, therefore, can cause death from asphyxiation or lack of oxygen to the brain.
Central Nervous system and Heart Problems	As CO prevents the brain from receiving sufficient levels of oxygen it has a knock-on effect with the heart, brain, and central nervous system. Symptoms including headaches, nausea, fatigue, memory loss and disorientation. Increased levels of CO in the body go on to cause lack of balance, heart problems, comas, convulsions and even death. Some of those who are affected may experience rapid and irregular heartbeats, low blood pressure and arrhythmias of the heart. Cerebral edemas caused because of CO poisoning are especially threatening, this is because they can result in the brain cells being crushed, thereby affecting the whole nervous system.
Respiratory System	As the body struggles to distribute air around the body as a result of carbon monoxide due to the deprivation of blood cells of oxygen. Some patients will experience a shortness of breath, especially when undertaking strenuous activities. Every-day physical and sporting activities will take more effort and leave you feeling more exhausted than usual. These effects can worsen over time as your body’s power to obtain oxygen becomes increasingly compromised. Over time, both your heart and lungs are put under pressure as the levels of carbon monoxide increase in the body tissues. As a result, your heart will try harder to pump what it wrongly perceives to be oxygenated blood from your lungs to the rest of your body. Consequently, the airways begin to swell causing even less air to enter the lungs. With long-term exposure, the lung tissue is eventually destroyed, resulting in cardiovascular problems and lung disease.
Chronic Exposure	Chronic exposure can have extremely serious long-term effects, depending on the extent of poisoning. In extreme cases, the section of the brain known as the hippocampus may be harmed. This part of the brain is accountable for the development of new memories and is particularly vulnerable to damage. Whilst those who suffer from long-term effects of carbon monoxide poisoning recover with time, there are cases in which some people suffer permanent effects. This may occur when there has been enough exposure to result in organ and brain damage.
Unborn Babies	Since foetal haemoglobin mixes more readily with CO than adult haemoglobin, the baby’s carboxy haemoglobin levels become higher than the mothers. Babies and children whose organs are still maturing are at risk of permanent organ damage. Additionally, young children and infants breathe faster than adults and have a higher metabolic rate, therefore, they inhale up to twice as much air as adults, especially when sleeping, which heightens their exposure to CO.

How to meet compliance?

The best way to protect yourself from the hazards of CO is be wearing a high quality, portable CO gas detector.

Clip SGD is designed for use in hazardous areas whilst offering reliable and durable fixed life span monitoring in a compact, lightweight and maintenance free device. Clip SGD has a 2-year life and is available for hydrogen sulphide (H2S), carbon monoxide (CO) or oxygen (O2). The Clip SDG personal gas detector is designed to withstand the harshest industrial working conditions and delivers industry leading alarm time, changeable alarm levels and event logging as well as user-friendly bump test and calibration solutions. 

Gasman with specialist CO sensor is a rugged, compact single gas detector, designed for use in the toughest environments. Its compact and lightweight design makes it the ideal choice for industrial gas detection. Weighing just 130g, it is extremely durable, with high impact resistance and dust/water ingress protection, loud 95 dB alarms, a vivid red/ blue visual warning, single-button control and an easy-to-read, backlit LCD display to ensure clear viewing of gas level readings, alarm conditions and battery life. Data and event logging are available as standard, and there is a built-in 30-day advance warning when calibration is due. 

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The importance of being Gas Safe registered

In 2009, the Gas Safe Register replaced Corgi as the mark of approval for all plumbers and heating engineers who work with gas appliances. Now, in order to work with gas appliances and installations in the UK, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, you must be on the Gas Safety Register – if you’re not, you may face prosecution.

However, there are additional benefits to being Gas Safe registered, and in this blog post we’ll take a look at them.

What’s the purpose of the Gas Safe Register?

The Gas Safety Register was introduced to protect the public from rogue gas engineers and plumbers, because millions of lives are put at risk by faulty gas work every year and illegal work costs millions of pounds annually to fix. Gas Safe makes sure that everyone on its register is competent to carry out the type(s) of gas work they’re registered for, and their registration is updated every year. If a Gas Safe-registered contractor breaches the terms of their registration, Gas Safe can investigate them and may revoke their registration.

This gives members of the public a lot of reassurance, because they know they can check with an independent organisation and make sure that their gas contractor is qualified and legitimate. Customers can quickly and easily check an engineer’s registration with Gas Safe, and many use the Gas Safe website as a first port of call when looking for a heating engineer or plumber to work with gas.

What is more, Gas Safe has the power to investigate anyone, either registered or unregistered, who is suspected of working with gas illegally.

How does being on the Gas Safe Register help my business?

Perhaps the most obvious benefit to being Gas Safe registered is the seal of approval from a recognised authority. If you’re registered you can use the Gas Safe mark on your vehicle, clothing, adverts and paperwork, and your contact details will be on the Gas Safe website that so many people use to find suppliers.

