Crowcon Tetra 3 User manual

User Manual

M07654

Issue 8

April 2015

Tetra 3

Personal Multigas Monitor

Safety information:

• Readandunderstandallinstructionsintheopera-

tionsectionofthismanualbeforeuse.

• Donotsubstitutecomponentsasthismayimpair

intrinsicsafetyandinvalidatewarranty.

• Observeallwarningsandinstructionsmarkedon

theunitandwithinthismanual.

• Observe site health and safety procedures for

gases being monitored and evacuation proce-

dures.

• Makesureyouunderstandthescreendisplayand

alarmwarnings.

• If this product is not working properly, read the

troubleshootingguideorcallCrowcon.

• Ensurequalifiedservicepersonnelchangesensors

andoperatingsystem.

• Ensure maintenance and calibration are carried

out

Instructions specific for use in hazardous areas

Thefollowinginstructionsapplytoequipment

coveredbycertificatenumbers:

Tetra3=Baseefa05ATEX0187

Tetra3=IECExBAS05.0059

Thefollowinginformationcoversallrelevantpoints

listedinclause1.0.6oftheEHSR’softheATEX

directive.

1. Thecertificationmarkingisasfollows:

2. Theequipmentmaybeusedinzones1and2with

groupIIA,IIB,andIICflammablegases,tempera-

tureclassesandvapoursT1,T2,T3andT4.

3. The equipment is certified for use in ambient

temperatures in the range –20°C to +55°C (-4

to +131 F). The equipment should not be used

outsidetheseranges.

4. Compliance with Essential Health and Safety

Requirements has been assured by compliance

withIEC60079-0,IEC60079-1,IEC60079-11,as

certifiedbyBaseefa.

Compliance with gas detection performance

standards EN 60079-29-1, EN 60079-0, EN

60079-1andEN50104andEN 50270hasbeen

certifiedbyLloydsRegister.

5. Repairofthisequipmentandgassensorreplace-

mentshallbecarriedoutbythemanufactureror

in accordance with the applicable code of prac-

tice.

6. If the equipment is likely to come into contact

withaggressivesubstances,thenitistherespon-

sibility of the user to take suitable precautions

thatpreventitfrombeingadverselyaffected,thus

ensuring thatthe typeof protectionis notcom-

promised.

7. Therechargeablebatterymustonlybechargedin

non-hazardous(safe) areasby connection tothe

specifiedCrowconchargerpowersupply.

8. The equipmentis not certifiedfor useinatmos-

pherescontainingmorethan21%oxygen.

Area Classifications:

Zone1: AnareaclassifiedasZone1islikely

tohaveignitableconcentrationsof

flammablegases,vapoursorliquids

presentundernormaloperating

conditions.

Zone2: AnareaclassifiedasZone2isnot

likelytohaveignitableconcentrations

offlammablegases,vapoursorliquids

presentundernormaloperating

conditions.

©CopyrightCrowconDetectionInstrumentsLtd2015.

Allrightsarereserved.Nopartofthedocument

maybephotocopied,reproduced,ortranslatedto

anotherlanguagewithoutthepriorwrittenconsent

ofCrowconDetection

Fromthe1stNovember2010,EN60079-29part

1hasbeenharmonisedundertheATEXdirective

94/9/EC.ThereforetocomplywiththeATEX

directive,portableapparatussensingflammable

gasesshouldhaveafunctionalcheckwithgas

beforeeachdayofuse.Othertestingregimesmay

beemployeddependingonlocalcircumstances

Tetra 3

Personal Multigas Monitor

Contents

Unpacking.................................................1

Quickstartguide........................................2

I.Introduction............................................6

II.Operation..............................................8

III.Batteries.............................................12

IV.Alarmindications................................13

V.FixingAccessories................................14

VI.Flowsampling....................................15

VII.MaintenanceandCalibration.............20

VIII.PCinterfaceandsoftware..........................22

IX.i-modulereplacement.........................23

X.Specification........................................25

XI.Accessoriesandspareparts.................26

XII.Troubleshootingguide.......................28

Appendix:Limitationsofsensors..............29

Tetra 3 Unpacking

Tetra 3

Personal Multigas Monitor

ThankyouforpurchasingthenewTetra3PersonalMultigasMonitor.Tetra3

hasredefinedportablegasmonitoringandwillgiveyouyearsofunparalleled

serviceandreliability.

