HART, Modbus and 4-20 mA Explained: Gas Detector Communication
A gas detector is only as useful as the signal it delivers. The sensor can be perfect, but if the reading never reaches the control room, the PLC, or the fire and gas system in …
Gas Detection
How Gas Detectors Integrate with Fire and Gas Systems (F&G)
A gas detector on its own only measures. It senses a gas, shows a number, and maybe sounds a local alarm. A fire and gas system (F&G) is what turns that measurement into action: warning …
IR vs Catalytic False Readings: How to Identify the Root Cause
A combustible gas detector that reads 20% LEL in a clean area, or reads zero during a real leak, is a safety problem and an operational one. False alarms erode trust, and false lows can …
Why Your Flame Detector Keeps Going Into Fault: Full Diagnostic Guide
A flame detector that keeps dropping into fault is more than a nuisance. Every fault means that zone is partly or fully blind to a hydrocarbon fire, and every repeated fault teaches operators to ignore …
How Environmental Conditions Affect Gas Detectors (Humidity, Temperature, Pressure)
A gas detector doesn’t measure gas in a vacuum. It measures gas in a real plant, refinery, rooftop, or confined space, where the air is hot, cold, damp, dusty, or at a different altitude than …
False Alarms in Gas Detection: Causes and Prevention
A gas detector that cries wolf is a safety risk. When operators see alarms that never turn out to be real, they start to ignore them, silence them, or push the alarm setpoints higher. Eventually a …
Sensor Drift: What Causes It and How to Correct It
Sensor drift is the gradual change in a sensor’s output over time when the gas concentration, or the measured condition, has not changed. In gas detection, it is one of the most common reasons an …
Troubleshooting Gas Detectors: Common Problems and How to Fix Them
Troubleshooting gas detectors comes down to one question: is the instrument telling the truth? Most problems fall into a handful of categories: power, sensor health, calibration, sampling path, environment, and (for fixed systems) wiring. Work …
How to Troubleshoot Zeroing and Span Issues in Gas Sensors
A gas detector that won’t zero, or fails span during calibration, is one of the most common problems in the field. It is also one of the most misdiagnosed. Technicians replace perfectly good sensors, and …
Gas Detector Fleet Management Software: Necessity or Luxury?
I work in gas detection, and one of the common quuestion I get is do I need a fleet management software? when I should get it and when it is not worth it, here is …