Air testing comparison

[Curious_George]

Lol - an ego battle. Getting a little more entertainment in this thread than I expected.

Would either of you care to elaborate on the details of either of these test methods - enlighten those of who don’t understand the details. Why or how are they different or the same? Nothing like actual details to make one’s point right? Thanks!

 

[Tracy]

I test prior to filter changes. I always test with no filtration installed in the system. I bounce between trace, lawrence factor, and safety lab plus most recently. I get the same results regardless of who I use.
I am running the tests to verify my separators and coalescors are functioning properly before I install new filtration.

 

[rhwestfall]

there a few standards:

SCUBA / Sport Diving Compressed Air Specifications - Compressed Air Testing - Trace Analytics

The Canadian standard (CSA) is very stringent.

 

[abnfrog]

@Tracy exactly what you would / should see with the data ....now im done , PS that is a good way to test i do that once a year , test before the filter/coalester then after.....its double work but i like like to know everything thats going on with my system

 

[Tracy]

@Tracy exactly what you would / should see with the data ....now im done , PS that is a good way to test i do that once a year , test before the filter/coalester then after.....its double work but i like like to know everything thats going on with my system

I just pull the expired filters out and run an air sample normally at the whip without the cartridges installed. No reason to run a second test. I have never not passed for OC air with no filtration. The filters on a properly functioning system are only there for the occasional contaminated source air and major malfunction.

 

[nadwidny]

Lol - an ego battle. Getting a little more entertainment in this thread than I expected.

Would either of you care to elaborate on the details of either of these test methods - enlighten those of who don’t understand the details. Why or how are they different or the same? Nothing like actual details to make one’s point right? Thanks!

The devil is in the details and it's complicated. The SCC (Standards Council of Canada) Z180 and Z275 standards require only that a lab is accredited to ISO 17025(? sorry I don't remember the number. It's not important to me anymore). Trace and the rest meet that as they are all accredited to that ISO standard. In the appendix to the SCC standard, the suggested methods of sampling are detailed out and the small glass tube method falls short, especially in the moisture analysis. Because the appendix is not a required part of the standard, those labs don't have to meet those criteria. just be accredited to ISO17025. However when a Canadian lab is subjected to during its' every-2-years visit. it has to demonstrate that it conforms to ALL parts of the standard, including the appendices. Which is tens of thousands of dollars of more equipment and requires a larger and higher pressure sample as the small vials can't supply enough sample to accurately measure that.

In the end what the big US labs do is fine for the scuba industry. I would have no problem at all getting air that was certified by Trace or the rest, at the required 6 month interval as per the SCC standard. However in Canada an accurate moisture measurement is crucial, especially if you're a volunteer firefight in Tuktoyaktuk fighting a fire in -40 weather.

 

[rjack321]

Well, thanks for the partial answer. Are you not actively running a compressor or getting the air tested with some frequency?

I have not lab tested my personal air in quite some time. It's almost pointless to do so. If it's bad I will be dead before the results even come back from the lab.

Moisture is the first thing to break through filters and easy to measure in near real time. If your gas is dry everything else falls into place pretty easily and your quarterly or bi-annual lab testing is a waste of money

 

[macado]

I've used Trace Analytics (airchecklab.com) and Lawrence Factor (X-Zam Labs)

The Lawrence Factor kit to test for OCA $134.00 (single test). You pay for shipping back.
The Trace Analytics kit to test for OCA is $110.97 (single test). Prepaid shipping label is included.
They both give you discounts if you sign up for quarterly testing

I find the Lawrence Factor kit easier to use since you just fill a small cylinder for 3 minutes and mark time/pressure of fill. The Trace Analytics kit includes flow restrictor, cartridge, and Draeger detector tube. You need to assemble the Trance Analytics kit and set flow rate, cut off end of Draeger detector tube.

They both take anywhere 3-7 days to get results back. You can pay for rush results if you want. They'll email them to you.

I can't speak on the accuracy of either testing method but the Lawrence Factor kit is easier to use although neither are particularly difficult.

I test the right before my filter changes to in theory see the worst quality air I am producing. I've never not met OCA. From my understanding most compressors will produce this (at least for a short period of time) out of the box.

Now that I've tested a few times I'm happy with the results and see no need to test more than once a year. I'm not selling gas and I change my filters regularly and keep track of hours.

 

[nadwidny]

I've used Trace Analytics (airchecklab.com) and Lawrence Factor (X-Zam Labs)

The Lawrence Factor kit to test for OCA $134.00 (single test). You pay for shipping back.
The Trace Analytics kit to test for OCA is $110.97 (single test). Prepaid shipping label is included.
They both give you discounts if you sign up for quarterly testing{/quote]

If testing to the OCA standard (which isn't really a recognized standard. It's just something the scuba industry made up) costs more then it's not worth the extra money. The method is the same for OCA, CGA Grade E, whatever.

I can't speak on the accuracy of either testing method but the Lawrence Factor kit is easier to use although neither are particularly difficult.

The accuracy for what our industry needs is adequate from both labs.

I test the right before my filter changes to in theory see the worst quality air I am producing. I've never not met OCA. From my understanding most compressors will produce this (at least for a short period of time) out of the box.

They will, for a long period of time. My compressors have filters that are rated for 50 hours. Just for fun I tested one of them every 10 hours (because I could) to see when the filters starting to go off. I got up to 120 hours before the moisture started to fail but I was still meeting OCA ( just like RJack said, test for moisture to see when your filters are going off because if the moisture is failing, your filters are failing)

 

[nadwidny]

So I messed up the formatting in my above post and I really don't have the time to figure out how to fix it. I hope my points came through.