What does LEL mean on a gas detector?
Lower Explosive Limit
The Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) is the lowest concentration of a gas or vapour that will burn in air. The Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) varies from gas to gas, but for most flammable gases it is less than 5% by volume.
What is a safe LEL reading?
What is a safe LEL level? Factory default alarms are typically set very conservatively: Low 10%, High 20%. It’s important to understand that conditions can change suddenly, and that the LEL sensor isn’t able to discern what specific gas (or combination of gasses) is being measured.
What is a safe LEL level natural gas?
Natural gas has a flammability range of approximately 5 to 15 percent. That means that any mixture containing less than 5 percent or greater than 15 percent natural gas to air would not support combustion.
What LEL level is too high?
Atmospheres with a concentration of flammable vapors at or above 10 percent of the lower explosive limit (LEL) are considered hazardous when located in confined spaces. However, atmospheres with flammable vapors below 10 percent of the LEL are not necessarily safe.
How do you calculate LEL of a gas?
To compute the LEL of any gas in air, divide the unknown concentration by the LEL listed in the NFPA Handbook. 100% LEL’s for 9 of Gasco’s more common gasses are shown in the Table 1A here. For example, if you take 2.5% Methane in air and divide it by 100% LEL of methane (5%), the result is 50% LEL.
What is the meaning of LEL OSHA?
Lower explosive limit
Lower explosive limit (LEL) means the minimum concentration of vapor in air below which propagation of a flame does not occur in the presence of an ignition source.
How many ppm is 1 LEL natural gas?
To convert from PPM to an LEL percentage, divide the PPM by 10,000.
What is 10% of the LEL?
LEL sensors measure percent of LEL. For example, Gasoline has an LEL of 1.4%. Therefore, 100% of LEL is 14,000 ppm of gasoline, 10% of LEL is 1,400 ppm of gasoline and 1% of LEL is 140 ppm of gasoline.
What is LEL in confined space?
An LEL Confined Space refers to Lower Explosive Limit within the confined space, which will be a percentage of combustible material in a gas or vapor state, that if mixed in the right proportion with air can create a hazardous fuel/air mixture that can be ignited and explode.
What is the gas concentration output for open path detectors?
The gas concentration output for open path detectors is expressed in ppm meters (parts per million of combustible gas times the path length in meters: a highly sensitive range for detection of low level leaks) or LEL meters (a hazardous gas level). Typical readings are as follows:
What is LEL gas detection?
If you work around sources of gas that are flammable or combustible, you may have noticed the term LEL, a term that is short for Lower Explosive Limit. If there is a risk that hazardous levels of flammable or combustible gas may be present, safety and insurance conditions may require a fixed gas detection system.
What is an open path IR detector?
Open path IR detection offers immunity to poisons, high sensitivity gas leak detection, hazardous level gas detection, low maintenance, easy installation and fail to safe operation. However, it is not an all-encompassing answer to combustible gas detection.
What is an LEL detector or LEL meter?
An LEL Detector or LEL Meter detects dangerous levels of a combustible gas or solvent vapor in air, expressed in percent Lower Explosive Limit, or LEL. An LEL Detector is an integral part of a complete gas detection system and can be referred to as a Gas Detector or just a fixed gas detection system.