-
Home
-
-
Blogposts
-
-
3 Tips to Become a Smooth Operator of the Dansensor CheckMate 3
-
3 Tips to Become a Smooth Operator of the Dansensor CheckMate 3
MOCON Europe's engineers have designed the Dansensor
® CheckMate 3 to provide quick, accurate and trouble-free headspace oxygen analysis. To help ensure the smooth operation of Dansensor CheckMate 3 we asked our three resident experts, Sales Manager Morten Torngaard, Area Sales Manager Tony Johansen and Service Technician Alexander Münch, each to give their top tip.
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
Morten Torngaard
Sales Manager
MOCON Europe A/S |
|
|
|
Alexander Münch
Technical Service
MOCON GmbH |
|
|
|
Tony Johansen
Area Sales Manager
MOCON Europe A/S |
1. A quick check before you start...
With any piece of kit, we need to be confident that it is working properly before we start using it, says Tony. So before testing packages that come off the line, it is important to make sure that the Dansensor
CheckMate 3 is working as it should be. You can do this with a very simple test, which should be carried out at least once a week, or as needed if you suspect that the instrument is not measuring 100% correctly.
“Place the machine on a table in a well-ventilated room and take a measurement of the air,” says Tony. “It should been between 20.7 and 21.2 per cent oxygen. If it is outside these values, there is likely to be a problem and technical help will be needed.”
The CO2 reading should be close to zero, but be aware of any possible sources of excess CO2 such as a packaging line that has an overflow of CO2. |
 |
A more accurate test is to use bottles containing defined mixtures of gases available from Dansensor in some countries, or else from gas suppliers. For example a mixture containing 1 per cent oxygen and 25 per cent carbon dioxide. The readings provided by the Dansensor CheckMate 3 should be the same as those of the gas mixture. “This is a good way to test the machine’s accuracy before sampling,” notes Alexander.
2. Keep things airtight: always use the septum!
It is always important when testing to attach the small septum to the package and to insert the needle through this, which creates a tight seal around the needle. “Many products are packaged in a slight vacuum, so if there is not this close seal air may be drawn in when the package is pierced and this will provide a false reading,” says Alexander. “Sometimes people do not use the septum, but it is vital that they always do”.
Get more tips for your Dansensor CheckMate 3 in this blogpost.
 |
|
 |
| Needle Ø0, 8 mm |
|
Septum, Ø15mm, white, hard - single use |
3. Make sure you are well equipped with spares!
There’s nothing more frustrating to find that you have run out of consumables – and for quality assurance testing this can waste time and money. So it is always advisable, says Morten, to have a set of spare consumables on hand for your Dansensor CheckMate 3 – hose, filter and needle. You can replace these very easily without the need for tools. The Dansensor CheckMate 3 has a highly sophisticated system for self-diagnosis, such as wrongly connected hose or wrong operating temperature. A good tip for a quick check that there is not a major problem is to call up the diagnostic menu on the display screen and ensure that the reading for atmospheric pressure is at or very close to 1000mb. If it is much higher or much lower, this indicates that there is probably a fault that will require
technical support.