Ken, I can understand your concerns but cannot agree.
Sensors, are like car tires, you can buy them over the internet for a fraction of what your car dealer is asking for them.
If I can get Michelin sensors for a fraction of what my manufacturer is asking for BF Goodrich sensors, I'll get the Michelin sensors. If I have reason to believe the Michelin sensors are better made, come with a testing certificate for each individual sensor and last longer too, I'd be a fool to buy sensors from the manufacturer, without an individual testing certificate, date of manufacture, etc.
With my AI sensor supplier I've never bought a sensor that was made more than 3 weeks ago and I hope that Patrick can offer the same level of service.
Michael
Ken, I can understand your concerns but cannot agree.
Sensors, are like car tires, you can buy them over the internet for a fraction of what your car dealer is asking for them.
If I can get Michelin sensors for a fraction of what my manufacturer is asking for BF Goodrich sensors, I'll get the Michelin sensors. If I have reason to believe the Michelin sensors are better made, come with a testing certificate for each individual sensor and last longer too, I'd be a fool to buy sensors from the manufacturer, without an individual testing certificate, date of manufacture, etc.
With my AI sensor supplier I've never bought a sensor that was made more than 3 weeks ago and I hope that Patrick can offer the same level of service.
Michael
Hi Michael. You mentioned the testing certificate that is supplied by AI and when I saw they doing that (prior to you mentioning it) I kind of laughed. I have been distributing Teledyne oxygen sensors since 1999. I think in around 2000 we started selling rebreather sensors and ended when Teledyne pulled out of that market. I think they pulled out around 6 years ago, but might be slightly more. I would have to check my records to be positive. I still sell sensors for them for analyzers. Believe it or not, there are some people still using Teledyne sensors for rebreathers despite them not being approved for that application. When we first started selling rebreathers, everyone was using medical sensors because the market was so young. The only reason Teledyne came out with a diving sensor was due to the government getting upset with us selling medical sensors without a prescription. So, minor variations were made in addition to changing the label from medical to diving. The changes were insignificant, but used in marketing. The changes did not result in a sensor that improved performance is any way.
In fact, Teledyne had an issue with the conformal coating early on. It was too thick and it resulted in a blocked vent hole.
During the entire time frame I have been distributing oxygen sensors I never had to supply testing data. To give you an idea on just how great Teledyne is at making sensors, in the 20 years I have been selling their sensors (and I sold a lot of them), I know I have had less than 12 cells that fell under warranty.
Once Teledyne left the RB market, their was a large void due to the quality of the competition. In the case of AI, I imagine that they began providing test data on each sensor due to the problems they had and the reputation they were getting. If you make a good sensor, those documents are not necessary because each sensor should be consistently made the exact same way. Other factors that come into play are where you source your materials from. Example: You can test a sensor after assembly and it tests well. But, if you have inferior or lead that is not as pure as it should be, a couple months after testing, that sensor will begin to or completely fail.
To the best of my knowledge, I do not know of any manufacturer that does not have date codes on their sensors.
The longest I have seen a sensor still function that was not used was 5 years on a shelf. Most manufacturers have a shelf life of 2 years and the sensor should be put in use by then. I tell everyone one year. If the sensor does not come in a barrier bag, I would not feel comfortable with those time frames. And, I should note that some sensor mfgs do not use barrier bags. If a sensor mfg tells you the sensor is ready to use once the bag or container is opened, it is because they are not in a barrier bag and are continuously exposed to oxygen when on the shelf.
All sensors are similar in design. The differences that come into play are some proprietary designs, where they source their materials and the QA program they have in place.
Well, that is my two cents worth that I have accumulated in the last 20 years being in the business. Hopefully, you found some of the history or information useful or interesting.
Merry Christmas!
Patrick