The Problem:
Laboratory Analysis by an accredited lab is the best way to check your compressed breathing air, but a lab report takes time. What if you need an immediate answer? If someone says, “this air has Oil and particles in it”, how would you check it? If a field engineer worked on your compressor, and you need to fill flasks the same day, what would you do to be certain that the air is safe? If you need to test your compressed air for CO and/or moisture, but your meters are suspect, how can you get a quick answer, and who would you call.
The Solution:
1. Our Instant Air Analysis Kit lets you simultaneously determine CO, CO2, Moisture, Oil Mist and Particulate on-site as often as you wish without a laboratory. You can run a check in 10 minutes (or 5 minutes if you are in a hurry). Additional compounds (such as Toluene) can be added by purchasing additional tube holders.
2. Our kits are unique. In addition to the Dräger tubes for gases and moisture, our membrane filters visibly reveal any particulate. The kit also includes a small canister for you to provide a sample to send to any air testing lab.
3. The kit is universal; each kit can sample and test both HP and LP air systems anywhere in the world. Supplies can be obtained from us or any Dräger distributor. The only parts that could fail are the replaceable gauges. The kit will never become obsolete.
4. Technical Support is the hallmark of our laboratory. You can phone or email us any time for quick in-depth answers to any question.
5. Credentials: We are accredited by AIHA per ISO/IEC 17025, and tested quarterly by CAPT*. We are approved for testing life support gases from Navy SEALS, Special Forces, Dive Centers, Fire Departments, Commercial Divers, Pharmaceutical Companies and general manufacturers.
* CAPT: The only round robin proficiency program in the U.S. that tests labs 4 times a year.
1. Membrane Filters (12 disposable per pack) are for Oil Mist + Particulate. Other filters are possible: 0.45 micron Millipore type for microscopic particle counting or characterization; analysis for quartz particles; and determination of metals in the air stream per NIOSH.
2. The kit above is set up for CO, CO2, Moisture, Oil Mist/Vapor and a charcoal tube. The Instant Air Analyzer can be upgraded to test up to 10 analytes simultaneously
3. Tube holders can be added, replaced or cleaned in the field in a few minutes. Annual recalibration is seldom necessary, however if desired, kit parts can be sent to us for calibration.
4. The Multi-tube tester is designed for use only with our air sampling kits; they all contain our dual safety features to prevent accidental over-pressurization. No other sampling kit in the world can compete with our Instant Air Analysis kits.
A reliable, simple and quick way for dive shops, cruise ships, fire departments, pharmaceutical companies and the military to check the air they are about to breathe; their life depends on it.
1. This is just one example of our Universal Instant Air Analysis Kit which shows a SCUBA adapter ready to test a Dive system. We have over 30 different compressed air adapters to choose from.
2. All tubes (1 to 10) plus the oil/particulate filter can be run simultaneously in either 5 or 10 minutes.
3. The Air Analyzer comes with 5 tube holders, but you can increase your capability by purchasing additional tube holders. Installing them is simple: unscrew a plug from an unused port, and screw in the new tube holder. All tube holders have an identifying label.
4. The Air Analyzer can be set up specific to your requirements; the most common set of tubes is: (CO, CO2, H2O, Oil and Charcoal). The presence of multiple tube holders does not affect the other tubes in the system. So, if you wish to check for only CO that day, you would only put the CO tube into its holder. Unused tube holders do not have to be removed.
5. The charcoal tube can be used to trap oils and many hydrocarbons when you need to test for a compound for which a tube does not exist or is too insensitive. The tube can be mailed to a lab for analysis from anywhere you are; this can be significant in investigating diving accidents or suspicious air quality. The analysis we do depends on the compounds; thus the cost of an analysis of a charcoal tube is a special quote.
6. Most oil mist + particulate tests are done by re-weighing the spent membrane filter. If you have an analytical balance, you can perform your own test. Or you can mail the filters to our lab (in their original protective slim case) and we will re-weigh them for free.
