Gas detectors offer a crucial first line of defence against the dangers of undetected gas leaks on board a vessel. Knowing how gas detectors work will help you choose the right solution for your vessel. Both fixed and portable gas detectors have a vital role in preserving the safety of crews and marine ecosystems.
Reliable, robust gas detection methods are crucial to effectively protect lives at sea – dangerous gases are a common hazard on board, and storage and transportation at sea present their unique challenges. Understanding how your gas detector works can help to streamline the decision-making process when selecting the equipment and technologies that keep your crews safe.
The gas detection technology
Gases pose a specialised and heightened risk because of how they present. In most cases, only a minimal concentration of gas is needed to cause significant harm to health or the possibility of combustion or explosion, especially within the confined spaces found onboard most sea-going vessels. Most gases are invisible – many more are also colourless and odourless. These characteristics mean gas poses a unique risk that is impossible to mitigate without the use of specialist technology – but it’s only in recent years that we’ve had access to more sophisticated automatic detection methods which can be calibrated at the touch of a button.
Gas detection technology has come an incredibly long way since it was first developed in the late 19th century. Before automatic electronic methods, people working with potentially hazardous gases relied on various primitive methods to protect themselves against gas’s physical and environmental dangers, including the canaries used by miners to indicate a potentially toxic build-up of gases underground.
Modern gas detection methods have advanced considerably since then, of course, using a combination of technologies and accurately and efficiently identifying dangerous levels of gases and saving lives.
HOW DO GAS DETECTORS WORK?
To answer this question effectively, you first need to know which type of gas detector you’re dealing with. Different gas detectors have other operating systems, which vary depending on the type of gas or gases they are designed to detect. Gas detectors generally fall into three main categories, all of which operate in slightly different ways:
Electrochemical: Highly sensitive electrochemical gas detectors measure toxic gases such as Carbon Monoxide. They work through sensing electrodes in the air, sending an electric current to sound the alarm.
Catalytic Bead: Using a platinum-treated wire coil, this type of gas detector most commonly identifies combustible gas in the air as the coil oxidises upon contact with the gas, tripping an alarm. Catalytic gas detectors are incredibly common, especially for use in domestic settings.
Infrared: Sophisticated infrared technology uses transmitters and receivers to accurately measure gas levels in the air. Most commonly used for hydrocarbon and combustible gases, Infrared gas detectors use the light transmission to determine what type of gas is present and at what level, sounding the alarm when high concentrations are present.
All gas detectors have one feature in common. Once the gas has been detect at critical levels, they raise the alarm using a loud audio alarm, sometimes accompanied by visual cues.
WHICH TYPE OF GAS DETECTOR IS MOST ACCURATE?
All gas detectors offer accuracy, but some have enhanced safety benefits compared with most. This is because they simultaneously reduce the possibility of human error and malfunction, ensuring the gas detector is working at total capacity and providing complete safety.
The type used in a gas detector depends on several factors. Include where it is use, what it is need for, and the type of gas being detect. Because different gases require different detection techniques.
Electrochemical sensors are primarily use for non-flammable gases, including O2, H2S and CO. Our Marine 4 model uses a catalytic sensor – and although this won’t work in an inert atmosphere and will need calibration, it can pick up Hydrogen, whereas an infrared sensor can’t.
When choosing a fixed gas detector, you have a choice, but infrared is much more expensive due to being more stable and offering its host of additional benefits. Marine 5 is customisable, so can it contain several different types of gas detection technology.
There’s also an added advantage attached with LEL Infrared technology – as it boasts a significant advantage over other gas detection methods. It is immune to two threats to gas detector function – sensor poisoning and drift. With no need to worry about these two issues (or constantly check, service and calibrate to avoid them) and an extended battery life, you can rest assured your gas detector is ready for action at all times.
We are commit to the development and production of various types of gas sensors and gas detectors, including electrochemical gas sensors, semiconductor gas sensors, NDIR gas sensors, etc.
If you have any questions or inquiries about gas sensors, we are here to assist you. Please feel free to reach us through the following Email: jxiotdz@gmail.com
