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Exhaust gas analyser
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6286
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 5:52 pm    Post subject: Exhaust gas analyser Reply with quote

Does anyone else use one of these? I have recently bought this 'KAL equip' analyser and found it useful for use on the old cars. I was pleased to find that I had not been that far out using the old "hit and miss" method.

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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2464
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 7:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a selection of these, but no real idea whether any of them give a proper reading. I've got an ex-garage Sun DGA1800 (as used on MOT tests a few years ago), but that won't give a reading at all. My Gunson analysers don't behave the way they should during warm-up so I don't trust the figures they give, if they can be persuaded to settle on a figure and not just fluctuate wildly.

Last time I had an MOT issue I borrowed a gauge from a mate - even though it's not been calibrated in decades, it proved to be almost spot-on against the subsequent MOT test.
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6286
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Mike. I have read varying reviews about the Gunson analysers but eventually opted for a used professional one. The problem as far as I can see is that the older ones like mine have no filters to capture the inevitable sooty particles. So far the KAL Equip (which I think is American) is working O.K. but quite how they work is a mystery to me.
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2464
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think I'd be more fed up with the Gunsons had I bought them new at Halfords-style prices - both of mine were car boot sale bargains for a couple of pounds each.

The Sun one is much more impressive, but it's decided internally that the calibration has drifted too far to give a meaningful reading, so it shows no values. I called Snap-on to see what could be done, and the chap there said that their engineers don't have the types of gas required to calibrate such an old device any more. So any time soon it will have to go back to the scrap heap I got it off, unless anyone wants it for spares. But I've offered it in several places and had no interest.
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have one of these that I bought for £10 at an auto jumble.



I found it pretty good for carb. balancing. Conveniently the SS has separate exhaust systems for the front three cylinders and back three cylinders.

Peter
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6286
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Looks like a bargain! Wink
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The problem with the accuracy of the Gunson analysers is that calibration is achieved by measuring the CO2 contains of air in open atmosphere, this of course assumes that CO2 levels are the same everywhere and don't vary Shocked

Dave
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6286
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think perhaps mine works in a similar way??

If you look at the photo of my hand held 'Kal' there is a black button and the words "set" and "control". With the device connected up to a battery the pump starts working and by turning the black button you can centralise the needle. Only when the engine is warm is the probe placed in the exhaust and the reading taken.

Mine does LPG as well as CO2 but how that can be adjusted (if needed)I don't know. I leave that to the experts because I seem to remember you need a license for fuel injected installations.?
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Farmer John



Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 181
Location: Manawatu NZ

PostPosted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 7:49 pm    Post subject: Gas Analyser Reply with quote

There is an analyser in my shed that I dragged out to check the carbs on an SD1. The little bottle of gas for calibration was empty so I set it by trying one efi and one modern Japanese motor at idle. Assumed they would be at the very lean end of the idle mixture. That told me what I wanted to know.
John
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2464
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was intending to do a similar thing with mine - get the car MOTed and get the emissions sheet from that, run my own tester on the same car and see if it gives roughly the same figures.

The emissions test is always the part of the MOT that I don't look forward to, as it's the only thing I can't check out myself before I take the car. Of course, I've another option now as the car is exempt.
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Ray White



Joined: 02 Dec 2014
Posts: 6286
Location: Derby

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My P38 is on LPG and is never tested for emissions. I rely on the specialists who did the conversion to tune the system. That reminds me...I must book it in for a LPG check. Rolling Eyes
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Phil - Nottingham



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 1252
Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a Gunson - since about 1990. It is a bit of faff to set up but is handy sometimes
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Calum



Joined: 07 Feb 2011
Posts: 100
Location: Midgley, W Yorks

PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got an old 'Lantz Phelps' unit I found in a local antiques shop year ago cost me a tenner. It does work, and thankfully the original patent application is online so I could work out how to use it. Not sure how accurate it is however. Looks the part though!
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quite often "accuracy" isn't critical its the ability to measure or detect "change" from a known good state...

Dave
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