LCS Laboratory Inc., offers a wide variety of air sampling equipment to our customers. Air sampling manifolds are very popular among our clients, but without previous experience, the calibration can be a difficult task. The majority of our equipment is calibrated in-house, to facilitate use for our customers. Yet, if you need to do it yourself, the instructions below are here to help.
The manifolds are used to collect multiple, vapor samples using a single pump for personal use. In this example we will demonstrate how to calibrate a 3-port manifold, connected to a low flow pump operating at 100 – 300 ml/min.
For this example, you need to collect 3 samples at 3 different flow rates of 100, 50 and 25 ml/min. The total air flow through the pumps is 175 ml/min.
• With the manifold disconnected from the pump, adjust flow rate on the pump to 175 ml/min.
• Attach the manifold to the pre-calibrated pump.
• Label each port of the manifold. Do not write on the manifold itself. Instead, tape it with masking tape and label the port number on the tape. Each port will be calibrated separately and you want to have a calibration record for each port of the manifold.
• Install a calibration tube into each port of the manifold.
• Turn on the pump.
• Calibrate all ports in sequence. Adjust flow rate on port #1 to 100 ml/min. Then calibrate port 2 to 50 ml/min, and port 3 to 25 ml/min
• Return to port #1 and repeat calibration for all 3 ports again. This time you will only need to make minor adjustments.
• Return to port #1 and measure flow rate for all 3 ports in sequence. Record the flow rates. This is your pre-calibration.
• Now you can turn the pump off. It is fully calibrated and ready for sampling. Do not disconnect manifold from the pump until the end of the sampling.
• After sampling, perform post-calibration.
The manifold pre-calibration is time consuming, so you should expect to spend between 10 to 30 min per pump.
If you need any sampling equipment, please email us to discuss your project.
