9
Maintenance
Page 128
gas-lab
Q1
9.2 Maintaining the
gas-lab
Q1 sensor system
The sensor system does not require much maintenance and does not contain
any wearing parts. Only methane is used for calibration during normal operation.
The following tasks must be accomplished during the yearly routine testing:
1
The calibration gas methane must be replaced if the residual gas volume
has dropped below 200 nm³, which corresponds to a residual pressure of
about 20 bars in case of a 10-litre cylinder. This guarantees a remaining
time of 6 months when a calibration is regularly performed each week.
2
We recommend to yearly perform a basic calibration with nitrogen,
methane, and the calibration gases (H2-11K and L1-8K resp. binary gas
mixture with 5% CO2 in methane).
3
Visually check the breather (located on the upper right side of the sensor
system): Remove the protective screwed cap of the breather and check it
together with the breather’s aperture for contamination.
4
Observe the national regulations regarding safety checks when checking
the safety devices of the low-pressure regulators (i.e. safety relief and
safety shut-off valves). Usually, we recommend to perform a visual check
once a year and a functional check once every six years.
The Q1 computer automatically monitors the sensor technology of the Q1
sensor system and triggers an alarm if a sensor signal is missing. During the
cyclic automatic 1-point calibration changes of the sensor technology are
quantitatively logged and monitored for limit values. Afterwards, it is possible to
decide whether a basic calibration or possibly a repair is required when an alarm
occurs.