Gas detection tubes are very common in the gas detection industry. Sometimes, they are called different things, like calorimetric gas detection tubes or strain tube detectors, or even by manufacturers’ names, like Honeywell gas detection tubes, RAE Tubes, Gastec Tubes, Draeger tubes, etc.
What Are Gas Detection Tubes?
Gas detection tubes are graduated glass tubes filled with chemical reagents that produce a color change when exposed to the gas in question. They’re used with hand pumps that draw a sample of air into the tube.
When they come out of the package, the tubes are sealed at both ends. When it’s time to sample, the end of the tube is broken off, and the tube is inserted into the pump.
How do gas detection tubes work?
Gas detection tubes operate as follows: An air sample is drawn through a reagent tube, causing a color change. The concentration is then read from the length of the color stain in the reagent.
Detection tubes offer advantages over other analytical methods, including simplicity of use, rapid response, low cost, and low maintenance.
Advantages of gas detection tubes
They do not need calibration or bump tests.
The gas detection tubes do not need calibration, which reduces the extra cost of calibration accessories such as calibration gas cylinders and tubing and the time needed for calibrations and bump tests.
Low maintenance
Gas tubes do not require maintenance. They are disposable, and their only moving part is the pump.
Easy to use
You do not need any special training to use gas detection tubes. If you can pull the pump and observe the color change, you can operate the tubes.
Cheap
The gas detection tubes are relatively cheaper than other types of detectors.
Reliable
The gas tubes do not have an electronic part, which makes them reliable since they can not be affected by the electromagnetic field, and no electronic part might fail during the operation.
Are suitable for spot gas measurement
Since tubes do not need calibration and are easily transported, they are suitable for gas detection in areas where only spot measurement is required.
You can also use gas tubes to ensure that the sensors in the electronic gas detection device give an accurate reading.
The accuracy of the tubes
Detector tube accuracy is generally considered to be +/-25% of the reading. This is based on the criteria for certification of detector tubes as originally defined by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Most electronic gas detectors ( fixed or portable) are more accurate than gas detection tubes. However, gas detection tubes can still be very useful for initial sampling or detecting gas when an electronic unit is impossible.
FAQ: gas detection tubes
What are gas detection tubes?
With a gas detector tube, you can detect the presence of a specific gas in the atmosphere.
How accurate is a gas detector tube?
The accuracy of detector tubes is generally considered +/-25% of the reading.
What is the purpose of a chemical detection tube?
Chemical spills, fires, and gas leaks all can contaminate the air. Gas detector tubes make it easier to see whether toxic substances remain in the air near the site of the incident. To use gas detector tubes, you also need a sampling pump.
What is another name for a detector tube gas?
Gas detection tubes are sometimes called different things, like calorimetric or strain tube detectors, or even by manufacturers’ names, like Honeywell gas detection tubes, RAE Tubes, Gastec Tubes, Draeger tubes, etc.
Key Takeaways
Gas detection tubes are graduated glass tubes filled with chemical reagents that produce a color change when exposed to the gas in question.
Advantages of gas detection tubes
- They do not need calibration or bump tests.
- Low maintenance
- Easy to use
- Cheap
- Reliable
- Are suitable for spot gas measurement
