How to Choose a Gas Analyzer That is Right for You

Variances in Analyzers
Industries such as steelmaking, petrochemical, synthetic and biofuel production, incineration, waste management, and power generation, among others, all have need of gas analyzers. What’s more, each industry has different gas monitoring needs. Even within a single industry, different processes or facilities can require different gas analyses.

Over time, to keep up with the constantly expanding and evolving industrial word, we have developed an expansive line of gas analyzers. Many of them are industry specific, and selecting the correct one for your application can be a daunting task.

Analyzer Selection Factors
With such a large volume of different gas analyzers to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to start looking.

Luckily, there are a number of factors that should always be considered when selecting a gas analyzer. Working through these factors can lead you to a small handful of analyzers that could fit your application.

Gas to be Measured
The primary gas that you need to measure should, naturally, be the first factor of your decision. Different gases often require different configurations or sensors in an analyzer — attempting to measure a gas with an analyzer meant for another could lead to catastrophic consequences, making this the most important factor. Some commonly measured gasses, and some industries they’re used in, include:

Oxygen (O2) — metalworking, steelmaking, medical, aerospace, water treatment, etc
Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) — industries that burn fossil fuels or use electric arc furnaces
Hydrogen (H2) — metalworking, metal heat treating, gasification
Other Materials
It is unlikely that the primarily measured gas is the only thing in the atmosphere where your gas analyzer will be located. What else is in the air? Particulate matter, moisture, and even run of the mill dust can affect the readings a gas analyzer obtains or even, potentially, damage sensors.

If you know that the operating atmosphere is likely to have contaminants of any source, you should skew your search toward Nova gas analyzers with filtering or reading correction capabilities.