How To Choose the Correct Calibration Gas

It will be often necessary for you to recalibrate your gas detecting sensors to keep them accurate. These sensors naturally drift and change over time, as the components of the sensor decay from exposure to gasses. As such, it’s always the best practice to recalibrate before using a gas detector. However, to double-check your work, bump tests are necessary, and to accomplish this, you need to know how to choose the correct calibration gas for your sensor.

Types of Gas Detectors

The first step is to identify the make of your gas detection equipment. These detectors usually come in one of two forms: single gas detectors and multi-gas detectors. For single gas detectors, you’ll need purified single gases to properly recalibrate the sensor—the most typical of which, for single gases, being methane or iso-butane calibration gases. Multi-gas detectors, on the other hand, make use of a specialized gas that is customized for use depending on the application. These specialized gases contain a carefully proportioned mix of four blended gases.

The Purity of Intended Gas

It’s important to make sure the gases you’re testing with are pure; otherwise, you won’t get accurate results by altering the sensitivity of the detector. To make sure gases produced are adequately pure, you should refer to the gas standard as a reference point of verification. As you yourself are likely not producing the gases, make sure you buy calibration gas from only the most professional and trustworthy sources.

Customization of Gas

Because calibration gases have a wide range of applications in both industrial and lab settings, you’ll find that calibration gas manufacturers offer the ability for you to customize and specify the gases you need for your sensors and intended purpose. When you’re deciding how to choose the correct calibration gas, it’s always a good idea to make sure the manufacturer offers customizable services because there is no reason you need to settle for gas that is “good enough.”