Are Your Grab Samples Always Representative, Timely, and Compatible?

If not, or if you aren't sure, try our Sample System Performance Program

By partnering with our Swagelok Field Service Technicians, we can continue to bring you global expertise with both our Sample System Performance Program and Cylinder Maintenance Program. Read about how you can benefit from each program and download your free copy of our Grab Sample Insight Brochure. 

Many plants our Swagelok Field Service Technicians visit lack a proper grab sample system design and an established maintenance program. It doesn't have to be that way. Our Sample System Performance Program is designed to help you ensure your grab samples are representative, timely, and compatible.

In Tony Water’s book, Industrial Sampling Systems, Reliable Design & Maintenance Process Analyzers, he references three other goals that are just as important in sampling, but are common with almost all by manufactured products and more easily understood. We won’t go into much detail but they are worth mentioning for future reference:

• The whole analyzer system shall be reliable, so the measurements are always available when needed.
•  The whole analyzer system shall be cost-effective to maximize the net benefit of the application.
• The whole analyzer system at all times shall be safe, posing no threat to personnel, environment, or process operations. 

To introduce you to this Sample System service, we have produced a four-page PDF that goes through the details of the program and the benefits to expect. We'd be glad to send you a free copy on request.

Practical advice

Without proper design and an established maintenance program for your grab sample system, you may have a hard time with critical actions like capturing, handling, and analyzing samples.

Gathered from Swagelok’s Field Service Technician's reporting, it turns out that plugging (or blockage) is the world’s most common ailment and it’s on the list from nearly every location Swagelok has been, on six continents! The reason for this commonality around the world is that the symptoms of compatibility failure are obvious and clear to anyone who cares to look:

• The sample arrives at the analyzer at the wrong temperature, pressure, or flow, causing physical damage or inaccurate measurements
• The sample has too much solid in it, blocking flow paths or damaging sensitive analytical devices
• Gas samples carry entrained liquids into the analyzer (and gas analyzers don’t like liquids
• More of information can be found in Tony Water’s book, Industrial Sampling Systems, Reliable Design & Maintenance Process Analyzers - you can request a copy to purchase here. 

Swagelok Field Service Technicians can help identify issues affecting your sample quality and recommend ways to enhance your system's performance. We start by collecting data on the key components of your system. We gather details on your maintenance schedules too. We'll check your grab sample points, offering recommendations for existing points and new installations.

Then we provide training, both on the proper methods of sample extraction and on maintenance procedures. That training includes best practices for design, and how to optimize the tap location. You'll also get a session on troubleshooting.

As a result you can expect lower operating costs because you'll have more efficient sample gathering and fewer rejected samples. Better samples mean more accurate process monitoring. All of that means increased profits.

We'll check cylinders too

Sample cylinder assemblies can face a rough life in the field. Edmonton Valve’s cylinder maintenance program includes a full assessment of the cylinder and corresponding assemblies to make sure they fall within certain safety parameters and guidelines.

We'll tailor the evaluation based on your company's individual needs, and give you a full detailed report that includes any recommendations for repair. 

To get your free copy of our brochure, simply fill in this form.