We talk a lot about Smoke and Heat Detection in the fire/Life Safety world, but there are a whole lot of other hazards out there that can hurt us..

There are many gasses that are prevalent in our homes and in industry that can either blow us up or kill us outright. Many of these are created by common sources like Carbon Monoxide, Natural Gas and Propane in our homes, Carbon Dioxide in our Schools and Auditoriums, Refrigerants like Ammonia and Freon in our Cold Storage buildings and Ice Rinks, Hydrogen Sulfide in Waste Treatment Facilities and Nitrogen Dioxide in Garages and Bus Barns and Oxygen in Hospitals and homes with Oxygen generators of the ill and infirmed.

We can protect ourselves from these dangers by implementing specific detection strategies for occupancies that are most susceptible to gasses specific to the operations within. Macurco (Aerionics) has the broadest range of professional devices for the detection of all of these gasses. In our Tech Tip Video, we explain the dangers and review the gasses and the various detection formats that are available to you from TC LifeSafety. In this blog I want to give you just a bit more information.

Part # Description MA-1 MA-6 MA-12 MA-ME Sensitivity Coverage
CM Carbon Monoxide x x x x 0 - 200 PPM 5,000 Sq Ft
RD Refrigerants   x x   0 - 1,000 PPM 900 Sq Ft
OX Oxygen x x x   0 - 25% By Volume 900 Sq Ft
CD Carbon Dioxide         0 - 5,000 PPM 5,000 Sq Ft
GD Combustable Gasses         LEL = Lower Explosive Limit
Methane   x x x 0 - 50% LEL 900 Sq Ft
Propane   x x x 0 - 50% LEL 900 Sq Ft
  Hydrogen   x x   0 - 50% LEL 900 Sq Ft
TX Toxic Gasses            
Nitrogen Dioxide   x x   0 - 20 PPM 5,000 Sq Ft
Ammonia   x x   1 - 100 PPM 900 Sq Ft
Hydrogen Sulfide x x x   0 - 50 PPM 900 Sq Ft


The chart above shows the different detector models , the gasses they detect, their programmable sensitivity range and their coverage (for the CM units only). 

The Rating of PPM stands for Parts Per Million (220 PPM means the detector reads that the level of gas has reached a concentration of 220 Parts of gas out of a Million Parts of air.)

The Rating LEL stands for Lower Explosive Level (Too little explosive gas in the air is not a hazard, however, there is a percentage that it begins to become a danger and that is the Lower Explosive Level, conversely there is a point where there is too much explosive gas in the air and it is too saturated to be an explosive danger, you will see in the literature that these devices will not detect above the UEL or Upper Explosive Level).

So, between this and the information in the Tech Tip Video, you should be well armed for bidding and selling these devices in addition to your standard Fire Alarm equipment. Much of this detection information is required in the Mechanical Codes in your State or Municipality.

You can retrieve the Sales Data Sheet for all of these units on the individual pages for these products on our website by clicking on the Blue Tab marked "DOCUMENTS" below the photo.


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