There are also practical benefits. Gas Safe is a network of gas experts and registration gives you immediate access to a host of resources and expertise. These include the latest technical bulletins, industry standard updates and safety alerts. When you are registered, Gas Safe will provide contact details for your local Gas Safe inspector, whom you can contact for advice – they’ll even send you a monthly magazine!

Sounds great! How do I sign up?

There are several routes to registration: you find all the details on the Gas Safe website (click here to view it).

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Our Partnership with Shawcity

Background

Established in 1976, Shawcity was one of the first companies to introduce specialist gas detection devices to the UK and Irish markets from leading manufacturers around the world. For over 45 years, they have focused on providing the latest monitoring technology in partnership with leading manufacturers to customers across the UK and Ireland.

Shawcity supports those working in health and safety, occupational hygiene and environmental applications who rely on achieving the highest levels of performance. With instruments available to hire or buy, Shawcity has the capacity to ensure each order is tailored to meet individual project demands. Their portfolio offers an extensive range of monitoring detection including fixed gas detection, potable gas detection and air quality.

Views on Gas Detection

As the focus on workplace health continues to develop, a better understanding of the ways workers can be impacted is leading to changes in legislation and an increasing responsibility for employers to protect their employees at work. Gas detection, in particular, is critical in terms of potential safety and can, in some cases, involve an immediate threat to life. Ensuring the correct equipment is provided and maintained is one of the key responsibilities that health and safety officers have.

The latest technology also means that effective monitoring on a personal, area or environmental level has never been easier to achieve. Shawcity works with every customer to ensure the right equipment is supplied for the job every time and also offer free product training.

Working with Crowcon

The partnership between Crowcon and Shawcity provides an unbeatable combination of industry knowledge and expertise. The two companies work closely together on fixed gas detection projects across many sectors to provide the complete package, from site surveys, planning and design through to installation, commissioning and ongoing service and maintenance.

Now supplying our portable range, Shawcity now can support an even wider range of new markets and sectors. “Shawcity is an official Trusted Partner. Crowcon and Shawcity collaborate at every stage of the gas detection process – from product development through to technical support – to deliver the best possible service to customers” – Nathan Marks, Fixed Gas Detection Manager at Shawcity.

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Balloon gas safety: The dangers of Helium and Nitrogen

Balloon gas is a mixture of helium and air. Balloon gas is safe when used correctly but you should never deliberately inhale the gas as it is an asphyxiant and can result in health complications. Like other asphyxiants, the helium in balloon gas occupies some of the volume normally taken by air, preventing that air being used to keep fires going or to keep bodies functioning.

There are other asphyxiants used in industrial applications. For example, use of nitrogen has become almost indispensable in numerous industrial manufacturing and transport processes. While the uses of nitrogen are numerous, it must be handled in accordance with industrial safety regulations. Nitrogen should be treated as a potential safety hazard regardless of the scale of the industrial process in which it is being employed. Carbon dioxide is commonly used as an asphyxiant, especially in fire suppression systems and some fire extinguishers. Similarly, helium is non-flammable, non-toxic and doesn’t react with other elements in normal conditions. However, knowing how to properly handle helium is essential, as a misunderstanding could lead to errors in judgement which could result in a fatal situation as helium is used in many everyday situations. As for all gases, proper care and handling of helium containers is vital.

What are the dangers?

When you inhale helium knowingly or unknowingly it displaces air, which is partly oxygen. This means that as you inhale, oxygen that would normally be present in your lungs has been replaced with helium. As oxygen plays a role in many functions of your body, including thinking and moving, too much displacement poses a health risk. Typically, inhaling a small volume of helium will have a voice-altering effect, however, it may also cause a bit of dizziness and there is always the potential for other effects, including nausea, light headedness and/or a temporary loss of consciousness – all the effects of oxygen deficiency.

As with most asphyxiants, nitrogen gas, like helium gas, is colourless and odourless. In the absence of nitrogen detecting devices, the risk of industrial workers being exposed to a dangerous nitrogen concentration is significantly higher. Also whilst helium often rises away from the working area due to its low density, nitrogen remains, spreading out from the leak and not dispersing quickly. Hence systems operating on nitrogen developing undetected leaks is a major safety regulatory concern. Occupational health preventive guidelines attempt to address this increased risk using additional equipment safety checks. The problem is low oxygen concentrations affecting personnel. Initially symptoms include mild shortness of breath and cough, dizziness and perhaps restlessness, followed by rapid breathing chest pain and confusion, with prolonged inhalation resulting in high blood pressure, bronchospasm and pulmonary edema.
Helium can cause these exact same symptoms if it is contained in a volume and can’t escape. And in each case a complete replacement of the air with the asphyxiant gas causes rapid knockdown where a person just collapses where they stand resulting in a variety of injuries.

