Bacharach Combustion and Flue Gas Analyzer

Bacharach’s Combustion and Flue Gas analyzer product portfolio is broken down into 3 main segments: residential, commercial and industrial, and environmental—with prices and capabilities increasing in that same order. 

The entry-level Bacharach Fyrite InTech combustion analyzer is designed for the residential segment of the market, as are the kits based on this handheld analyzer:

The basic 24-8510 includes the Fyrite InTech analyzer, temperature probe, four AA batteries, and a soft carrying case. This option is good for directly measuring the temperature and O2 concentration in the flue gas as well as the ambient temperature, making it a good fit for energy audits of furnaces and boilers. For carbon monoxide (CO) measurement, HVAC techs will need to consider the other InTech options listed on this page as the 24-8510 doesn’t include a CO sensor.

The 24-8511 adds a CO sensor, but is otherwise identical to the 24-8510, making the it the lowest cost and most basic configuration for energy audits, safety inspections, and combustion analysis.

The Bacharach 24-8523 kit is functionally identical to the 24-8511, but a rubber boot for the analyzer is added and the soft carrying case is replaced by one with a hard shell.

Lastly, the 24-8512 kit contains everything in the 24-8523 kit plus reporting software and three spare filters, making it the most complete configuration in Bacharach’s Fyrite InTech product line.

Bacharach’s next-generation handheld combustion analyzer, the Fyrite Insight Plus, brings integrated smarts for streamlined combustion appliance tuning via the Tune Rite® feature, a NOx filter on the CO sensor, and draft measurement for comprehensive residential and light commercial combustion analysis, covering both safety and efficiency testing needs. 

In addition to these additional headline features not found on the InTech, the Insight Plus also features storage space for 100 measurement records, a full color LCD display, Bacharach’s long life O2 sensors (covered by a 3 year warranty), and the choice of either manual or automatic zeroing of the CO sensor.

The two Insight Plus-based kits we offer give HVAC technicians the option of being equipped for either basic combustion analysis or combustion analysis with convenient reporting.

Our economical configuration is the 24-8517, which includes the Insight Plus analyzer itself, a flue probe, plus spare filters, four AA batteries, a rubber boot for protection, and a hard-carrying case for transporting the kit to and from job sites.

The 24-8518 adds the following items for the transferring and printing of saved combustion analysis data:  Fyrite User Software, IrDA wireless printer,  USB Cable, and an additionally 4 AA batteries for the printer.

For the more demanding heavier commercial and industrial markets, Bacharach offers the PCA 400 Combustion and Emissions Analyzer, which can be configured with as many as 4 gas sensors; techs can choose from H2-compensated CO, CO, NO, NO2, and SO2 sensors when ordering. The base configuration, the 2410-1110, includes the O2 and CO sensors only.

Besides the ability to measure the concentrations of NOx and SO2, usually necessary for industrial emissions testing, the PCA 400 also throws in some several notable technological innovations:

Sensor protection from high CO, NO, NO2, and SO2 concentrations. The PCA 400 can dilute these gases, slowing down the consumption of the electrochemicals in the respective sensors and thereby extending the life of those sensors, saving HVAC techs money.

Accurate measurement of low NOx concentrations. The PCA 400 can measure NOx levels down to 0.1 ppm, meeting a requirement found in greenhouse gas emission testing standards.

Even smoother and quicker field replacement of B-Smart pre-calibrated sensors. The PCA 400 integrates a near-field communication (NFC) reader, which means that a tech can transfer the serial number and calibration curve of a replacement sensor to the PCA 400 simply by bringing it near the analyzer’s NFC reader. As a result, even less time is spent swapping out sensors, and more time is spent on value-added tasks.

PCA 400 Companion mobile app. Bacharach’s PCA 400 app leverages the Bluetooth connectivity of both the analyzer and mobile devices to allow technicians the ability to remotely control the analyzer, display all the measurement data in real time, save that data to the mobile device for future sharing and reporting, create PDF documents of the combustion analysis, record the GPS location of the job site, and share the combustion analysis data via email (great for sending results directly to customers) or cloud storage services such as Dropbox.

Bacharach also produces a sample conditioner specifically for the PCA 400, the 0024-8558, which enhances the analyzer’s performance in heavier commercial and industrial applications. This sample conditioner has a built-in particulate filter and temperature controller. The latter removes water vapor from the flue gas sample, which removes the chances of water droplets appearing in the probe hose. This leads to more accurate and sensitive readings of NO2 and SO2 as those water droplets can absorb these gases from the flue gas sample. 

The PCA 400 sample conditioner connects between the analyzer’s probe and VITON tubing. It is powered from the AC mains via a power brick, similar to those used for laptops.

At the very top of Bacharach’s combustion and flue gas analyzer offerings is the ECA 450 Environmental and Combustion Efficiency Analyzer, which can accommodate as many as seven gas sensors, allowing for combustion efficiency and comprehensive environmental compliance testing at the same time.

The optional sensors for the ECA 450 are high-range CO (max 80,000 ppm), NO, NO2, SO2, and one for unburnt combustibles.

The 0024-7221 option we offer contains the ECA 450 base unit with O2 and CO (H2-compensated and for levels up to 4,000 ppm) sensors installed, probe and probe stop, particulate filter, water trap, three spare filters, and spare printer paper for the built-in printer.

Our Bacharach 24-8400 ECA 450 Professional Combustion Analyzer Kit includes everything the base kit does, but also adds the ECA 450 NOx kit (i.e. NO and NO2 sensors pre-installed) along with a sample conditioner.

The 0024-8401 goes one step further than the 24-8400 and throws in a SO2 sensor.

Bacharach’s True Spot Kit for Smoke Testing (part number 21-7006) is a tool for visually determining the amount of smoke—and thus incompletely burnt fuel—present in oil burning combustion appliances. A plunger draws in a sample of flue gas through what is essentially filter paper, which traps the smoke particles. 

The resulting dark spot on the filter paper is then compared against a reference card to ascertain the smoke density in the flue gas. This process can be completed in less than a minute and is the industry standard for evaluating the combustion efficiency of oil burners.