Product Classification

1.How does it work?

• A fuel cell is a chemical battery to which the fuel and oxidant are continuously supplied, so in principle it is everlasting.  Many chemical reactions consist of a transfer of electrons from one reactant to another.

2. What is it made of?

• The electrodes are made of platinum, high quality, high surface area, made in the UK to achieve high performance, stability and long life.  The electrolyte is an acid.  The contact wires are platinum; not too thin (fragile), not too thick (expensive).

3. What is the lifetime of the sensors?

• Old fuel cells never die, they only fade away. In theory they are everlasting as nothing is consumed during use (although we are aware of a competitor product which generally lasts less than a year).
• For unheated sensors, service lifetimes of ten years are known, but the answer really is ¡°until, in your opinion, they get too slow to be of practical use¡±. 3-5 years is typical. And you cannot really over-use them, if fact they seem to last longer when well used than hardly used at all.

4. How often to calibrate?

• In units using the integration method, the calibration should be very stable. Calibration checks are carried out at 6 monthly intervals in the case of the UK police evidential equipment, but that is a statutory requirement, and few would need a recalibration at this interval. So the best advice is to recalibrate once a year or as often as you think necessary.