Preference on Combustion analyzers

Nick L. in Vt

my company just issued me a Bacharach fyrite pro 125. it rocks. very presice for adjustments and tech rep came out and was real informative. well worth the upgrade.




They call me "Hot Pipe"

Rich Ferris

Preferences on Combustion Analyzers

Hey Guys,

I'm looking for some opinions on the Combustion analyzers for Residential and Light Commercial applications. I'm planing on getting some to use instead of the old style (very reliable no batteries required) Bacharach testers. I'm looking for reliable units that won't break the bank for Gas/Oil testing.

Thanks, Rich

Rudy

Hi Rich

There is alot of info about applications and some on instruments on our training website (www.bacharach-training.com).

If you have any questions, give me a call
- my contact info is on the website.

Got my first electronic instrument in '86 - made the job alot more interesting - learned something new on almost every job!!!

They used to call me "Flamehead"...

scott inM.E.

Happy with my TESTO...

Before you spend all that money, check out Testo and another less expensive option is the UEI C series.

Techman

Combustion Testers

Evening, I've had my old manual Bacharach since 1980 and like myself ,it still works just fine.

Nick L. in Vt

love for the wet kit, but..

i'm just saying, the speed at getting results is impressive. especially on the low mass units.





They call me "Hot Pipe"

Rudy_3

Not only that....

The electronics can also measure CO - a very good indicator of how smooth light off, run and shut down are - this also develops a 'burner performance history' which can be used as a marketing tool.

Tell you customers to call you next year and compare the test results with this year, if numbers start to change (like increased CO production on light off and shut down) maybe an indication some preventive maintainence is necessary (ie. maybe a pump replacement due to a failing cut off).

Also, the printer is a great marketing tool, helps with word of mouth referrals.

Plus, I have hard copy documentation that the equipment was operating safely when I left the job - and with fuel prices hitting the ceiling (I hope) it gives your customers facts on how efficient their equipment is running.

Opinions breed more opinions, facts translate to more work!!

JMHO

Techman

Testers

Very good points concerning the newer test kits ,I will up grade someday,that print out sounds impressive .

scott inM.E.

and then some...

No offense to the OLD Manual's but customers love to watch and see what you do. If I am using an OLD, slow and marginal tool on new, very efficient heating equip. It show's I am not keeping up with new technology. Putting in New three pass 85% plus heating system's and testing combustion with "Webster" era tester's is ludicrous.

Rudy

It is interesting

The history of the Bacharach shaker bottles is pretty interesting. The glass version first came out in 1914, Herman Bacharach was importing them from Germany.

WWI came around and cut off his suppliers!!

He had to start making them himself...

He was in Pittsburgh due to his origonal job as a draftsman for Westinghouse (and no doubt a huge Steelers fan!!).

WWII came around and his business took off as he made shakers for the US Navy and Merchant Marines (Bacharach also made gunsights for Navy canons).

The present version came out in 1954 and is in the Smithsonian Institute - it was the first use of industrial plastics.

We found two documents on the history of the company, unfortunately they were many generations of copies so the photos are fuzzy - if you want to check them out go to:

http://www.bacharach-training.com/History/archives.htm

Neat stuff!!

Mark Hunt

Rudy


You MUST post more often!!!

Bacharach stands alone.

I test everything.....Bach Fyrite-pro showed me things I never knew existed.

More important though, KNOW what the numbers mean and how YOU can change them.

Mark H

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[Deleted User]

My preferable choice is one that doesn't show efficiency...

There are a THOUSAND ways to get to that number, and none of them are right.

It's like having a watch that;s a minute off. It's only accurate once a day:-)

In all seriousness, that IS the one parameter that I don't even look at. I have no control over the load, just the efficiency of the burner. Would LOVE to be able to adjust every boiler at design condition...but am usually predisposed.

ME

Rudy

No Mark....

You da' man - you are out there every day testing stuff, you need to post more often and let us know what you are finding.

Ya gotta agree, testing makes the job alot more interesting!!

Rudy

You are absolutely right Mark

To me SSE is alot like mpg rating on an automobile, 'your mileage may vary'.

Contractors need to understand how to more precisely interpret test results.

