There are 615 phx21 in the field; ZERO in for Repair!

As of 10:30 AM, May 5, 2015, there were ZERO phx21s in our phx21 Repair Center in Dickinson, Texas.

The photo of the phx21 team and the Repair Board (which is actually a monitor that displays our state-of-the-art equipment management software) tell the story: 615 phx21s in the field and not a single one in for repair. The only item displayed is one of our fleet units that has just come back from a rental and was being put through our 7-hour QC process. (You can see this in the insert of the screen itself.)

Click the image for a larger version.

One of the primary reasons that LDARtools invested so heavily in the phx21 (six years ago!) was that we wanted to build an LDAR analyzer designed to work AND be easily repaired, onsite, by a trained phx21 Technician. Getting that unit (and its associated Technician) back to work was one of our key priorities. Over the years, we have made critical changes to our process that have advanced that objective.

And today, it is realized: 615 phx21 in the field – ZERO in for repair.

So… we are going to have a celebration. And you are invited. Stay tuned.

On-demand Regulators, Bags for Calibration Tees?

In a perfect world there is nothing wrong with Bags or On-demand Regulators. However, we live in a world that is far from perfect. When used properly and they are functioning perfectly, you will always get the same result. In practice, we rarely see that.

Here are the common issues that we see:

On-demand Regulators

We regularly see markedly inconsistent crack pressures and then flow restriction. The image below shows a phx21 running on an On-demand Regulator:

Click the image to see a larger version
The pressure should be 1.74-1.76 all the time but the inconsistent restriction makes the pump throttling run around and over shoot. A percent change in this restriction will be the same percentage of drift.

The main challenge here is that it is very hard to test if a regulator is going bad. Unless you have a vacuum gauge hooked to each regulator while you are calibrating and drifting, there is no way to know for sure that the restriction you are experiencing is constant.

Bag

The primary difficulty with using calibration bags is the uncertainty that is introduce into any quantitatively analytical process, such as the assessing the presence of a drift in the accuracy of the analyzer. For instance, there are a lot of ways to “correct” a drift that you don’t like:

• Squeezing the bag
• Resting a hand on the bag
• Pressurizing/overfilling the bag
• Refilling the bag
• Closing the valve just a little
• Getting a “fresh” bag
• Filling a bag with a different concentration

It would be challenging to explain any of the above actions to an auditor, let alone an agency inspector.

Calibration Tee

LDARtools has extensively researched the effect of split (Calibration) tees vs. other methods of applying calibration gases.

When you use the Calibration Tee, the sample flows past the opening to the probe so that the phx21 draws the sample that it needs and any excess simply passes by and out of the system. We ran a test using these:

• A phx21 (serial number: 1495)
• 500ppm Methane in Air
• phx21 flow rate .95 Lpm (This rate is self-adjusting based on the phx21’s computerized pump-throttling feature)
• Spanbox3 with Calibration Tee

By adjusting the flow rate at various levels with .95 as the baseline, we consistently achieve no distortion in the readings. For example:

Of course, if the flow rate on the SpanBox is less than the flow rate of the phx21 (.95 LPM) then you can get unpleasant results. That is why the LDAR Think Tank recommends that the flow rate on the SpanBox be set at 2 LPM. This is a one-time setting that takes mere minutes to make and requires no further maintenance.

So long as your supply regulator is operating properly and you have gas, then the flow will be an appropriate rate and you will achieve these results.

With a Calibration Tee there is only one variable: Is there excess flow through the Tee?

It really doesn’t even matter how much excess. While we recommend a flow meter check to minimize wasted gas and have documentable results, a quick check with your finger is, practically speaking, all that is needed to determine excess flow.

The split tee method of delivering the gas is, we believe, the optimal way to administer gas in the calibration process in that it most closely approximates the process of sample collecting and does not put any sort of pressure on the pump.

Since joining the LDARtools team a year ago, I have seen a lot of changes in the company. Our growth has been tremendous! We’ve assembled a great in-house software development team to support our existing products and develop new programs. Now, we’re working on a new calibration device and even more innovative applications.

After spending 18 years working for a government agency, the difference is as clear as night and day.

In the government, making a simple software change could take weeks or even longer. Now at LTI, while testing new products for our customers in the Production/Repair shop, if I want something changed to make it easier for the end-users it’s a simple walk through the building and a short talk with the developers. After an hour, the changes are loaded and ready for testing.

As a repair technician (and a former Systems Administrator), the speed with which we can deliver fixes and repairs to any product, hardware or software, is paramount. I see our software team being more than ready to meet and exceed that challenge for our current and future products.

The LDAR Think Tank’s software team is ready to create state-of-the-art, user-friendly and productive tools for all our customers. We, both LDARtools and our customers, are all looking for better ways to improve the LDAR industry’s monitoring and data collection.

Tim Reynolds

From left to right: Marian Regan, Philip Trevino and Chris Ledbetter

**We’ve featured Chris Ledbetter, our Director of Software and Development, on the blog before. We’ve still got several people lined up for our LDARtools Employee Spotlight, so watch this space!

A lovely little girl needs our help: Claire Ramos was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma at only 6 months old

The cancerous tumor in Claire’s spinal cord causes damage to the nerves that help control her lower body’s movement. With the Chemotherapy treatments at Texas Children’s Hospital lasting for months, her family has a tough journey ahead of them.

Everyone’s praying for a total cure.

The Ramos family (and our friend, LaRisa King, Claire’s aunt) held a fundraiser last Friday (March 6) in Houston to help fund the treatments. And while we here at the LDAR Think Tank couldn’t make it, our hearts went to her family and we did what we could here.

An LDARtools shrimp boil that was held in Claire’s honor gathered $900. Here’s the LDAR Think Tank family showing our support:

If you would like to donate, please contact Maria Ramos (1-713-412-1314) or LaRisa King (1-832-566-2193).

Thank you!

Our drive to improve ourselves and the industry we are part of continues to draw like-minded individuals to our cause. Warren Pilkerton joined us back in December and his determination to succeed convinced us that we want him in our team.

One of the best ways to introduce Warren is by showing you his work: the second robot video in our post last year was his.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1phVR4laaeQ]
It seemed simple enough: loop the wire around the gourd, lift it and then carry it several inches. Behind the scenes, it took several tries to get the machine to do what he wanted. Rex Moses, our President and CEO, already saw him complete the task before the video so Warren’s job application test is done. But Rex wanted to share Warren’s approach with everybody. All told, Warren spent a total of 6 hours tweaking, demonstrating and adjusting the machine.

That’s how Warren approaches the challenges that come his way. “Initially, I knew nothing about robots. I only knew I had parts that I needed to put together,” he says. “I went through the manual, knew what I wanted and found a way. I wanted to perfect it, which led to modifications and learning from what went wrong.”

He’s worked technical jobs before, but before becoming an LDARtools phx21 Technician, he was driving an excavator as a temp for a demolition company. “I want to work with my hands and was looking for something that required more skills—something that’s more of a challenge,” says Warren. He found our job search ad and applied.

To Warren, building and perfecting a phx21 is one of the most difficult technical tasks he’s done. Guidance and mentoring can only go so far, but the resolve to improve on your work is essential. He’s already built 18 phx21s and he’s showing us that we made the right choice.

Asked how it’s been so far, Warren says: “I love working here. Everyone gets along and it’s been great. It’s a highly skilled job with not a lot of friction. Your achievements are celebrated, instead of getting bogged down by your setbacks.”

We’re glad you like it here, Warren. Welcome to the LDARtools family.