PCA2 225 Configuration and Operation*
* This information is provided in addition to the manual included with the instrument and not to be considered all inclusive. Do read the manual. To download a copy of the Operator's Manual in Adobe Reader (a pdf file) click here.
Before turning the instrument on, the hose and probe assembly must be attached. If the thermocouple is not plugged in you will get a t-couple error after the 60 second warm up period.
On the bottom of the instrument you will see two thermocouple outlets and three additional ports. The larger (combustion gas) fitting goes on the right hand side (labeled 'gas'), the smaller fitting goes on the middle port (labeled + 'delta P').
To obtain stack temperature readings, plug the yellow thermocouple plug into the yellow port on the left hand side labeled 'T-Stack'. The thermocouple port on the right hand side labeled 'T-Air' is for an auxiliary thermocouple. This is normally used when testing a "sealed" combustion unit which pulls combustion air from the outside.
Remember, the Steady State Efficiency (SSE) calculation is determined by the net stack temperature. If an auxiliary thermocouple is not plugged in, there is a thermocouple inside the case of the instrument. This makes the assumption that the temperature of the instrument is approximately the same as the combustion air temperature.
You will notice that the right spade plug is slightly larger than the left one and corresponds with the slightly larger connection on the outlet. You may want to put a mark on the topside of the plug to make it easier to determine which way the plug goes in. In the above photo, an 'X' indicates which side of the thermocouple is up.
Note: you may want to consider purchasing two auxiliary thermocouples to use the instrument when measuring temperature rise or any other delta T measurements.
You are now ready to turn the instrument on. To do this, press the ON/OFF button in the lower right hand corner below the display.
Warning: do not place the probe in the sample location until after the instrument has gone through the 60 second warm up period. Doing so will not damage the instrument but will result in meaningless test results.
Immediately after pressing the I/O (On/Off) button, the display will begin a 60 second countdown during the warm up period.
Once the 60 second 'warm up' period is complete, the screen will appear in the 'hold' mode and should look like this:
In the upper left hand corner of the display, you will see the letters 'HOLD'. To begin sampling, press the RUN/HOLD button. The letters 'RUN' should appear and you will hear the pump operating.
Keep in mind that unless flue gases are being sampled, several of the screens in the display will show dashes where the readings should be. Until the O2 reading gets below 15%, the instrument will not make a number of calculations.
Warning: Should the instrument display read 'CO Sensor Error' after the 60 second warm up period, this means one of two things:
The Carbon Monoxide sensor needs replacing or
The instrument has been turned on in an environment contaminated with carbon monoxide and the operator may be in danger of Carbon Monoxide exposure.
This instrument performs what is termed an 'automatic calibration' during the warm up period and will calibrate to 0 ppm's CO unless the levels are in excess of approximately 80ppm's. In the event that the ambient air has in excess of approximately 80 ppm's CO, the display will read 'CO Sensor Error' to warn the operator that they may be in danger of exposure.
Should this occur, vacate the area and attempt to turn the instrument on outside in clean air. Should the instrument again display the error message, the sensor needs replacing. If it calibrates down successfully, re-enter the building while watching the CO reading to see if carbon monoxide is present and take any appropriate actions.
This instrument can be used for CO source investigations, just remember to turn it on outside in clean air (not near a busy intersection, for example).
Before using the instrument, it must be configured for fuel type as well as unit of measurement for temperature/pressure and date/time.
To set this up, press the MENU button.
Fuel Type Selection
Pressing the MENU button while FUEL is highlighted will first bring up the 'fuel type' screen.
Press the Scroll Up/Down buttons to select the type of fuel being tested.
Once the cursor is highlighting the proper fuel type, press the ENTER* button.
*Note: You must press the ENTER button to save your selection.
Zeroing the Pressure Sensor
Pressing the Scroll Down button a second time will bring you to the screen which selects what the printer will print.
To have the printer print the type of pressure is being documented, hit the scroll up or down arrow to select:
Pressing the Scroll Down button a third time will bring you to the screen which selects what the printer will print.
To have the printer print the type of temperature that is being documented, hit the scroll up or down arrow to select the temperature being measured.
To access the memory, press the scroll down button to highlight Memory and press Enter.
Then select the Memory Option:
For example, to look at the sets of test results stored in the memory, press ENTER to select::
You can also elect to download all the test results to an Excel Spreadsheet with the included software.
To enter the SETUP mode, scroll down again and select enter:
To select the temperature scale, press ENTER when TEMPERATURE is highlighted:
Then select Fahrenheit or Celsius:
Select the C or F and press ENTER to set the unit of temperature and return to the Setup Menu.
Scroll down to Pressure Units, and press ENTER.
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Select the Pollution Unit you want to display and press ENTER to return to the Setup Menu.
The next screen sets the Date.
The cursor will highlight the Month. Scroll up or down to set, then press the right button to set the day and again to set the year. Press enter to save your settings and return to the Setup Menu.
The next screen sets the time.
The cursor will first highlight the hour. Scroll up or down to select the hour, then press the scroll right button to select the minute and again to select AM or PM. Then press the ENTER button to save the time and return to the Setup Menu.
The next screen (O2 Reference) selects which O2 level the CO, NO and SO2 are referenced to.
For example, selecting the CO reference level:
will bring you to the following screen:
Generally flue gas CO readings are referenced to a '0' %O2 reading - also referred to as the CO air free reading.
Sometimes NO and SO2 readings are required to be referenced to a 3% O2, check with your local emissions authority for their requirements.
Select the O2 reference desired and click ENTER. To go back to the Setup Menu, press the ESC button.
Select whether to print or not to print the pressure measurements on the combustion test printout by selecting 'Print Pressure', then 'Yes' or 'No':
Press ENTER to save your selection and return to the Setup Menu
To select the number of combustion parameters displayed in the screen, select the ZOOM feature.
To see all the readings in the screen simultaneously, select 'STANDARD'.
In the 'STANDARD' setting, the screen will appear like this:
Selecting '3x' will zoom the screen to 3 readings:
Selecting '2x' will zoom the screen to 4 readings.
Note that by pressing the 'scroll down' button, you can view the rest of the readings.
The next screen from the Setup Menu determines if the battery charger is being used:
When using rechargeable NiMH batteries, the optional AC power adapter can be used to charge the batteries while inside the analyzer. This circuit must be turned on each time the instrument is cycled off to prevent accidentally trying to charge disposable batteries.
CAUTION, turning the battery charger circuit on while disposable batteries are installed will absolutely result in damaging the instrument.
The next screen will allow Data Logging or taking a 'snapshot' of the test results at intervals you determine for the length of time you select..
To activate the logging feature, select 'Yes' and press ENTER.
The next screen determines the logging interval or how frequently sets of test results are stored to memory.
The choices are:
1, 5, 10, 15, and 30 seconds / 1, 2, 5 and 10 minutes.
The next screen determines the length of time the instrument will continue to store the data.
The choices are5, 10, 15, and 30 minutes / 1, 2, 5, 10, 24 and 48 hours.
Do keep in mind that data logging for extended periods of time must be attended as the moisture trap will need to be emptied periodically. For unattended data logging, a sample conditioning probe is recommended.
To be continued......
For information regarding electronic test instrument maintenance go to Instrument Maintenance Tips.
Find out more about where to test and what results you should expect see, go to Application Information.
For information about interpreting test results and troubleshooting, go to Combustion Test Interpretation.