COMTEST, local representative of Fluke is offering the Fluke 1551A Ex and 1552A EX “Stik” thermometers, which it says provide a highly precise and durable digital replacement for mercury-in-glass thermometers.
Process manufacturers of chemical, pharmaceutical, food or petroleum products require accurate temperature measurements. Although accurate and repeatable, mercury thermometers are fragile. The risk of a mercury spill poses potential hazards to the environment and to health.
Many of the US states and European Union countries have banned their use in industrial applications.
The Fluke 1551A Ex and 1552A EX “Stik” thermometers, by contrast, are intrinsically safe (ATEX and IECEx compliant), so they can be used safely where potentially explosive gases may be present.
“More durable than mercury-in-glass instruments, they can be used reliably outdoors or on the production floor,” the company said in a statement.
The 1551A “Stik” Thermometer covers a temperature range of –50 °C to 160 °C. The model 1552A Ex covers a range of –80 °C to 300 °C. Both models are accurate to ± 0.05 °C over their full temperature range.
The stainless steel probe and digital readout of the Fluke 1551A Ex/1152A EX “Stik” Thermometers are fixed together and calibrated as a system.
The accuracy specification is easy to understand since it includes all uncertainty components, including drift, for up to one year. The large backlit LCD display rotates 90 degrees, making for easy reading from any angle. A user-configurable stability/trend indicator lets the technician know when temperature is stable enough to record an accurate measurement.
A user-settable auto-off function extends typical battery life to three hundred hours. A low-battery indicator and stop-measure function prevent erroneous measurements from being made due to low battery life.
A simple three-point calibration function allows the operator to easily and accurately calibrate the “Stik” Thermometer. Data logging to internal memory of up to 10,000 time-stamped measurements is optionally available.
