Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Which gases to detect?

Hi Alex,

I bought a cheap CO2 monitor wich only measures up to 10,000 ppm or 1%.

I should be keeping levels well below this & will surface if I go any higher.

NASA has a limit of 3% exposure for 1 hour, & in hind sight I wish I'd bought

something with a greater range so I could push the limits if necessary or if

I was entrapped, estimate when I would need to jump ship.

So I'd advise checking it's range if you haven't already.

Regards Alan

----- Original Message -----

From: Smyth, Alec

To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org

Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 6:35 AM

Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Which gases to detect?

I've been looking into gas monitors, and have found what I think is a good one for the lowest cost. What I'm interested in monitoring is O2 and CO2, but the instrument monitors four gases in total. The question then is, if I'm going to get two extra gases monitored for the same price, do any of the available combinations present some advantage for a sub? Here are the "extra" gases to choose from:

- Carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide
- Ammonia and sulfur dioxide
- Ammonia and chlorine
- Carbon monoxide, ammonia
- Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide
- Carbon monoxide, chlorine
- Hydrogen sulfide, ammonia
- Hydrogen sulfide, chlorine
- Sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide

I'm thinking I could always use the carbon monoxide in my home when checking for furnace leaks, and was it not chlorine that is produced when sea water comes in contact with batteries? In that case monitoring for chlorine might be useful in a sub that has battery pods that communicate with the cabin.

For those interested, here is the manual describing this instrument: http://www.canarysense.com/crm_uploads/honeywell_analytics_impact_gas_detector_user_manual.pdf

Thanks,

Alec

The contents of this e-mail are intended for the named addressee only. It contains information that may be confidential. Unless you are the named addressee or an authorized designee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you received it in error please notify us immediately and then destroy it.