which combustion analyzer to buy

md

happy healthy new year to everyone,,, my boss is on my case for some time now to buy for the shop an electronic analyzer,, all we use is the old wet type tester,,, we mainly do residential oil,, some gas,, some light commerical,,, lately we have put in several triangle tube mod con and we need a good tester, cost not an issue,, wants something easy to use and reliable,, our supply house wants him to get a uei. i heard alot about new type sensor that last longer, but always hear testo and bacarach are good,,, any suggestions,,,must have a printer also,, thank you

EBEBRATT-Ed

testo

GW

Whatever you get buy two. When your main tool stops working you need to send it in for service

Don’t go more that 2 years without service. Once a year if you’re wanting to be bulletproof

I had Bacharach in the early days, even calibrated them myself. Now we have Testo, I’ve heard mixed messages on the UEI

Big Ed_4

Testo

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

I'm very happy with my Bacharach.

DZoro

I have 2 Testo brand and yes I would buy again had one for approx. 10 years and the other about 4 years.

STEVEusaPA

I like my Bacharach Insight Plus. First had a Testo, then the UEI C155 for 5 years (free annual calibration) then the Bacharach for about 3 years now.

Zman

I picked up a Testo 320 a few months ago. It is much more robust that the EUI I previously owned. The sensors are user replaceable so there should be no down time when it is time to replace.

kcopp

Had a Wholer... not bad. It ended up needing a total rework so I opted for the Testo. Nice display.

newagedawn

i like bacharach, calibrations can be done every two yrs yourself, if you buy the components and run their re calibration built right into the combustion tester , i think that is a nice feature,being most of us know how long it takes when you send it somewhere

HVACguyinME

I bought a Fieldpiece SOX3, super reliable and extremely cheap. However, it does not do CO.

Dave0176

Testo 320 here. Love it!

boilerman12

We have used Enerac 500 for years ,the only one that will give you a free loner for life.all made in the USA and you can call the owner Bill and ask him anything about how to test . the printer comes with it built in .My sensors last at least one year longer than my other ones i will not say there names to be nice .

Tinman

Tests 320.

Fredm

When I drove the customer service bus in Langley, BC we started out with an ECOM unit which had to go to Atlanta Georgia for service.
We migrated to a Kane May Quintox as the service center for Kane is Richmond, BC and Portland, OR. The interface for this analyzer is a hand held unit with all controls and commands made right in your hand, not at the "suitcase".
My own analyzer is a Kane KM900 which has the same interface unit as the Quintox. It needs and gets an annual service at UEI in Richmond, BC.
I prefer the strong vacuum pumps and rugged hand piece in the Kane units and the super customer service of the crew in Richmond.
The new equivalent would be the Kane 900 Plus, but mine still gives Yeoman's service after ten years so why change?
Cheers, Fred.

Lance

I recommend the E instrument BTU 1500. We work for manufactures that require printouts from lab calibrated instruments. We also like the idea that we can swap out sensors in the field instead of sending the tool back to the lab. We do send ours back for calibration but only when the calibration date range expires. I also like their 7899 gas sniffer. Works on methane and many refrigerants. We keep buying this over the others because we find them to be the best bang for the buck.
You will still need a smoke paper tester. Soot messes up all electronic instrument sensors and should not be present when testing combustion. They now have blue tooth capability. With this you may save a buck if you do not need a printer.
find here: http://www.e-inst.com/combustion-gas-analyzers/
Hope this helps someone.
Lance no more fyrite for me.

pitman44

We've have a Testo I'd be happy to sell you. Went back to Bacharach, but we do use Testo's electronic smoke tester. The Bacharach we're currently using is the Fyrite Insight Plus LL. You can get on their sensor program to get the calibrated sensors. The LL stands for Long Life. Sensors go 2 years.

delta T

I would not go with Uei, its what I have currently, and I am not happy with it. I borrowed a friends Testo the other day as my Uei is not zeroing again even though it was calibrated three months ago. Unit is 5 years old. I loved the Testo, great display, easy to use, I think I'm sold.

OldSchoolHVAC

As a wholesaler, I have sold UEI, Fieldpiece, Testo and Bacharach. I would highly recommend the Bacharach Fyrite Intech analyzer. You can get this with or without the reporting package (printer). It is a great analyzer for residential and light commercial use. Filed replaceable sensors are a life saver as well.
If you are servicing larger commercial equipment, the PCA analyzers work well.
Glad to see so many people testing and not guessing.

Boiler1947

For everyday use I loved my Enerac 2000. Aluminum suitcase with builtin printer and computer interface connection. Used it for over 30 years. Went to a Bacharach Insite since I only use it a few times a year now.

Jackmartin

Testo 320 I have a number of Testo products I purchased from ITM and I am very happy with all of them . I have to get s new manometer and I am buying a Testo 820 All the best Jack

bruce_21

How do you know if your analyzer needs to go back to the factory? Are there "wear parts" inside that degrade by active use or by just sitting in the box? I have a TPI that hasn't seen too much action but is 4-5 years old