Investing in Life Safety is investing in the security of people, property, and the environment. It is imperative that the focus is on quality, reliability and features when acquiring Life Safety devices, such as Flame Detectors.
But with the variety of Flame Detector products available, what features are necessary? Each application has its own requirements and sometimes, product features that may be important for one application, may not be for another, so it is important to carefully understand the requirements for each installation
Sense-WARE offers a range of high-quality Zone 2 and Safe Area Flame Detectors, for both Industrial and Commercial applications. An independent manufacturer for the last 20 years, Sense-WARE offers a 5 year Warranty on all Flame Detector products.
UV Flame Detector
UV Flame Detectors uses a Geiger-Mueller tube that detects Ultraviolet, (UV), radiation in the Electromagnetic Spectrum in the 185-260 nanometer range. Both Hydrocarbon and non-Hydrocarbon fires emit UV radiation, but when using a UV Flame detector, it must be noted that there are other sources that emit UV radiation, that also look like a fire, such as electric arc welding, corona arcs and lightning. To avoid these types of spurious alarms, the Sense-WARE UV Flame Detector has a built in 8 second alarm delay.
UV/IR Flame Detector
As the shortcomings of the UV Flame Detector became better known, the next development step was to add an IR sensor to produce the Ultraviolet/Infrared Flame Detector. This significantly improved the performance of the Flame Detector by cutting down the amount of spurious alarms. Over the years, the change from analogue to digital processing has also produced a Flame Detector than is virtually free from spurious alarms. The addition of an IR sensor for the 2.8 micron waveband, (hot water vapor emissions) or the 4.3 micron waveband, (hot CO2 emissions) from a fire, plus the detection of a Flicker rate from 1-20 Hz, added another level of security.. Sense-WARE uses the 2.8 micron waveband in the UV/IR Flame detector, as this can see both Hydrocarbon and Non-Hydrocarbon fires. Note that UV/IR Flame detectors using the 4.3 micron IR waveband cannot see Non-Hydrocarbon fires.
The natural development of the UV/IR Flame Detector has been the IR3, using 3 wavebands of IR and wavebands can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Sense-Ware’s IR3 Flame Detector offers unparalled spurious alarm immunity and an extended range over UV/IR Flame Detectors. In some circumstances, smoky fires can absorb UV and slow down the response to the fire. The IR3 Flame detector is not affected by this or a build up of dirt or dust on the lens, although regular maintenance must be carried out. Increasingly, the IR3 Flame detector is replacing the UV/IR Flame Detector for the detection of Hydrocarbon fires. Note that IR3 Flame Detectors should not be used to detect Non-Hydrocarbon fires.
What do these Sense-WARE Flame Detectors have in common?
All Sense-WARE Flame detectors are approved by FM and ATEX for Zone 2/Div. II and Safe Area use. All Sense-WARE Flame Detectors are certified non-incendive, which has an advantage over Intrinsically Safe Flame Detectors in that no special IS wiring or Zener barriers are required, significantly keeping the installation cost down. The GRP housing is extremely tough, non-corrosive, none conductive, requires no grounding, has an IP65 rating and is suitable for indoor and outdoor applications. The Flame Detector performs a self-test every hour to ensure the sensors and electronics are working within specifications. The operating temperature ranges from -40°C to 70°C. Each Flame Detector carries a 5 year warranty for parts and labor.