Related Manuals for Alicat Scientific PCU
Summary of Contents for Alicat Scientific PCU
- Page 1 Operating Manual Portable Calibration Unit The Fastest Flow Controller Company in the World!
- Page 2 FULL TECHNICAL SUPPORT | LIFETIME WARRANTY RECALIBRATION Your Alicat instrument is a precision device and Alicat strongly recommends that you send it to us on a yearly basis for recalibration. A yearly recalibration does a few things: ► It insures that your unit is functioning according to specification. ►...
- Page 3 Each of the PCU’s three separate displays allow you to monitor Mass Flow Rate, Absolute Pressure, Volumetric Flow Rate, and Temperature simultaneously. The PCU is also equipped with an RS-232 output port that can be connected to a computer or other data-logging device.
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Page 4: Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CONNECTING THE PCU POWER PRESSURE DISPLAYS AND MENUS MAIN Gas Absolute Pressure Gas Temperature Tare Volumetric Flow Rate Mass Flow Rate Flashing Error Message Choosing Engineering Units from Main Mode SELECT MENU ABOUT DEVICE INFO MFG INFO... -
Page 5: Connecting The Pcu
Information for Alicat TFT (Color Display) Instruments PCU Meter Technical Specifications CONNECTING THE PCU The inlet and outlet connections to the PCU are located below the displays for their respective flow ranges. Inlet connections are located on the left and the outlet connections are located on the right (see page 6) The connections are either 1/8”, 1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2”... -
Page 7: Power
POWER The PCU is designed to operate on either four AA Alkaline batteries or via a 9-30 Vdc power supply (minimum 150 mA @ 24Vdc). The batteries will operate the PCU for about 8 hours under normal usage. If the batteries drop below 7 volts, the low battery light will come on and the batteries should be replaced or alternate power should be applied. -
Page 8: Displays And Menus
DISPLAYS AND MENUS The device screen defaults to Main display as soon as power is applied to the meter. Main The Main display shows pressure, temperature, volumetric flow and mass flow. TARE PSIA FLOW +21.50 +13.60 Pressing the button adjacent to a +0.00 parameter will make that parameter SCCM... -
Page 9: Main
MAIN The following parameters are displayed in the Main mode: Pressure; Temperature; Volumetric Flow and Mass Flow. This mode defaults on power up, with TARE PSIA mass flow as the primary displayed FLOW +21.50 +13.60 parameter. +0.00 Pressing the button next to the parameter will SCCM SCCM put that parameter in the primary display. -
Page 10: Flashing Error Message
Flashing Error Message: An error message (MOV = mass overrange, VOV = volumetric overrange, POV = pressure overrange, TOV = temperature overrange) flashes when a measured parameter exceeds the range of the sensor. When any item flashes, neither the flashing parameter nor the mass flow measurement is accurate. -
Page 11: Select Menu
SELECT MENU From Select Menu you can change the selected gas, interact with your RS-232 settings or read manufacturer’s data. Press the button next to the desired operation to bring that function to the screen. DEVICE DEVICE INFO STATE INFO TARE TARE FLOW... -
Page 12: Device Info
ABOUT Press DEVICE INFO to show important information about your flow device including the model number, serial number, and date of manufacture. DEVICE DEVICE STATE INFO INFO Press BACK to return to the About display. Push MAIN to return to the Main display. Manufacturer information is accessed by pressing the MFG INFO button on the About BACK... -
Page 13: Tares
TARES Press TARES to access and TARE FLOW. Press BACK to return to the Tares display. Push MAIN to return to the Main display. TARE FLOW BACK MAIN PRESSING SET WILL AFFECT ENSURE NO FLOW DEVICE MEASUREMENTS BEFORE PRESSING TARE VERIFY THAT THE CHANGE IS DESIRED CANCEL... -
Page 14: Basic Config
BASIC CONFIG Press BASIC CONFIG to select gases, device units, and change STP and NTP references. Press BACK to return to the Select Menu display. Push MAIN to return to the Main STP/ DEVICE display. UNITS Gas Select allows you to set your device to up to 150 gases and mixes. -
Page 15: Composer
COMPOSER Composer allows you to program and save up to 20 custom gas mixes containing 2 to 5 component gases found in the gas lists (pages 32-39). The DOWN minimum resolution is 0.01%. >Add Mix: 20 Free Composer is accessed by selecting COMPOSER User Mixes on the GAS SELECT display. - Page 16 DOWN SELECT DOWN SELECT DIGIT DIGIT Percent of Air: Percent of Ar Argon: 50.00 30.00 ˄ ˄ BACK/ BACK/ CANCEL CLEAR CANCEL CLEAR DOWN SELECT EDIT ADD GAS DIGIT NAME OPTNS Percent of He Helium: COMPOSER Mix: MyGAS 50% Air 20.00 30% AR Argon ˄...