However, I would still argue that most 'typical' customers don't give a hoot about O2, stack temp, etc - it is up to the contractor to maximize safe, efficient, and reliable operation.

Rudy

You are absolutely right Mark

The last time I concentrated on the SSE reading was a couple of days before I happened to call some guy named, well, I can't remember, Jim something....

Since then, I've interpreted SSE alot like the mpg rating on an automobile, 'your mileage may vary'.

Contractors need to understand how to more precisely interpret test results.

However, I would still argue that most 'typical' customers don't or will never want to understand O2, stack temp, etc - it is up to the contractor to maximize safe, efficient, and reliable operation.

Owning any manufacturer's analyzer is one issue, accurately understanding and interpreting the test results is another.

Paul Fredricks_3

Bacharach

We use the Pro 125. Great tool. I have seen it increase the professionalism of our techs because they now want to anylize whats going on. And the printer keeps them accountable.

Just watch the moisture. Moisture eats these things up quickly. I tell the guys if you see any moisture in the separater to open it up and clean it out immediately.

Jim Davis_3

Technology

Jim "Who" Here! Here's a list of other old tools that many must still use: A Brownie Camera, Abacus, B & W TV, Telegraph, Dial Phones. I believe the 21st century requires a little more advanced technology. Any time you can't take a Carbon Monoxide test on a piece of equipment you are lighting the fuse to a piece of dynamite and don't really know how long it is. Bacharach has been the leader for years that everyone else has copied. Can't deny their dependability. Without competition though, the price of analyzers would be out the roof. Any analyzer is only as good as the person using it. The more you know the more picky you will about the tester you use. TSI is the unit I recommend with the Bacharach. The TSI is the only unit that comes standard with a 10,000ppm CO range. This means your unit will lock up less, recover faster and last longer. Having diagnosed oil systems with a digital CO analyzer since 1985 and to truly diagnose every mechanical issue on oil burners response time is critical. TSI & Bachrach are the two fastest response units made.

Jim Davis_3

Also leave water trap open in the case and never leave hoses connected to analyzer.

Rudy

Also...

It's a good practice to disconnect the hose and let the instrument run for another 10 minutes to post purge. Allows things to dry out and also gets any remaining CO purged out as well.

Keep in mind that the sensors are working even when the instrument is off, running it a little longer won't reduce the life of the sensors.

And if I have really hammered a CO sensor or see alot of moisture evident, I just stick it in the case running. If no buttons are pressed in 20 minutes, it will automatically shut down.

Paul Fredricks_3

I saw...

In the instructions it said to purge 10 minutes when done testing. I talked to the tech support guy at Bacharach and what was decided was 1 min. post purge with the hoses on and 1 min with the hoses disconnected would be fine. 10 minutes seemed too long.

I wish they had a better a better water trap set up. It can be a real pain to get them open. A twist lock cover would have been better.

David Sutton_6

Rudy

I have the tech 60,Do you recomend the same to this model as well?...David

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Rudy

Yes

And with regards to the 10 minutes or 1 minute of post purge, it just depends -- I usually leave it running while I'm getting things cleaned up. Maybe make a trip out to the truck - 10 minutes is not set in stone.

The idea is just to get it dried out and get the CO out of it.

One thing that helps with the moisture traps is to put a little water proof grease or vasiline on the O ring - really makes it easy to open and I checked with engineering, it won't effect any of the sensors.

The reason it is so snug is that if just a little air gets sucked in it can change the readings dramatically. One nice thing about a little lub is that it helps insure a good tight seal.

David Sutton_6

Thank you Rudy

As always..The man !!

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S Ebels

Purging

Both of our Testo 325's will purge automatically when turned off and I think they are all made that way. When you hit the off button it will purge until the CO is at or near zero, then it will turn off. If you had it in a clean flue it will shut off right away, if you hit the off button with a CO reading above 2-3ppm, it will run until zeroed out and then go to sleep.In a really dirty flue they'll run for quite a while before shutting down. It's impossible to turn it off with a snoot full of CO. Nice feature. The condensate trap is easily checked and drained also. The new Testo 330 is fully as fast as anything else I have run except $5,000+ commercial units such as Systronics etc.