PREREQUSITES:
These are the requirements before attempting to calibrate the Bloodhound’s flow meter:
1) You must be at the location with the bloodhound.
2) You need an external lab-grade flow meter which will serve as the calibration benchmark that can accurately read read 1 LPM (one liter-per-minute).
3) You need appropriate plumbing to connect the external flow meter tightly to to the Bloodhound’s sample inlet barb.
4) You need to have the Bloodhound on, and connected to the Internet.
5) You need a copy of iBall Instruments’ Stand Alone Real-Time Data Viewer (RTDV) installed and running on an Internet-connected PC.
6) You need an administrator-level account on your Bloodhound, which can be obtained by e-mailing or calling Bloodhound Support.
HOW-TO:
1) Properly plumb your external flow meter to the Bloodhound’s gas inlet barb (see image below). This MUST be done with no leaks, and in line so that the external flow meter can read the gas flow rate properly (usually, this is only one direction, and may be indicated by a directional arrow on the external flow meter).
2) Turn on the Bloodhound, your external flow meter, and your computer that will be running iBall Instruments Real-Time Data Viewer (RTDV), and make sure the Bloodhound and the RTDV computer have working Internet connections.
3) Connect iBall Instruments Real-Time Data Viewer (RTDV) to the Bloodhound in “administrator” mode:
a) Run iBall Instruments Real-Time Data Viewer.
b) Type in the ID/Serial Number of the Bloodhound, and click the button that reads “Connect To Server”.
c) Click the grey button that reads “Two Way Inactive”.
d) Type in your administrator-level Username and Password.
e) Click the “Send” button.
f) Verify that you are in “Two Way Active” mode – the button should now be green and reads “Two Way Active” (see image below).
4) Set the Bloodhound in “Calibrate Flow Rate” mode:
a) Left-Click your mouse in the section of the RTDV screen with the yellow-text scrolling by.
b) Type in “calibrate flow” (no quotes) and press “ENTER”. NOTE: You will NOT be able to see the text you type, but you should get a response in the yellow text area after you press ENTER. You must do this relatively quickly.
5) Adjust the calibrated flow rate:
a) While watching your lab-grade external flow meter, turn the knob on the face of the Bloodhound (see image below – this will increase and decrease the flow rate).
b) Adjust this until you read one (1) litre-per-minute (lpm).
c) Once you have it adjusted to this rate, wait approximately 30 seconds to let it settle.
d) Go back to the RTDV console, left-click in the yellow-text section again, and hit the ENTER key on the keyboard – this will lock in the new adjusted/calibrated flow rate.
e) If this worked, you should see (waiting for information from manufacturer).
f) NOTE: We have found that sometimes it makes sense to try this a few times to get it to “take”.
Congratulations! You have adjusted/calibrated the Bloodhound’s Flow Meter!