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Page 17: Device Units
DEVICE UNITS Press DEVICE UNITS to access menus of units of measure for each parameter (and totalizer if so equipped). Scroll to the desired unit and press select. DOWN Mass Flow Once selected, you will see the message Volumetric Flow shown below. -
Page 18: Stp/Ntp
STP/NTP STP/NTP allows selection of the temperature and pressure reference condition for mass flow. For standardardized flow (when using mass flow units that begin with S), Stan T DOWN and Stan P define the reference temperature Stan T: 25.00#C and pressure. For normalized flow (when Stan P: 14.700 PSIA Norm T: 25.00#C using mass flow units that begin with N),... -
Page 19: Adv Setup
ADV SETUP Press ADV SETUP to adjust the sensor settings, unit ID, baud rate, or display settings. Press BACK to return to the Select Menu display. Push MAIN to return to the Main display. DISP SENSOR COMM SETUP SETUP SETUP SENSOR SETUP ZERO BAND refers to Display Zero Deadband. -
Page 20: Comm Setup
DOWN SELECT DOWN SELECT DIGIT DIGIT Avg Time Const: msec Avg Time Const: msec BACK/ BACK/ CANCEL CLEAR CANCEL CLEAR CLEAR CLEAR FLOW AVG PRESS AVG COMM SETUP Press COMM SETUP to adjust the unit ID or baud rate. UNIT ID – Valid unit identifiers are the letters A-Z and @. -
Page 21: Disp Setup
DISP SETUP Press DISP SETUP to adjust the LCD contrast or rotate the display. LCD CONTRAST: The display contrast can be adjusted between 0 and 28, with zero being the lightest and 31 being the darkest. Use the UP and ROTATE DISP DOWN buttons to adjust the contrast. -
Page 22: Rs-232 Output And Input
RS-232 Output and Input Connect the male RS-232 DB9 port of the PCU to the serial port of your computer or data logger. This will normally require a female/female DB9 cable (included). Alicat’s Flow Vision Software Flow Vision is an affordable software program that interfaces with RS-232 and is compatible with most Alicat flow and pressure instruments. -
Page 23: Sending A Command
Sending a Command In this section, a command will be denoted with a different font. For example, command<CR> . <CR> will be used to symbolize a carriage return. How a carriage return is entered is dependent on the serial communication program being used. -
Page 24: Data Format
Data Format The data frame on the screen represents the current measurements in the device in the units shown on the display. By default, mass flow meters are configured to output six columns of data. All data is displayed in the “device units” selected on the unit. Devices come standard with units of PSIA, °C, and either SLPM/LPM or SCCM/CCM, depending on the flow range of the device. -
Page 25: Operating Principle
STANDARD GAS DATA TABLES: Those of you who have older Alicat products may notice small discrepancies between the gas property tables of your old and new units. Alicat Scientific, Inc. has incorporated the latest data sets from NIST (including their REFPROP 9 data where available) in our products’ built-in gas property models. -
Page 34: Supported Units List
Supported Units: This device supports many different units. You may select the desired units (see page 17). Note that only units appropriate to this device are available for selection. Pressure Units Absolute Gauge Differential Notes pascal hPaA hPaG hPaD hectopascal kPaA kPaG kPaD... - Page 35 True Mass Flow Units Label Notes mg/s milligram per second mg/m milligram per minute gram per second gram per minute gram per hour kg/m kilogram per minute kg/h kilogram per hour oz/s ounce per second oz/m ounce per minute lb/m pound per minute lb/h pound per hour...
