Which Ion Science instrument to choose: VOC, benzene, mercury, SF6, helium

An Ion Science instrument is chosen by task. VOC and tank entry: Tiger XT or Tiger XTL. Benzene: Tiger XT Select, Cub TAC, Titan 2. Personal exposure: Cub. Fixed monitoring: Falco 2 or TVOC 2. Mercury vapor: MVI. SF6: LeakCheck P1 XTL, LEAKMATE, AreaCheck P2. Helium, hydrogen and refrigerants: Panther PRO. Below are tables to check this and notes on lamps and ranges.

KEG TRK has represented Ion Science in Kazakhstan since September 2026; prices on request.

Choosing by task

Task	Instrument	Page
Walk-throughs, VOC leak search, tank entry	Tiger XT, Tiger XTL	Tiger XT, Tiger XTL
Benzene and total aromatics (TAC)	Tiger XT Select, Cub TAC, Falco TAC	Tiger XT Select
Personal worker exposure (STEL, TWA)	Cub	Cub
Fixed VOC monitoring	Falco 2, TVOC 2	Falco 2, TVOC 2
Fixed benzene monitoring	Titan 2	Titan 2
Mercury vapor	MVI	MVI
SF6 leak search	SF6 LeakCheck P1 XTL, SF6 LEAKMATE	LeakCheck P1 XTL
SF6 monitoring in GIS halls	SF6 AreaCheck P2	AreaCheck P2
Helium, hydrogen, refrigerants	Panther PRO	Panther PRO

VOC instrument comparison

Instrument	Type	Range	Response	Explosion protection	Connectivity
Tiger XT	portable	1 ppb - 20,000 ppm	T90 under 2 s	ATEX, IECEx	USB, 120,000 records
Tiger XTL	portable	0.1-5000 ppm	T90 under 2 s	ATEX II 1G Ex ia, IECEx	USB, 80,000 records
Tiger XT Select	portable, benzene	0.01-200 ppm	about 130 s in tube mode	ATEX II 1G Ex ia, IECEx	USB, 120,000 records
Cub	personal	up to 5000 ppm	T90 under 13 s	ATEX II 1G Ex ia, IECEx	USB 2.0, 30,000 records
Falco 2	fixed	0-10 ... 0-3000 ppm	pumped under 10 s, diffusion under 30 s	ATEX/IECEx II 2G Ex db ib	4-20 mA, RS485 Modbus, 2 relays
TVOC 2	fixed	0-10 / 0-100 / 0-1000 ppm	T90 under 35 s	II 2G Ex ia (zone 1), II 3G Ex nA (zone 2)	4-20 mA
Titan 2	fixed, benzene	0.02-20 ppm	one sample per minute	ATEX II 2G Ex db IIB+H2	4-20 mA, RS485 Modbus, 2 relays

How the photoionization detector itself works is covered in Photoionization detector (PID): how it works.

Which lamp

Lamp	Use	Fitted in
10.6 eV (krypton)	most VOCs	Tiger, Falco, Cub, TVOC 2
10.0 eV	aromatics and benzene (TAC)	Tiger XT Select, Cub TAC, Titan 2, Falco TAC
11.7 eV	compounds with high ionization potential	Tiger XT, Cub, Falco 2 versions

The 11.7 eV lamp sees more compounds but lasts less: by the brochure table at least 500 hours against 10,000 hours for the 10.6 eV lamp. Choose it when the compound you need is not visible with another lamp.

What a PID does not measure

A PID shows organic vapors and does not measure methane, mercury or SF6. Those need other instruments:

• methane and light hydrocarbons: Methane leak: what to search with and why a PID does not fit;
• mercury: the MVI, see Mercury vapor at industrial sites;
• SF6: How to find an SF6 leak.

For benzene and its thresholds use the instruments in Benzene monitoring at an industrial site.

Portable, personal or fixed

• Portable (Tiger): walk-throughs, leak search, checks before tank entry. A person holds the instrument and the reading must be logged.
• Personal (Cub): worn in the breathing zone, warns of hazardous exposure and records STEL and TWA.
• Fixed (Falco 2, TVOC 2, Titan 2): round-the-clock zone monitoring with a signal to the control system. More on Falco versus TVOC: Fixed VOC detector: Falco 2 or TVOC 2.

How to build a leak search program at a plant: Gas and VOC leak detection with Ion Science PID detectors.

How to order

KEG TRK supplies Ion Science instruments in Kazakhstan, selects an instrument for the task and demonstrates it on site. Price on request. Russian translations of most instrument brochures are on the product pages.