Pleasereadthe instructions carefullybefore use. Keep themanualforfuture

reference.

Unpacking

RemovetheTetra3PersonalMultigasMonitorfromthepackaging.TheTetra

3accessorieswillbelocatedinthebottomofthebox.Checkthecontentsare

complete,youshouldhave:

• Tetra3unit;

• Aconfigurationreportdetailingthesensorsinstalled,alarm

settingsandacalibrationcertificate;

• Optionalaccessoriessuchasaspiratorplate,aspiratorbulb,

commslead,chargerandpowersupply.

Battery check

TheTetra3PersonalMultigasMonitorhasalithium-ionrechargeablebattery.

Tetra3willoperateforaminimumof14hourswhenfullycharged.

Tetra3uses aLi-ionbatterypack andshouldarrive withsufficientcharge so

thattheunitcanbeusedstraightoutthebox.However,ifthisisthefirsttime

youhaveusedtheTetra3unit,youmayneedtochargethebatteriestoattain

thefull14houroperatingtime.Theactualoperatingtimewilldependonthe

typesofsensorsinstalled.

Warning: rechargeable units

Donotattempttouseanyotherchargerwiththisunitexcepttheonesup-

pliedbyCrowcon.Failuretocomplycouldinvalidatesafetycertificationand

mayresultinpermanentdamagetotheunit.

Quickstart guide Tetra 3

Quickstart guide

1. Getting started

Review your Tetra 3 unit

Switching on your unit

Tetra3requireslittlesettingup,followthesesimplestepstogetyourunitready

foruse.

1. Ensure the unit is in clean air.

2. Switch on

Press and holdtheoperator

buttonuntiltheredLEDflashes.

Theoperatordisplayscreenwill

lightupandtheunitwillbegina

warmupsequence.

Operator

button

Pocket

clip lever

Side view

Top view

Front plate

4Alarm LEDs

Operator LCD

display screen

Tetra 3 Quickstart guide

Tetra 3 warm up sequence

Theunitwilltestthealarm

LEDs,sounder,vibration

alerts,andtheoperator

displayscreen.The

soundermaybesilenced

bypressingthebutton.

b) Theunitwillcontinuethroughawarmupsequenceasshownbelow,

thiswilltakeapproximately45seconds.

c) Auto zero

Ifautozeroisenabled(default),theunitwilldisplaytheautozero

menu.Presstheoperatorbuttonwithasingleclicktoconfirmauto

zero.Iftheoperatorbuttonisnotpressedwithinthe10secondtime

out,Tetra3willproceeddirectlytoRunmodewithoutperformingzero.

LEDs Alarm test

Sounder Alarm test

Vibration test

Tetra3

vs.1.00

AUTO ZERO?

Click to

confirm

in 7 secs

CH4 %LEL CO ppm

H2S ppm

O2 %

CROWCON

Tetra3

Gas detection you ca.

TODAYIS

Wed

5-Sep-2005

14:02:49

NEXTCAL

5-Jan-2005

1-2 m

AUTO ZERO?

CH4 %LEL CO ppm

H2S ppm

O2 %

0.0

20.9

No auto zero

Auto zero

AUTO ZERO

Auto zero in

progress

0.0

AUTO ZERO

0.0

CH4

H2S

AUTO ZERO

0.0

CH4

H2S

Run mode

Click to

confirm

in 7 secs

In the event of an alarm Tetra 3

Run mode

Yourunitisnowreadytouse.

Belowisatypicalscreendisplayshowingthe

unitinnormalgasmonitoringRunmode.

Familiariseyourselfwiththegasesbeing

monitoredinyourunitandmakesureyou

understandsitehealthandsafetyprocedures

intheeventofalarmconditions.



2. In the event of an alarm

Alarm signals

Intheeventofgasconcentrationsexceedingthealarmthresholdsforanygas

beingmonitored,Tetra3willactivatethealarmsignals.

Alarm signals

The red and blue alarm LEDs

will flash, the sounder will

emit a loud, fast series of

beeps, the internal vibrator

alarmwillactivate.Theopera-

torscreenwilldisplay thegas

in alarm and the alarm level.

