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Luke Skaff

Luke's past and current projects...

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  • — How-To’s —
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    • DIY Formaldehyde Testing
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  • — Product Reviews —
    • Extech Formaldehyde FM200 Meter
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Copyright Luke Skaff 2016

DIY Formaldehyde Testing, Indoor Air Quality

February 7, 2016 by Luke Skaff 3 Comments

After having very little luck with a digital formaldehyde meter to test indoor air quality I decided it was time to switch to a more proven way to do DIY formaldehyde testing.  I did a lot of research and decided to try colorimetric gas detector tubes to measure formaldehyde levels which don’t require sending samples off to a lab. The most common way for homeowners to test formaldehyde levels is using a sampler which is placed in a room for 24 hours then sealed up and mailed off to a lab for analysis.  Some of the home test kits have a test tube and an air pump which you run for about 30 minutes, these are more expensive tests and also require sending away to a lab.  If you only want one data point then mailing off an air sample to the lab is more cost effective. I wanted quick results from measurements so I could make a change and see the impact without having to wait for a lab so a formaldehyde colorimetric gas detector tube was the logical choice outside of an electronic meter.

To use colorimetric gas detector tubes you need a few things; a gas detector tube for the specific gas you are testing for, an air sampling pump that can accurately meter a specific amount of air through the tube, a thermometer to make corrections to the formaldehyde detector tube’s reading.  I went through a lot of trial and error trying to find a good low cost air pump, partway into this project I found the Public Lab formaldehyde testing article which is a great resource. In the Public Lab article they used a modified aquarium pump for their air pump which works well and the article helped me wrap up the details to get this test setup up and running.  I wanted to expand upon the Public Lab article and go into more detail for anyone interested in doing VOC and formaldehyde indoor air quality testing using colorimetric gas detector tubes.

The air sampling pump, flow meter, and other miscellaneous parts I used can be sourced for about $70 which is a one time purchase.  The Kitagawa 710 formaldehyde test tubes are about $135 shipped for a box of 20, the GASTEC 91PL tubes are $83 shipped for a box of 10.  The cost per test excluding the one time equipment purchase is $6.75 for the Kitagawa 710 tubes (but requires a larger purchase price up front) and $8.30 for the GASTEC 91PL tubes.  I went with the Kitagawa 710 tubes as I wanted to do more than 10 tests.

Kitagawa 710 Formaldehyde Detector Tube Reading
A used Kitagawa 710 formaldehyde detector tube after a test showing a formaldehyde reading of 0.07ppm

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Building Science, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tagged With: Formaldehyde, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Extech Formaldehyde (CH2O and HCHO) Meter Review

October 20, 2015 by Luke Skaff 8 Comments

Introduction

I started diving into research about Formaldehyde and how to measure it after my parents started having indoor air quality issues in a house they recently bought and remodeled.  I wanted to get some quantifiable metrics on what I could so I purchased a formaldehyde meter and sent off some air samples to a lab for testing.  I know this is only a small piece of a much larger picture in terms of indoor air quality (IAQ) but it seems to be an important part of the VOC side of IAQ.

The meter I ended up purchasing is the Extech Instruments FM200 Formaldehyde (CH2O or HCHO) Meter, I have had good experiences with Extech equipment in the past but as you will find in this review I was severely disappointed this time.

Extech FM200 Formaldehyde Meter
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Building Science, Product Reviews Tagged With: Extech, Formaldehyde, Review

Table of Contents

  • 1. Colorimetric Gas Detector Tubes
  • 2. Air Sampling Pump
    • 2.1 Manual Piston Hand Pump
    • 2.2 DIY Air Sampling Pump
      • 2.2.1 Pump Option 1: Low Voltage Vacuum Pump
      • 2.2.2 Pump Option 2: Converting an Aquarium Air Pump
    • 2.2.3 Measuring / Metering Air Volume, Flowmeter
  • 3. Performing a Formaldehyde Air Test, Collecting an Air Sample
    • 3.1 Collecting an Air Sample
    • 3.2 Reading and Calculating Formaldehyde Level
      • 3.2.1 Kitagawa 710 Formaldehyde Detector Tube Measurement Corrections
      • 3.2.2 GASTEC/Nextteq – 91PL Formaldehyde Gas Sampling Tube Measurement Corrections
  • 4. Formaldehyde Reference Levels
  • 5. Lessons Learned
  • 6. Helpful Resources

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