New monitor to aid onsite welding in petrochemical industry

To overcome the challenges of onsite welding in the petrochemical industry, COB Industries has produced the PurgEye Site Weld Purge Monitor. The company claims the new guarded oxygen monitor is “virtually non-destructible”, and specifically designed for onsite conditions.

COB Industries said: “The PurgEye Site measures oxygen levels from 1,000 ppm, right down to 1 ppm (accurate to 10 ppm). It is portable, robust and has been specifically designed for site conditions. The housing case for the monitor is IP65 with the lid open and IP68 rated with the lid closed.”

Welding within the petrochemical industry means having to work in refineries and plants that produce gasoline and a variety of other petroleum based products. Welded joints are of course critical, and the insides of pipework must be purged with expensive argon gas to reduce the oxygen levels around the joint below 100ppm.

The PurgEye Site is designed to let welders carry out non-oxidised, zero colour welds regardless of conditions. At the same time, it eliminates guesswork and saves money by preventing argon loss.

A large, bright OLED display for easy data reading, a gas analyser for detecting oxygen levels, and flow detection for accurate reading of gas samples, are some of the other features of the PurgEye Site.

“The PurgEye Site has a new design, fast response, long life sensor and it is equipped with PurgeNet™ facility that allows it to connect to a variety of accessories. One of the accessories is a link to an automatic welding machine, which allows controls to be based upon the oxygen level, to prevent welding if that level is too high. Other accessories include a traffic light visual indication system and a temperature gauge”, said COB Industries.