$7.95 co analyzer? co-pro

Allan C Smith · Feb 16, 2013

Did a search on the board and was surprised not to see any threads related to this little condom. Looks like a great idea! has any one been using these things? I'm gonna order 20! just wish that it wasn't gonna take a month to get here! till then guess I'm diving on hope.

CO-PRO - Personal Carbon Monoxide Protection

flots am · Feb 16, 2013

Allan C Smith:
Did a search on the board and was surprised not to see any threads related to this little condom. Looks like a great idea! has any one been using these things? I'm gonna order 20! just wish that it wasn't gonna take a month to get here! till then guess I'm diving on hope.

CO-PRO - Personal Carbon Monoxide Protection

I've never seen it before, but it doesn't look very useful 5-10ppm range. I'm not sure I could detect the color change, although I certainly wouldn't want to dive the tank.

On the other hand, it does seem useful for detecting massive contamination. Once you get to the "yer gonna die" range it seems pretty easy to tell.

What I'd really like is a CO sensor integrated into my computer.

flots.

Scared Silly · Feb 16, 2013

These have been out for a while in a slightly different form for compressors. They have their place in the market and are a nice alternative to electronic sensors - though they take more time and are not as sensitive to low PPM they are less expensive.

drbill · Feb 16, 2013

I unexpectedly received a number of them in the mail a while back although I haven't tried them. I feel pretty safe with our fill stations here on the island.

redacted · Feb 16, 2013

$8 per check. Ouch. At least you can use them twice. Be safe

koozemani · Feb 16, 2013

I started a thread on these about a year ago. At that price, I real analyzer would quickly pay for itself. If you're only a vacation diver, then you might be better served by a rental unit. I don't remember the company, but DandyDon would know.

Scared Silly · Feb 16, 2013

awap:
$8 per check. Ouch. At least you can use them twice. Be safe

I think if you keep them in an air tight container they would last long enough for week trip. That is after the first check drain the balloon and seal it thus not allowing it to be exposed to atmospheric conditions. Lawrence made a similar device for compressors that was good for several months.

FWIW the way they can be efficiently used for a group is to simply to fill the ballon with a bit of air from all of the cylinders. If activated then at least one cylinder is suspect. If not then dive away. This technique is faster than testing each individual cylinder. I think they fill a niche for a group of divers who want to check but not have the expense of an electronic unit.

And of historical note the above technical was used in WWII to test soldiers for diseases. Blood samples from say 16 soldiers were mixed together and tested. If positive they would split into two batches of 8 and resample. One sample would positive and the other typically negative. The negative group was the disease free. The positive sample was then split into 2 groups of 4 and tested again. The positive group would be continually split and tested until the one solider with the disease was found. This technique is call a binary search and is faster and cheaper than testing each individual. Especially when the chances of find a positive is slim.

redacted · Feb 16, 2013

Scared Silly:
I think if you keep them in an air tight container they would last long enough for week trip. That is after the first check drain the balloon and seal it thus not allowing it to be exposed to atmospheric conditions. Lawrence made a similar device for compressors that was good for several months.

FWIW the way they can be efficiently used for a group is to simply to fill the ballon with a bit of air from all of the cylinders. If activated then at least one cylinder is suspect. If not then dive away. This technique is faster than testing each individual cylinder. I think they fill a niche for a group of divers who want to check but not have the expense of an electronic unit.

And of historical note the above technical was used in WWII to test soldiers for diseases. Blood samples from say 16 soldiers were mixed together and tested. If positive they would split into two batches of 8 and resample. One sample would positive and the other typically negative. The negative group was the disease free. The positive sample was then split into 2 groups of 4 and tested again. The positive group would be continually split and tested until the one solider with the disease was found. This technique is call a binary search and is faster and cheaper than testing each individual. Especially when the chances of find a positive is slim.

Sounds like a red-neck urinalysis. One bad tank could slip through as the sample become too diluted.

Scared Silly · Feb 16, 2013

awap:
Sounds like a red-neck urinalysis. One bad tank could slip through as the sample become too diluted.

Yes, that can be a problem with tests that rely on a concentration rather than a presence. I meant to add that to my post. Thanks for thinking about it.

DandyDon · Mar 5, 2013

awap:
Sounds like a red-neck urinalysis. One bad tank could slip through as the sample become too diluted.

:laughing: The product has been covered here now and then. Just hard to

for that name. The product was discontinued until we got a lot of interest developed in CO testing, then brought back - but it's just not accurate. As it says: "CO-PRO is intended only as a detector of carbon monoxide and is not a substitute for proper testing or inspection of breathing air."

Even if you try to reuse the same cartridge, you'll need spare balloons/condoms and 10 minute tests really get old fast I think. I used to use a 3 minute test and hated that for several tanks. The mixed batch idea does not appeal to me at all either.

$7.95 co analyzer? co-pro

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Allan C Smith

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