If you have a Bacharach Fyrite Pro 125 or a PCA 25 (or higher) you can set up gas pressure on most residential and commercial heating equipment (depending on the commercial gas pressure required).

If you have a Bacharach Fyrite Pro 125 or a PCA 25 (or higher manufactured since 2/01) you can test and measure for proper air flow and external static pressure on most residential and commercial heating equipment (depending on the commercial air flow required).

While local codes dictate combustion/make up air requirements, a combustion test instrument can be used to help verify sufficient combustion/make up air under actual operating conditions.  Simply wait until the readings stabilize, then open a door or window to the outside and observe the readings on the instrument.  Should the Oxygen or Carbon Monoxide readings change in response to opening a door or window, something is not right and additional testing will be required to determine the exact nature of the problem.

Yes.  However, do keep in mind whether the particular instrument performs a manual or automatic warm up calibration cycle when first turned on.

The PCA and Model 300 line of instruments perform an automatic CO calibration during the warm up period.  This means that they will attempt to calibrate to zero unless they measure levels of CO in excess of 75ppms in the ambient air.  In that case, they will display a CO sensor error in the display after the 60 second warm up period.  These instruments can still be used for source investigation, they simply have to be turned on and complete the warm up period in clean air (ie outside).  Once that is complete, the instrument can be brought in and used to determine any ambient CO levels.

The Monoxor II does a manual calibration during its brief warm up period.  This means that it will immediately read ambient CO levels.  For example if there are 25 ppm's in the air, the instrument will read 25.

The Fyrite Pro series can be setup by the end user to do either an automatic or manual calibration.  Typically we recommend the manual setting.  This may help provide a warning to the contractor/inspector/etc., that they are working in a potentially dangerous environment.

Unfortunately this has become a controversial issue in some areas.  The concern seems to be that flue gases will 'leak' out of the hole.  It is our contention that if flue gases are leaking out of a 1/4 inch hole in vent system which is designed only for a negative pressure, that hole is the least of the concerns.....

If you need to, check with your local authority having jurisdiction.  We can also provide a copy of a letter from the president of the B-Vent Manufacturers Association which basically says that as long as the hole in the interior liner is sealed, (with a "quality grade silicone RTV") they don't "believe that a single hole through B-vent for purposes of measuring draft would affect our UL listing".

In areas where the 'authority having jurisdiction' will not allow this procedure, contractors have typically used a short stick of B-vent right off the breeching (pre-drilled), taken tests and replaced the drilled piece with another.

In order to calculate an accurate Steady State Efficiency (SSE) reading, the temperature of the incoming combustion air is subtracted from the gross stack temperature.  If an auxiliary thermocouple is not plugged into the test instrument, it assumes the combustion air temperature approximates the temperature of the instrument case.

The only thing we are aware of which will cause a Bacharach instrument to falsely read as carbon monoxide is hydrogen, from charging a battery, for example.

The term CO Air Free refers to a mathematical calculation which removes all excess air from the sample.  This is done so that comparisons and standards can be applied to heating systems requiring differing amounts of excess air.