How Much CO is divable

[Hatul]

You did the right thing. My tanks in California always read zero.

 

[dberry]

Everyone normally exhales a digit or two of CO. It's a normal byproduct.

<deleted> Can anyone point me at a reference for that?
<edit> never mind, DiveNav gave a reference in the following post

 

[Anthony A.]

Im getting a unit shortly and will have it set to alarm at 3ppm or above. My question is in regards to calibration. If I want it to be accurate at 3ppm, would having it calibrated every year at 50ppm have too much error? I read that most here calibrate it at 10ppm, but my local calibration centre only does 50ppm minimum in their lab. Im not looking to buy the gas myself and do it. Thoughts?

 

[Storker]

If you want maximum accuracy around 3 ppm, you should calibrate as close to 3 ppm as possible. That's chemical analysis 101.

 

[DandyDon]

Im getting a unit shortly and will have it set to alarm at 3ppm or above. My question is in regards to calibration. If I want it to be accurate at 3ppm, would having it calibrated every year at 50ppm have too much error? I read that most here calibrate it at 10ppm, but my local calibration centre only does 50ppm minimum in their lab. Im not looking to buy the gas myself and do it. Thoughts?

Where are you? If that's the best you can get, ok - it's a lot better than nothing, but maybe someone can offer a nearby resource.

 

[Anthony A.]

Currently living in Toronto, Canada. A couple local places will do the calibration but only 1 place is reasonable. Doesn't the cal gas you purchase only have a shelf life of about 3 years? If thats the case, its much cheaper for me to get a calibration from the shop every year. Only hangup is the 50 ppm co.

 

[DandyDon]

Currently living in Toronto, Canada. A couple local places will do the calibration but only 1 place is reasonable. Doesn't the cal gas you purchase only have a shelf life of about 3 years? If thats the case, its much cheaper for me to get a calibration from the shop every year. Only hangup is the 50 ppm co.

Which tester are you getting?

 

[Anthony A.]

BW tech gasalert microclip x3 (co and o2 sensor).

 

[ajduplessis]

3 ppm

 

[John C. Ratliff]

BW tech gasalert microclip x3 (co and o2 sensor).

As a retired industrial hygienist, I am interested in the calibration procedures you are using. For my work, I had to calibrate instruments before and after each sampling session, and document the calibration results. But my work had to withstand legal challenges.

I looked up the manufacturer's recommendation for the tech gasalert instrument, and here is what they say:

The maximum interval is 180 days with a bump check prior to every use.
How often does my BW Technologies monitor need to be calibrated? : BW Honeywell Gas Alert Detectors Helpdesk

One other question that is often asked is, what is a Bump Check?

Answer:

A bump check is the process of applying gas to an instrument long enough to verify that all sensors are responding to gas, and that all alarms are functioning after the alarm points are exceeded. Typical bump check times are 10-15 seconds.

These are found here:
Support : BW Honeywell Gas Alert Detectors Helpdesk

SeaRat