Gas Detectors

01 April 2012 All,

I'm hoping someone here can provide a definitive answer to a gas detector issue we're trying to resolve. For background, we're in the midst of an extended coring program and use handheld BW Gas Alert Micro 5 and RAE Systems QRAE II, multi-headed gas detectors with 4 sensors to measure 02, H2S, LEL, CO to establish safe core handling.

The problem is that both detectors are telling us that there is a significant level of CO de-gassing from the cores.

Specifically (though I'm not a chemist or geologist) it's not possible for a formation (core sample) to outgas CO, yet both detectors are reporting CO.

We have concluded that the detectors are reading another gas which has properties that they recognise as CO, and I'm hoping to find out what the gas or combination of gases that is.

Not to confuse the issue further, but the question is actually about the detector's functionality more so than the gas itself.

Can anyone provide assistance on this?

Thanks,

James

3 Answer(s)

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