Seethefiguretotheleft.

CH4 %LEL CO ppm

H2S ppm

O2 %

0.0

20.9

Flashing

icon, Tetra3

running

normally

Battery

Screen Icons

Auto zero

Warm up

Confidence signals

In normal Run mode, Tetra 3 will emit a short beep every 10 seconds and

the OK icon flashes to show operational health.

Gas example

under alarm

Alarm icon

CH4%LELCO ppm

H2S ppm

0.0

16.7

Tetra 3 Switching off

1. Whenthegaslevelreturnstonormal,presstheoperatorbutton.This

willresetyourTetra3unittonormalRunmode.Ifgaslevelsarestillin

alarm,thebuttonwillhavenoeffect.

3. Switch off unit and storage

Switching off unit

1. Pressandholdthebuttonfor5seconds.Theshutdownmenuappears,

continuetoholdbuttonuntiltheunitcountsdowntoshutoff.

Storing conditions

Inordertooptimisesensorperformanceandlifetime,yourTetra3unitshould

bestoredinasafe,non-hazardousarea,0-30°C,10-90%RH.

4. Additional information

ForbatteryrecharginginformationgotosectionIII.

ForfixingaccessoriesgotosectionV.

ForsamplingsectiongotosectionVI.

ForcalibrationinformationgotosectionVII.

FortroubleshootingguidegotosectionXII.

1 2

For any one gas, there

are normally two alarm

thresholds. These are

indicated by the alarm icons

shown.

The Tetra 3 alarm is set to latch by default.

The unit will still continue in alarm mode

even when gas levels return to normal,

until the alarm is cleared, by pressing the

operator button.

Introduction Tetra 3

I. Introduction

ThankyouforpurchasingthenewTetra3PersonalMultigasMonitor.Tetra3

isaportablemultigasdetector,designedtobecarriedorwornbyindividuals

workinginhazardousenvironmentssuchasconfinedspaces.Itissuitablefor

useinZone1and2hazardousareas.Tetra3canmonitoruptofourdifferent

gasesanddisplaythereadingssimultaneouslyonadisplayscreen.Alarmwar-

ningsaregiventhroughacombinationofaloudaudiblealarm,abrightvisual

alarmofblue/redflashingLEDsandaninternalvibrator.Tetra3isfittedwith

modular,plugandplaygassensors.Eachsensorcarriesanintelligentprocessor

whichcontainscalibrationandsensorinformation.

Tetra3isoperatedusingaLithium-ionrechargeablebattery.Achargerisavai-

lablewitharangeofoptions.

AtCrowconwerecognisedtheneedforareliableandrobustpersonalmonito-

ringsystem,whichisbothlightweight,compact,easytouseandcosteffective.

Tetra3hasasingleoperatorbutton,andanintelligentuser-friendlydisplaywith

backlight.Gaslevelsarecontinuouslymonitoredprovidingnormalgasreadings,

peakreadingsandtimeweightedaverages(TWA).Tetra3isadiffusionsampling

instrumentwithanoptiontouseahand-operatedaspirator.Configurationand

data/eventloggingishandledbyCrowconPortablesPCsoftware,thePCcom-

municationlinkbeingprovidedthroughthechargerinterface.

Tetra3’sshapeanddesignmakesitcomfortabletowearandasnon-intrusive

aspossible,withanon-slipgripforbetterhandling.Extraaccessories,suchas

shoulderstrapandchestharness,canbepurchased.

Tetra3hasbeendesignedfromtoptobottomtobringyoueaseofuse,low

maintenanceandextremelyhighreliability.Throughaninnovativeandrigorous

designprocess,wehavecombinedseveralfeaturesfromourreliableTetraand

GasmanproductstoproducethenewTetra3.

i-module gas sensor

Tetra3usesuniqueplugandplayi-modulesensortechnology.Eachsensorunit

incorporates its own intelligent processor holding sensor configuration and

calibrationdata.Differentsensormodulescanbepurchased,andonceinserted,

areimmediatelyreadytorun.Tetra3canoperatewithuptothreesensorsand

displaysimultaneously,informationandgasreadings,forallthesensors,on

onescreen.Thismeansnoredundancyandassuredfutureinvestmentinyour

Tetra3unit,allowingyoutoswapsensorsbetweenunitsorconfigureyourunit,

asappropriate,toyourcurrentneeds.Plugandplaywilleasemaintenancetime

Tetra 3 Introduction

andcost,andtheintelligentmodularsystemwillremovetheneedtocalibrate

eachsensor.Additionali-modulescanbepurchased,pre-calibratedfromyour

localsupplier.

