Tips for Reading Draeger Tubes
You’ve chosen the appropriate tube for detecting a particular gas. You’ve taken a sample of that gas. Now what?
Guidelines for handling the tube and measuring the gas inside.
- Keep your eye on the tube. Look at the tube the entire time you’re measuring the gas inside of it. Why? Because the tube could become discolored while you’re looking away—even if for a split-second.
- Make sure you’ve got good lighting. But not sunlight. UV-rays can cause discoloration. Holding the tube against a light background, such as a piece of white paper, or using a flashlight will help.
- Compare the tube with an unused one. This is an easy way to spot discoloration.
- Look at the full length of the discoloration. Why? Because different gases come in different colors. Carbon monoxide, for example, tends to be a light greenish-brown. Don’t obsess over shades of the same color; one person’s “brown” is another person’s “light brown.”
Reading a scaled tube: There are three possible scenarios.
- The coloration ends at a 90-degree angle. If this happens, just measure the concentration directly aligned with the scale on the tube.
- The coloration is oblique. In other words, if the color falls at a slant inside the tube, as you’re holding it upright, then you’ve got a long discoloration and a short one; take the average.
- The coloration is diffuse. Look for outermost edge of the coloration where it is barely visible.
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