What distinguishes bump testing from the calibration of gas detectors?
Gas detector bump test
Impact testing is defined as "short exposure to a known concentration of gas to verify sensor and alarm operation
In other words, this is a simple test to ensure that the gas detector will respond to exposure to gas and emit an alarm.
Impact testing will not tell you any information about the accuracy of gas detector performance, but it does make you confident that it is working and therefore suitable for use.
For Industrial Scientific's series of gas detectors, the automatic impact testing program exposes the detector to gas (from a calibration gas bottle). The gas detector needs to successfully report at least 50% of the target alarm level for each sensor within 45 seconds.
If not, generate a failure report. The failure report is a red flag that triggers the user to subscribe to the detector for calibration.
Gas detector calibration
Test the sensor of the gas detector according to known calibration standards (i.e. the content of the calibration gas bottle), and
Adjust the gas detector to correct any inaccuracies.
Therefore, gas detector calibration is more effective than simple impact testing. A successfully calibrated gas detector can assure you of its accuracy in detecting the target gas.
How often should a collision test be conducted?
A good practice for impact testing is every day before use. Bump testing is a great way to ensure that your gas detector is indeed effective before use.
Using a docking station for impact testing is a very simple process, but it can also be manually performed without a docking station.
In this modern era, an important advantage of "smart" docking stations is that they retain a record of gas detector history. This provides a great document record to help maintain your compliance records.