Reliable, anti-shock mechanics and robust housing

TheTetra3housingisbuiltfromresilientmaterial,givingitstrengthandflexi-

bilitytowithstandthehardestofworkingconditions,wateranddusttightto

IP65andIP67,andwithanon-slipgrip.Thecasehasbeencarefullydesigned

tomakeservicingeasyandatthesametimeveryrugged.Iftheunitisdropped,

therewillbenodisruptionofpowerorfunction,ensuringreliabilityandservice

foryearstocome.

Software

TheprocessesusedtodesignanddeveloptheTetra3softwareensureahigh

degreeofreliability and robustness.ThusTetra 3 has been designed to be a

trulyreliablepersonalgasmonitoringsystem.Theinternalcircuitryincludesan

external watchdog,where thesoftwaremonitorsforany malfunction within

theunitandwilldisplayanerrorwarningtotheusershouldtheyoccur.

Operation Tetra 3

II. Operation

2.1 Switch-on sequence

1. Ensure the unit is in clean air.

2. Switch on

PressandholdtheoperatorbuttonuntilthetworedLEDsflash.

TheinstrumentbeginswithtestingalltheLCDsegmentsonthe

operatordisplayscreen,theredandbluealarmLEDs,sounderand

internalvibratoralertforabout5seconds.Thesoundermaybe

silencedbypressingthebutton.Theunitentersawarmupmodeand

displaysasequenceofscreens,seepage3formoredetails.Attheend

ofwarmup,theautozeromenuwillbedisplayed.

3. Auto zero menu

Presstheoperatorbuttonwithasingleclicktoconfirmautozero.

Iftheoperatorbuttonisnotpressedwithin10seconds,Tetra3will

proceeddirectlytoRunmodewithoutperformingazero.Flammable

andtoxicsensorswillbesettoreadzeroandtheoxygensensorto

read20.9%.

NB. If auto zero fails, a warning message will be displayed and an ‘X’ will

appear against the sensor that has failed.

Switch off 

Toswitchofftheunit,pressandholdtheoperatorbuttonfor5

seconds.Ashut-downmenu‘OFFIN’willappear.Continuetohold

buttonuntiltheunitcountsdowntoshutoff.

Battery check

Usethistimetocheck

thereissufficientchargein

thebatterypack

The auto zero function can be disabled

or set to run automatically, without user

confirmation: auto zero menu will not appear.

See section VIII PC Interface and software.

NB. During the warm up sequence, the date for next calibration will be

displayed. If the date has expired or has passed, the Tetra 3 unit will display a

warning message that calibration is due. The instrument can still function, but it

is strongly recommended the unit is sent for calibration as soon as possible.

Tetra 3 can be set, using the Portables PC software, for the instrument to shut

down automatically, if the calibration date is passed, to prevent further operation

of the instrument.

Tetra 3 Run mode

2.2 Run mode

TheTetra3unitwilldisplayuptofourgasreadingssimultaneouslyontheope-

ratordisplayscreen.Atypicalfourgasdisplayisshownbelow.

Eachchannelwilldisplaythegasname,unitsandcurrent

value.Familiariseyourselfwiththegasescurrentlybeing

monitoredinyourunit.Ensureyouunderstandsitehealth

andsafetyprocedures.ForinformationonpeakandTWA

readings,gotosection2.4.

Confidence signals

To reassure users the unit is working correctly, the Tetra 3 unit will

emit a short beep every 10 seconds and the OK icon will flash.

2.3 Display symbol guide

Battery

Afullbatteryisrepresentedbyabatteryiconshowingafullsix

bars.Alowbatterychargewillshow1to2bars.Whenzero

barsareshownthebatteryiconflashes.Thesounderwillemit

warningbleeps.

Ifthebatterybecomestoolow,Tetra3willdisplaya‘Battery

low’warningmessageandswitchoff.