Balloon Gas Safety Best Practice

In accordance with OSHA guidelines, mandatory testing is required for confined industrial spaces with the responsibility being placed on all employers. Sampling atmospheric air within these spaces will help to determine its suitability for breathing. Tests to be carried out on the sampling air most importantly include oxygen concentrations, but also combustible gas presence and tests for toxic vapours to identify build ups of those gases.

Regardless of the duration of stay, OSHA requires all employers to provide an attendant just outside a permit-required space whenever personnel are working within. This person is required to constantly monitor the gaseous conditions within the space and call for rescuers if the worker inside the confined space becomes unresponsive. It is vital to note that at no time should the attendant attempt to enter the hazardous space to conduct a rescue unassisted.

In restricted areas forced draft air circulation will significantly reduce the build-up of helium, nitrogen or other asphyxiant gas and limit the chances of a fatal exposure. While this strategy can be used in areas with low nitrogen leak risks, workers are prohibited from entering pure nitrogen gas environments without using appropriate respiratory equipment. In these cases, personnel must use appropriate artificially supplied air equipment.

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The Dangers of Oil and Gas Extraction

With a variety of potential hazards and dangers to be aware of, health and safety is vital in the oil and gas industry. Some of the common hazards encountered in the oil and gas industry are ‘struck-by’, ‘caught-in’ and ‘caught between’ hazards.

Struck-by hazards

A struck-by injury is one coming from contact or impact between an object/piece of machinery or equipment and a person. Many objects can cause a struck-by hazard, such as flying, falling, swinging and rolling objects. For example, a piece of material separating from a machine or tool and being propelled across the area would be classified as a ‘struck-by flying object’ hazard.

Caught-in and caught-between hazards

Caught-in and caught-between injuries occur when a person is crushed between objects. This is different from a struck-by injury, where it is the impact between object and person which creates the injury. One example of this type of hazard is a pinned between hazard where a person could become stuck between a piece of machinery and a wall, for example.

Fall hazards

Another potential hazard to be aware of in the oil and gas industry are fall hazards. It is possible that workers may be required to carry out work at height, giving rise to potential fall hazards. The challenging environment and conditions which are present at many oil extraction sites only exacerbate this risk. Fall protection equipment such as harnesses can enhance worker safety and reduce the risk of fall hazards.

Gas Hazards, Explosions and Fires

Of course, as the process of oil and gas extraction involves working so closely with oil and gas, workers are exposed to a number of gas hazards. Fires and explosions are some of the most serious incidents that can happen on oil and gas extraction sites and are a real cause for concern due to the presence of flammable gases and vapours. These potentially catastrophic gases and vapours may be released from wells as well as equipment and machinery including shale shakers.

Some of the most prevalent gases on oil and gas extraction sites are hydrocarbons including methane, propane and pentane and hydrogen sulphide. Hydrogen sulphide exposure can lead to numerous health impacts such as insomnia, convulsions, dizziness and headaches.

Having the right gas detection solution is vital to ensuring workers are alerted to the presence of harmful gases in plenty of time. Crowcon’s Fgard IR3 Flame Detector is an explosion proof multi spectrum IR flame detector capable of detecting hydrocarbon fires at a range of metres. For hydrogen sulphide detection, the XgardIQ with Crowcon’s high temperature H2S sensor ensures continued detection in even the most challenging environments.

Confined Spaces

Oil and gas extraction workers may be required to enter confined spaces such as storage tanks and mud pits, which presents a number of risks. Depending on the type of confined space, there is the potential risk of asphyxiation or loss of consciousness due to gas, fume, vapour, or lack of oxygen , drowning from an increase in the level of a liquid and serious injury due to fire or explosion.

Drilling fluids, silica dust and NORM

There are a number of substances which are present on oil and gas extraction sites that can negatively impact the health of workers.

Fluids which are circulated through the well during drilling can contain small amounts of hydrocarbons and exposure to these fluids can cause nausea, dizziness, headaches and inflammation of the respiratory system

Silica sand is often used in hydraulic fracturing, leading to the generation of Silica dust which can cause silicosis, a long-term lung disease.

NORM stands for naturally occurring radioactive materials. As the name suggests, these are small amounts of radioactive materials naturally contained in the earth. Concentrations of NORM tend to be low enough that they are not a cause for concern, however oil extraction can reveal or create higher concentrations, with workers in gas processing facilities being specifically at risk.

To find out more, have a look at our industry page and our case study, Upstream Oil and Gas Producer in the Middle East

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What to do – and what not to do – with your Flue Gas Analyser/Combustion Analyzer

A durable, accurate and versatile flue gas analyser/combustion analyzer is a wonderful thing. For many heating and gas engineers, it’s tough to get a day’s work done without one. That’s why it makes sense to treat your analyser well – and in this blog post we’ll be giving you some tips on how to do just that.

