Re: Personal Air Sample Problems

[james.g.barnes@att.net]

The low battery charge may be due to the infamous 
NiCad "memory" problem.  If NiCads aren't fully 
discharged and recharged, i.e., if you recharge them 
before they are absolutely dead, they will form 
a "memory" at that level of discharge, and will not 
provide the full battery capacity after that.  LiH and 
other battery types do not do this, but I'm not sure 
they are supplied in the typical personal air sample 
pump.

The low flow problem could be a subset of the memory 
problem.

The "fix" is to fully discharge the pump battery after 
each use.  (Yes, it is a major hassle.)

Jim Barnes, CHP
Radiation Safety Officer
Rocketdyne/Boeing
james.g.barnes@att.net
> We are currently experiencing problems with our individual air sample program. 
> These problems include low flow fault causing pump shutdown and low battery 
> charge causing pump shutdown. I would appreciate any solutions you may have 
> devised to help prevent or eliminate these problems.
> 
> 
> 
> 
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information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html