TWA alarm

Tetra 3 will display the TWA alarm when the 15 minute or

8hourtimeweightedaveragealarmthreshold ispassedfor

toxicgases.

CH4 %LEL CO ppm

H2S ppm

O2 %

0.0

20.9

Flashing

icon, Tetra3

running

normally

Battery

Screen Icons

Auto zero

Warm up

Full

Display options Tetra 3

2.4 Display options

Tetra3providestwoadditionalselectabledisplays:

Peak display 

WhenPeakmodeisselectedtheinstrumentshowsthehighestvalue

forflammableandtoxicgasesandthelowestvalueforoxygensince

theunitwasswitchedonorsincethelastpeakclear.

After5secondsthescreenwilldisplay'PeakClear'.Ifyoupressthe

buttonwithinthe10secondcountdown,thepeakvalueiscleared.

Ifthebuttonisnotpressed,thedisplaywillreverttothestoredpeak

value.

WhilstinPeakmode,newhighergasvaluesarestored.Uponexitof

Peakmode,thestoredpeakvaluesarenotdeleted.

Thisisusefulforverticalentrycheckswhereawholeinstrumentcanbe

lowereddowntheshaftratherthanjustasamplingtube.

TWA display 

Showsthe8hourtimeweightedaverage(TWA),fortoxicgases,

monitoredsincelastturnon.

1. Toviewtheadditionaldisplayoptionmenu,double-clicktheoperator

button.

2. Presstheoperatorbuttonwithasingleclicktoscrollthroughthelist.

Whenyourchoiceishighlighted,double-clicktheoperatorbutton.

TheTetra3operatorscreenwilldisplaythepeakorTWAiconandthe

gasreadingsrecorded.

CH4%LEL CO ppm

H2S ppm

O2 %

0.0

20.8

Gas

Peak

TWA

Zero

Gas

Zero

TWA

Peak

1. Scroll

2. Select

ppm

20.8

Peak display

Tetra 3 Event logging

Zero

TheTetra3instrumentcanperformanautozerobyselectingtheZero

functionfromthemenu.WhenZeroiscompleted,theinstrumentwill

returntonormaloperation.

2.5 Logging

Tetra3incorporatesdataandeventloggingwhichcanbeaccessedusingthe

communicationslinkwithPortablePCsoftware.SeesectionVIII.

TheTetra3eventlogrecordsthetimeanddateforanumberofoperatingand

diagnosticeventsincluding:

• Switchonandswitchoff;

• Level1,Level2andTimeWeightedAverageAlarms,alarmon,

alarmoffandthepeaklevelduringthealarm;

• Zero,calibrationandgastestwithsuccessorfailure;

• Pellistorsaveronandoff;

• ThebatteryconditionisloggedeverytimetheTetra3is

switchedonoroff,andwhenitisplacedintoorremovedfrom

thecharger;

• Dataloggingrecordsreadingsetsdataatapredeterminedtime

interval,usuallysettooneminute.

Batteries Tetra 3

III. Batteries

3.1 Rechargeable batteries

Tetra 3 uses a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery which must onlybecharged

usingaCrowconbatterycharger.A5hourrechargefromflatwillprovideat

least12hoursoperatingtime.Afullychargedbatterywillprovidemorethan

14hoursofcontinuoususe.

Charging the batteries

1. Ensure you are in a safe area.

2. Plugthechargerpowersupplyintoamainssocket.

3. Connectthepowersupplytothe

charger.InserttheTetra3intothe

charger.

Switchonthecharger'spower

supply.

Theunitwouldnormallybeleft

switchedoffforcharging.When

chargingiscompletetheredLED

isextinguished.(Earlyunitshada

greenLEDilluminateoncompletion

ofcharge).Iftheunitisswitched

onduringchargethenormal

displaybatteryiconsweepsfrom

emptytofull.Ondisconnecting

thechargerpowersupplythisdisplayiconwillupdatein20secondsto

showactualchargestate.

InRunmode,thebatteryiconwilldisplaysixbarswhenitisfull.

4. RemovetheTetra3fromthechargerandswitchontouse.

Communications

socket

Battery full

Low battery

Battery needs

recharging

WARNING

Tetra warning message

Battery fully charged

The charging time will be longer if the unit is switched on during charging.

