RE: CO meters (again)

["Bryan Willson" <Bryan.Willson@colostate.edu>]

Just looked at the specs on the Onset CO meter.  I note that the response
time for this meter is listed as 11 minutes.  That seems REALLY limiting for
a stove, where large changes can occur within several seconds.  Maybe useful
for furnaces operating at steady state, but I really question the
suitability for small stoves.  If the sensor is used as a safety sensor for
sensing CO in the room, it may be OK.

I also note that there are no provisions for sample handling (a BIG deal) or
calibration.

I'd hate to see a lot of effort spent taking data with this instrument given
the limitations.  I understand the attractiveness of the price.  However, as
a guy who spends his living doing experiments, I hate to see effort spent on
careful experiments whose results are compromised by inadequate
instrumentation.  Not even sure that you can be confident about A vs. B
comparative tests.

People send me engine data all the time which is basically worthless due to
similar instrumentation issues.  I received some engine data yesterday from
Asia which measured more oxygen than is present in ambient air!


 - Bryan Willson


 Dr. Bryan Willson
 Professor of Mechanical Engineering
 Research Director, Engines & Energy Conversion Laboratory
 Department of Mechanical Engineering
 Colorado State University
 Fort Collins, Colorado  80523-1374
 Phone:  (970)-491-4783
 Mobile: (970)-227-5164
 FAX:    (970)-491-4799
 EECL Web Site: www.engr.colostate.edu\EECL



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dean Still [mailto:dstill@epud.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2002 5:26 PM
> To: stoves@crest.org; ethos
> Subject: Re: CO meters (again)
>
>
>
> Dear Crispin,
>
> www.microdaq.com  should get you to Onset who makes the HOBO CO
> data logger
> we're using now. We have used it side by side with other combustion
> analyzers and it seems to be accurate. It costs around $240 but
> the software
> is a bit extra. The really nice thing about the HOBO's are that you launch
> the data logger, run your tests keeping track of time and then
> download the
> data into your computer getting nice graphs. Perfect for
> recording in house
> levels, I would think...So there is a permanent record of activity. The
> downside is that it is really not set up for instantaneous readout so you
> don't see the peaks and valleys as the stove is performing. You
> have to run
> the test, record time and observations then go to your computer
> and see the
> results. Oh yeah, it can't tolerate heat or high humidity. Our set up has
> the data logger about six feet above the hood over the stove, depending on
> day's temperature it stays between 70 and 90 degrees F... A six
> foot high 12
> inch in diameter chimney pipe connected to the hood brings cooled gases to
> the monitor. Using the same set up every time we can hopefully compare
> differences in stoves.
>
> Makes for very interesting morning conversations with coffee mug in hand
> comparing recorded observations with the graphs. Yesterday we ran
> two stoves
> and I'm itching to see what happened! Every day a new adventure!
>
> Best,
>
> Dean
>
>
>
> -
> Stoves List Archives and Website:
> http://www.crest.org/discussion/stoves/200209/
> http://crest.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/
> >
> Stoves List Moderators:
> Ron Larson, ronallarson@qwest.net
> Elsen L. Karstad, elk@wananchi.com www.chardust.com
>
> Other Biomass Stoves Events and Information:
> http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1010424940_7.html Bioenergy
> http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1011975339_7.html Gasification
> http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1011975672_7.html Carbon
>
> List-Post: <mailto:stoves@crest.org>
> List-Help: <mailto:stoves-help@crest.org>
> List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:stoves-unsubscribe@crest.org>
> List-Subscribe: <mailto:stoves-subscribe@crest.org>
> >
> For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
> >http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Chambers/Ch
ambers.htm


-
Stoves List Archives and Website:
http://www.crest.org/discussion/stoves/200209/
http://crest.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/
>
Stoves List Moderators:
Ron Larson, ronallarson@qwest.net
Elsen L. Karstad, elk@wananchi.com www.chardust.com

Other Biomass Stoves Events and Information:
http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1010424940_7.html Bioenergy
http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1011975339_7.html Gasification
http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1011975672_7.html Carbon

List-Post: <mailto:stoves@crest.org>
List-Help: <mailto:stoves-help@crest.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:stoves-unsubscribe@crest.org>
List-Subscribe: <mailto:stoves-subscribe@crest.org>
>
For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
>http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Chambers/Chambers.htm