Bacharach Florite 800 Installation, Operation & Maintenance Manual

FLORITE 800

INSTRUCTION 16-9013

Installation/Operation/Maintenance

Rev. 1 – March 1999

Bacharach, Inc.

625 Alpha Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15238-2878

Phone: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • Web: www.bacharach-inc.com

Printed in U.S.A.

® Registered Trademarks

of Bacharach, Inc.

Introduction

The Florite 800 is a battery powered, hand held instrument with a digital
LCD display capable of measuring the velocity, volume flowrate and tem­perature of air by means of a thermal probe. The unit allows the airstream
area to be entered for volume measurement. Measurements may be dis­played in either Metric or Imperial units as selected from the keyboard.
After selection, this will be ‘remembered’ by the instrument until reselected
from the keyboard. The attached thermal anemometer probe has a tip
diameter of 1/4” (8mm) and is, therefore, suitable for measurements at
grilles, slot diffusers and in small ducts where large access holes are not
acceptable. The velocity sensor in the probe is compensated for variations in
airstream temperature by means of a second thermistor which also senses,
and displays, the actual airstream temperature in either metric or imperial
units consistent with the units selected for velocity.

The instrument is supplied with batteries. Four 1.5 volt AA size cells are
required which may be either disposable or rechargeable types. Either
‘Standard’ or Alkaline disposable cells may be used but the ‘Standard’ type
will exhibit a relatively short life and are, therefore, not recommended. Low
battery condition is indicated by ‘LOBAT’ appearing on the instrument
display. The cells must be replaced as soon as possible to maintain optimum
accuracy. The battery cells are accessible by sliding the cover (at the rear of
the instrument case) in the direction of the arrow. A tape is provided in the
battery compartment for easy removal of the battery cells. Ensure that the
battery cells are replaced with the correct polarity as indicated in each cell
compartment. Rotate the cell slightly forwards and backwards to check that
the cell is properly seated in the cell compartment.

Operating the Florite 800

After switching the instrument on, it will go through a warm-up procedure in
which the entire set of display segments will light up and then the instru­ment will count down from 9 to 0. If LOBAT is lit in the display after the
countdown the batteries need to be replaced.

All normal operating instructions can be seen on the rear of the instrument.

Zero the instrument

With the zeroing cap covering the velocity thermistor to isolate it from any
air movement, press ZERO. When zeroed the display ‘Press Zero’ will
disappear. For optimum accuracy it is necessary for the instrument to be
rezeroed with the probe at the operating temperature and zero velocity.

To set a duct area

Press the ‘vel /vol /area’ switch sequentially until ‘Area’ is displayed, fol­lowed by its current setting in either m

2

or ft2 (depending upon the unit of
measurement previously selected). Area units are automatically converted
when using the ‘I / M’ switch. Increment or decrement the area to its re­quired value by means of the AREA + or AREA – key. Note that holding
either of these keys down will increment or decrement the duct area at an
increasing rate dependent upon how long the key is held down. Reselect
velocity or volume flowrate mode by means of the VEL / VOL / AREA key.

Using the telescopic probe

Pull on the smallest section, taking care not to damage or stress the probe
tip and ensure that the cable slides freely into the handle end of the probe.
Remove the zeroing cap and ensure that the ‘direction of flow indicator’ on
the probe handle is aligned with the ‘flow arrow’ on the probe cap. Place
probe head into the airstream pointing the arrow (or ‘direction of flow
indicator’ if the head is inside a duct) into the airstream in the direction of
flow and read the velocity and temperature of the airstream. To use the
probe inside ducting a 9.5mm (3/8") diameter minimum hole is required in
the duct wall. It may help to use the joints between the telescopic tubes as
markers to determine the probe head position. When closing down the
telescopic probe, ensure that the cable slides freely back through the probe.

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Where to Use the Instrument

Large Areas: When measuring velocity or volume flowrate over a large

area, a number of readings must be taken, spaced to give an even coverage of
the whole area. The average of these readings will give the mean velocity
over the whole area or the mean volume flowrate. It should be noted that
quite large variations in readings may be observed and, in general, the
larger the number of readings taken, the more accurate the mean velocity
(volume flowrate) will be.

The mean velocity (or volume flowrate) =

the sum of all the readings taken
the number of readings taken.

Grills: When using the instrument on grills, avoid intrusion of the arm and
hand into the face area of the grill. The blockage effect would cause artifi­cially high velocity over the remainder of the grill, leading to incorrect
readings. The telescopic probe can be useful in avoiding this problem.

Checking the Instrument

The instrument is provided with a SELF TEST routine, called HELP and a
CALIBRATION routine which may be accessed from the SETUP mode. The
calibration is a push-button procedure, with calibration data being stored in
nonvolatile memory. Calibration is in metric units only. For optimum
accuracy, perform a Temperature calibration prior to a Velocity calibration.

SETUP Mode: The SETUP mode is entered as follows: With the instrument
switched OFF: Hold down any key while switching the instrument ON.

The following messages will be sequentially displayed: SETUP then: V *.*
(Instrument’s software version number, which may change) then: Code.

Function Code: The code entered at this point will govern which SETUP
function is chosen. Assuming that the keys are numbered as follows:
Top key = 1 , middle key = 2 and bottom key = 3, then the function key codes
are as given in the following table:

CODE FUNCTION PURPOSE
21132 Calibration mode Push button calibration of temperature

or velocity.

11332 HELP routine To assist in fault diagnosis.

Each code key-press must be made within 15 seconds or the instrument will
revert to its normal ‘read’ mode. Each valid key press will result in a ‘seg­ment bar’ appearing at the bottom of the display. If a non-valid code is
entered, the instrument will revert to its normal ‘read’ mode.

HELP Routine: ( Code 11332 ) The unit will display ‘HELP’ for a period of
two seconds, and will then display all the display segments with ‘Press Zero’
shown flashing: check that all the display segments are present. Pressing
the ZERO key will move the unit through a series of internal tests. The unit
will display ‘PASS’ if it is functioning satisfactorily or display an error
message if a test has failed. The significance of each error message is as
follows:

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‘Lobat’ Low battery condition, or fault in low battery circuitry.

The HELP routine will not proceed while this prevails.

Change the batteries and retry.
‘Error 1’ * The eeprom read/write function is not satisfactory.
‘Error 2’ * Reference voltage is incorrect or internal oscillator is faulty.
‘Error 3’ The probe is missing or incorrectly connected.

Calibration routine (Function code 21132 entered). The instrument will
display: ‘CAL’:

TEMPERATURE Calibration Routine. Specialized equipment is required for
temperature calibration, for information please contact Bacharach, Inc.

VELOCITY Calibration Routine. For velocity calibration, a stable air flow is
required with a setting resolution of +/–0.2% of reading and a velocity
accuracy better than +/–0.5% of reading. Bacharach can supply an Open Jet
Wind Tunnel together with associated instrumentation suitable for this
purpose, please contact Bacharach, Inc. for details.

SERVICE AND RECALIBRATION: If a fault or the instrument’s calibration is
suspected, it should be returned to Bacharach, Inc. for repair or recalibration. In
any event, it is good practice to have the instrument checked at least once a
year. If an instrument is not working correctly or requires recalibration, contact
your nearest Bacharach Service Department.

SPECIFICATIONS

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