Leading fuel and lubricant testing equipment for the North American market

Compass Instruments represents some of the best names in reliable fuels, lubricants and materials testing equipment in North America.

Falex’s ETR is the first and only quantitative and objective instrument for D3241 Thermal Oxidation Stability of Aviation Turbine Fuels heater tube deposit thickness.

The Falex ETR is an easy-to-use, accurate instrument for the measurement of heater tube deposit thickness and is accepted as the referee method by ASTM D3241 (as noted in Annex 3) and ASTM D1655-14c (as noted in Table 1, Note M). Only the Falex ETR meets the specifications of ASTM D3241 Annex 3.

The instrument provides automatic initialisation and automatic heater tube centering, as well as a safe and completely enclosed laser light source inside a durable, dependable, simple-to-use instrument. The Falex ETR automatically references each heater tube during deposit measurements, allowing for instant measurement of any tube at any time. No need to pre-reference new tubes.

The Falex ETR is compact and durable and accommodates field calibration using NIST- certified reference tubes.

Since its introduction in 2009, The Falex 400 Thermal Oxidation Stability Tester and Falex Heater Tube Test Specimens has been the most durable and trusted tester for jet fuel thermal oxidation. The Falex 400 meets the rigorous standards set by ASTM D3241 Thermal Oxidation Stability of Aviation Turbine Fuels and is approved by DefStan 9191 for jet fuel testing.

The Falex 400 is capable of testing jet and diesel fuels in a single instrument. It features a small foot print (16 x 20 in/40 x 50 cm), a fuel and solvent-resistant touchscreen and dedicated microprocessor for added security and support. The instrument also has automatic humidity sensors and test fuel aeration and an HPLC double piston pump to assure zero pulsation fuel flow required for ASTM D3241. Falex's electronic cooling system meets the extreme demands of most testing environments.

With a proven design and significant installed worldwide presence, the Falex 400 is built for long intervals of use and years of service. Be confident in test method compliance and quality from Falex Corporation.

Falex Corporation offers heater tubes specified in ASTM D3241, IP323, and DefStan 9191. Falex Heater Tubes have been determined equivalent to the equipment used to develop the test methods and are listed as compatible with each. Sold in packages of 12 individual heater tubes, each laser-etched with a unique serial number for traceability.

The Petrodist 300 CC facilitates computer-controlled, petro distillation of petroleum products at reduced pressure according to ASTM D1160. The processor-controlled, crude oil distillation system determines the boiling ranges of crude oil products under vacuum in fully automatic operation, from the initial boiling point to the pre-selected end boiling point or detected break-off. The Petrodist 300 measures distillation volume automatically in a tempered receiver and can generate a distillation report with final distillation curve included. The unit works with models 100, 200 and 400 to allow testing under different parameters for product optimisation.

Choice Analytical Inc.’s technique and instrumentation have been designated as the ASTM D8148-17 Standard Test Method for the spectroscopic determination of haze in fuels. The new test method and instruments, the Clarity Choice hz and Color Choice hz, provide an efficient and effective alternative to the highly subjective visual grading method D4176 Procedure 2, which is currently being used in the majority of laboratories across the world. The ASTM D8148-17 method involves a spectroscopic procedure, which determines the level of suspended water and/or particulate contamination, or haze, in liquid light and middle distillate fuels, including those blended with synthesized hydrocarbons or biofuels. The method also provides a much more definitive Haze Clarity Index (HCI), which breaks the clarity of the fuel into a proprietary 100-50 rating scale, with 100 as most optically clear.

Like the hz models, the Color Choice enables the operator to carefully monitor the fuel clarity, haze and color by using specialized optics and an IHR, which correlates to the current ASTM D4176 Procedure 2 but with much greater precision. The Color Choice hz and Color Choice use a state-of-the-art spectrometer and optics to provide a measuring system with no moving parts or color wheel filters to degrade over time. Each of the instruments conforms to all aspects of the applicable ASTM methods.