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Page 36: Troubleshooting
TROUBLESHOOTING Display does not come on or is weak. Check power and ground connections. Flow reading is approximately fixed either near zero or near full scale regardless of actual line flow. Differential pressure sensor may be damaged. Avoid installations that can subject sensor to pressure drops in excess of 10 psid. - Page 37 Also, inspect the inside of the upstream connection for debris such a Teflon tape shreds. Note: PCU meters feature a programmable geometric running average (GRA) that can aid in allowing a rapidly fluctuating flow to be read (see “Pressure Averaging” and “Flow Averaging”...
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Page 38: Maintenance And Recalibration
Moisture, oil and other contaminants can affect the laminar flow elements. Recalibration: The recommended period for recalibration is once every year. A label located on the PCU lists the most recent calibration date. The PCU should be returned to the factory for recalibration within one year from the listed date. -
Page 39: Option: Totalizing Mode
Option: Totalizing Mode - Meters Meters can be purchased with the Totalizing Mode option. This option adds an additional mode screen that displays the total flow (normally in the units of the main flow screen) that has passed through the device since the last time the totalizer was cleared. -
Page 40: Accessory: Flow Vision™ Sc / Accessory: Flow Vision™ Mx
Accessory: Flow Vision™ SC Software Flow Vision™ SC is an intuitive software interface to help your test cycles run smoother and shorten your engineering time! Flow Vision™ SC lets you connect to and communicate with multiple Alicat units simultaneously. Now you can view virtual displays, control tabs, charts and data lines from every connected Alicat device on the same screen. -
Page 41: Accessories
Accessories Part Number Description FLOWVISIONSC Flow Vision™ SC software for interface with all Alicat instruments FLOWVISIONMX Flow Vision™ MX software for gas blending 9 position Multi-Drop Box BB9-I 9 position Multi-Drop Box, Industrial connectors PVPS24U Universal 100-240 VAC to 24 Volt DC Power Supply Adapter PS24VHC High current power supply for BB9 use with Large Valve Controllers PCASE... - Page 42 Accessories MNPT to Compression Fittings Filters & Elements FNPT-MNPT 10-32 - 1/8” SS-200-1-0157 10-32 5μ 510053 10-32 - 1/4” SS-400-1-0256 10-32 20μ 510054 1/8” - 1/8” SS-200-1-2 1/8” 20μ ILF-1/8-20 1/8” - 1/4” SS-400-1-2 1/4” 40μ ILF-1/4-40 1/8” - 3/8” SS-600-1-2 1/2”...
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Page 43: Information For Alicat Tft (Color Display) Instruments
NOTE: A color display will result in significantly reduced battery life in PCU and portable instruments. Turning the display off for meters not in use will help prolong battery life. Technical Data for TFT (Color Display) Meters, Gauges and Controllers The following specifications are applicable to Alicat TFT (color display) meters, gauges and controllers only. -
Page 44: Pcu Meter Technical Specifications
0.24 250 slpm 0.60 Weight: 12 - 20 lb depending on configuration *Venting to atmosphere PCU Case Dimensions: 16” L x 13” W x 7” H Process Connections: 1/8”, 1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2”, 6mm, 10mm, or 12mm push-connect style tubing fittings... - Page 45 Product is required as the result of repairs to Product pursuant to this Warranty. Failure of Buyer to send Product to Alicat Scientific for recalibration on a yearly basis after a period of 36 months from date of manufacture will remove any and all obligations regarding repair or replacement of Product as outlined by this Warranty to Buyer from Alicat Scientific.
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