How to keep your analyser happy

The most important rule of all is this: get your flue gas analyser/gas combustion analyzer calibrated every year, on time, without fail. No excuses!
If you can, book your analyser in for service or recalibration at the time you need it least (for example, if you are going on holiday or planning some time off).
Keep an eye on your machine’s condensate trap and remove any water promptly, and always before you put it back into your bag.
Make sure the flue probe is connected to the analyser before turning the analyser on (to purge the probe and instrument) and until the instrument has switched off (so that the probe is purged as the machine shuts down).
When you take a sample from the flue, make sure the tip of the probe is in the centre of the flue. This puts the thermocouple in the hottest part, which provides the most accurate temperature reading and efficiency calculation. When you have taken your readings, put the flue inspection cap back on.
Don’t put your probe in the flue and then switch the boiler on – this runs the risk of excess CO ruining reducing the lifespan of your sensor.
When finishing a job, wait for the device to switch off, then remove the probe and then put the analyser in the bag. NEVER put the analyser in the bag whilst the instrument is shutting down or purging, because if you do, debris from the bag may be sucked into the instrument and cause damage.
It’s dangerous to leave your analyser in a vehicle overnight. Not only could it be stolen, but overnight temperature fluctuations can lead to a build-up of condensation inside the device, which may cause it to malfunction.
Only initiate start-up and purge in clean, fresh air (i.e., not in a room with the appliance already running).
Take care of your flue probe; if it’s not completely air tight it may draw in ambient air and give inaccurate readings. Top tip: if you cover the end of the probe that usually attaches to the analyser and then blow through the other end, you should not be able to blow right through the probe. If you can, it’s leaking.
When you have used the flue probe, let any condensate drain out.
Check filters regularly and discard any that get dirty or damaged. Always carry spares.
Keep the display screen and buttons clean, for ease of visibility and use.

Cared-for analysers live longer

While there are quite a few rules for analyser care, most of them become second nature over time and are well worth sticking with. A decent flue gas analyser/combustion analyzer is an important investment, but with a little care and attention, that investment will last you for many years.

To find out more information about flue gas analysers/combustion analyzers visit our solution page.

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Our partnership with Heating Engineer Supplier (HES)

Background

Founded in 2012 (11 years as a limited company) and based in County Limerick in Ireland, Heating Engineer Supplies (HES) are one of the main suppliers of Anton and Crowcon in Ireland, supplying Cork, Dublin, Galway, Waterford and throughout Ireland. HES provide an extensive range including; flow and pressure, flue gas analysers, gas detectors and oil accessories.

Views on HVAC

Providing workers within the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) sectors with the correct equipment is vital, therefore providing these workers with an integral tool is crucial. SprintPro is a tool that is used every day by HVAC; therefore, Anton by Crowcon flue gas analysers provides a five-gas analysis through an easy-to-use tool. Sprint Pro is manufactured in the UK to exacting standards, stay on the job longer with a reliable device you can trust. Multi-function and easy-to-use, it is designed to last with troubleshooting built in and triple filter water trap system for total hydrophobic protection.

Providing gas detection equipment that is lifesaving allows HES’ customers to have a full solution option best suited to their needs and requirements. HES work by providing their customers with the knowledge, expertise and advise in order to keep them safe when using gas detection products, whilst highlighting and focusing on the awareness of why this type of equipment is required in a variety of industries. Carbon Monoxide (CO) is an odourless, colourless and tasteless gas that is also highly toxic and potentially flammable (at higher levels: 10.9% Volume or 109,000ppm). It is produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels such as wood, oil, coal, paraffin, LPG, petrol and natural gas. CO is present in several different industries, such as steel works, manufacturing, electricity supply, coal and metal mining, food manufacturing, oil and gas, production of chemicals and petroleum refining to name a few. The Clip SGD is a CO personal monitor that can sense what you can’t, giving you time to react and ultimately can save you and your customers lives.

Working with Anton by Crowcon

A 12-year partnership through continued communication and support has allowed Heating Engineer Supplies to supply their customers with both flue gas analysers and gas detection solutions. HES is an official service centre for Anton by Crowcon located in house at their base in county Limerick, with the possibility of portable calibration coming soon. “Over many years we have built up an excellent relationship with Anton by Crowcon. It’s fantastic to know we have brilliant Technical support and we know moving forward with Fixed & Portable gas detection this will continue, we look forward to growing our respective businesses.” Although previously our partnership has predominately been focused on both flue gas analysers and portable gas detection solutions, HES are expanding their offering to cover sales and calibration of our portable gas detection equipment with future hopes being focussed on our fixed product range.

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