7. Dräger tubes are available worldwide but you can also purchase them from us. One pack of 10 tubes comes with every Air Analyzer. Replacement filters are purchased from us, but if you want to use a local vendor, send us a couple of samples and we will check their flow reproducibility.
CREDENTIALS & PROFILE
Analytical Chemists, Inc., is an independent analytical laboratory located in San Diego, California. Its primary business is supplying data and solving problems associated with sampling and analysis of Life Support and Instrument gases, especially diving gases. Our experience began in 1974, and our success comes from experimenting and investigating sampling techniques with a wide variety of military, commercial and aerospace systems.
ACCREDITATION:
1. Accredited by the American Industrial Hygiene Association under ISO 17025 (scope Compressed Air Analysis.).
2. Charter members of CAPT, the only round-robin proficiency testing group in the North America. We are also members of the NFPA.
3. Approved by NAVSEA for the analysis of compressed breathing gases and special projects.
4. The only independent test lab in the contiguous U.S. with experience in off-gas testing of life support equipment: Deep Submergence Vehicles, Submarine Rescue Chambers, the One Atmosphere Hard Suits and Nuclear Submarines. Currently participating in NAVSEA’s new program to accredit laboratories for off-gas analysis.
UNIQUE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
1. Israel: trace moisture, volatile hydrocarbons and particulate in portable high-pressure nitrogen cylinders for military applications.
2. Space Vehicles: Trace helium (2 ppm) analysis in gas samples for bulkhead leak checks.
3. Precision gas assays of O2, N2 and He in rocket fuel tanks for true launch weight corrections.
4. Trace gas analyses: Measuring low ppm gas contaminants in bulk gases (i.e., trace argon in hydrogen for fuel cell use; trace levels of oxygen and so on.)
5. Remote Sampling pump: Development of a hand pump to remotely sample “empty SCUBA /SCBA flasks”, interiors of Deep Submergence Rescue vehicles, recompression chambers and mini-subs for the US Navy. It was also used to sample open dive bells 50 ft underwater to determine the cause of air poisoning.
6. Received a patent for the only technically correct high/low pressure compressed air sampling kit in the U.S.
7. Analysis of compressed life support gases for NASA’s neutral buoyancy facility.
8. NVR and trace hydrocarbon analysis in post cleaning of oxygen systems and space vehicles.
9. One Atmosphere Dive Suit (ADS): Off-gas testing of the all of the Navy’s new ADS suits prior to 2007.
10. Specification compliance: over 20 different specifications.
11. Developed an on-site sampling/analysis kit (multiple indicator tubes and Oil/particulate filter) to check compressed breathing air purity in remote locations anywhere in the world without a laboratory.
12. Developed DOT compliant method for remote sampling and shipping of pure oxygen systems.
13. Our primary scope is to send air sampling kits to military and commercial facilities world-wide who then return air samples to us to test the purity of their compressed air. Most of our reports are sent in 24 hrs.
CLIENTS& PROGRAMS:
Most of our clients are distant from our San Diego laboratory, and utilize our sampling equipment to send us gas, fluid and wipe samples. We also back up our service with worldwide in-depth consultation via phone and emails.
An overview of our clientele is given below.
1. Shipyards: Portsmouth, Puget Sound, San Diego.
2. Military commands worldwide: Navy SEALS, Navy Ships, Special Forces, Army, Marine Corps.
3. Military Contractors: Astro Pak, Tecnico, Delphinius, High Star, Epsilon Systems, Chemtronics, General Dynamics Electric Boat (Nuclear), Northrop Grumman, Lockheed-Martin and NASA.
4. Recreation Diver Centers: Too numerous to count.
5. Pharmaceutical Companies in the U.S. and Asia.
About us 16
MOST COMMON ADAPTERS TO CONNECT OUR A SAMPLER TO YOUR AIR SYSTEM ©
NOTE: all adapters as received, are used hand-tight: wrenches are usually unnecessary.