Tetra 3 Alarm indications

IV. Alarm indications

Tetra 3 provides two instantaneous alarm levels for each installed sensor,

designatedlevel1andlevel 2.Fortoxicgassensors,therearealsotwotime

weightedaveragealarms(TWA),oneforshorttermexposure(STEL):basedona

15minutetimeweightedaverage,andthesecondTWAalarmisforlongterm

exposure:basedona8hourtimeweightedaverage.

AlarmconfigurationsaresetviatheCrowconPortablesPCsoftware.

Thefollowingsettingscanbemade:

Alarm thresholds for each sensor: Level1andlevel

2alarmscanbesetforeachindividualgassensor.

Alarm type:This can be set to rising levelsof gas concentration, or as

falling.Oxygenaresettofallingfordeficiencymonitoringasadefault.

Alarm latching:Alarms canbesettobelatchedorunlatched.Latched

alarmswillrequiretheoperatorbuttontobepushedinordertoclearthe

alarm.Thisisthedefaultsetting.Unlatchedalarmswillclearautomatically

whenthegashazardhaspassed.

Alarm mute: The sounder can be set to mute for level 1 alarm only;

pressingthe operator buttonduring an alarm condition i.e.presenceof

hazardousgas,willsilencethesounderandstopthevibrationalarm.The

alarmLEDswillcontinuetoflash.

Alarm sounder tone:Differenttonescanbeselectedtoachievethebest

performanceforthemonitoringconditionsavailable.

In the event of a Time Weighted Alarm (TWA)

Intheeventthe15minuteorthe8hourTWAistriggered,

Tetra3willgointoalarmanddisplaytheTWAiconwiththe

toxic gas readings. Neither the 15 minute alarm or 8 hour

alarmcanbecleared.

1 2

Fixing Accessories Tetra 3

V. Fixing Accessories

Belt clip

Tetra3hasastrongalligatorcliplocatedonthebackoftheunit.Liftingthe

smallleverwillallowtheunittobeattachedtoabeltmoreeasily.

Universal harness plate

Crowcon provide a universal harness plate which can be used with either a

chestharnessorashoulderstrap.

How to wear your Tetra 3 unit

Chest harness

UsetheM3fixingontheback

of your Tetra 3 unit to attach

thechestharnessplate.Create

a chest harness by attaching

one strap to the top connec-

tors, to go around the neck,

and the other to link around

the waist using the side con-

nectors. Adjust the lengths

until the Tetra 3 unit is in a

comfortableworkingposition.

Shoulder strap

Withtheuniversalharnessplateinplace,attachtheshoulderstrapaccessory

ontothetopconnectors.Adjusttoacomfortableworkingposition.

Seeaccessories,sectionXI,forfulllist.

Shoulder/neck

connectors

Universal harness plate

Tetra 3 Flow sampling

VI. Flow sampling

Attaching the flow adaptor plate

ToperformmanualsamplingusingTetra3,aflowadaptorplatemustbefitted

ontothefrontoftheinstrument.

1. Tofittheflowadaptorplate,cliptheplateinplaceoverthesensor

grillsandscrewthethumbscrewuntiltheplateistightlyfittedinto

place.

2. Attachthesamplingtubeorflowaccessoryontothegasinletnozzle.

3. Attachtheaspiratorbulbontothegasoutletnozzle.

4. Toremovetheflowadaptorplate,unscrewthethumbscrewandlift

theplateawayfromtheinstrument.

Flow adaptor

Gas in

Gas out

The sampling tube supplied is normally a 2m (6ft) length. Longer lengths of sampling

tube can be provided, but will increase the time taken to get a sample from the point

of sampling to the Tetra 3 instrument. When using an extended length of tubing a

response time test is recommended. Gas of known concentration should be sampled

along the full length of tubing to be used and the time taken for the sensor reading to

reach the known gas levels should be noted. This time should be used as the minimum

for sampling before readings should be taken.

Flow sampling Tetra 3

Diffusion instruments

Whenusingthemanualaspiratorkit,adoptaconsistentstylewhilstusingthe

handaspirator.Crowconrecommendsqueezingoncepersecondtoachievea

flowrateofapproximately0.5-1litre/min.Atleast10pumpspersampleare

recommended.

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Crowcon Tetra 3 User manual

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