RS Korea — FIX800 Four-Gas Detector Installation in Ship Coal Storage Room, Confined Space Safety (Yeosu)

Site Survey

The facility requested an urgent site visit due to the dust-heavy environment inside a large vessel's coal storage room, docked in Yeosu. Height was a concern too: the detector needed to be mounted at the lowest level of the coal storage room, with the display visible at the entrance. Since the vessel is subject to wave motion, the equipment also needed to withstand vibration, and since the display would be mounted outdoors, it needed to be waterproof.

Coal dust was so severe during the survey that standard masks were inadequate — the ship's crew provided proper dust respirators so the survey could be completed safely. Based on the dusty conditions, a pump-sampling system with a dust pre-filter was initially considered, but given how much coal dust had accumulated and was airborne on site, RS Korea judged that a suction inlet would risk clogging with coal particles, and instead recommended the standard diffusion-type detector.

Equipment Configuration

Installed multi-gas fixed detector: WANDI FIX800
Additional option: 4-channel LED display board

Coal storage room: FIX800 fixed gas detector installed at the lowest level. Coal storage room entrance: LED display board installed, so workers can check internal gas levels before descending.

Why Gas Monitoring Was Essential

The coal storage room is itself a confined space — coal dust required respirator use throughout, and with ventilation running, internal temperatures still reached 30-32C in a hot, humid environment. RS Korea judged that if a worker entered without confirming gas conditions first, problems could arise immediately. As a confined space, the room needed to be ventilated and gas levels confirmed before any worker entry.

Field technicians reported that heavy sweating inside dust suits and respirators alone made breathing difficult — combined with any oxygen deficiency, the risk of collapse would have been significant.

Installation

With all checks complete, the ship's chief engineer confirmed conditions on site step by step and advised on how to proceed, allowing the installation to go smoothly.

The large vessel visible in the distance was the site for the day's work.

Since everyone had been affected by coal dust during the survey, the team came prepared with dust suits for this installation visit.

To position the FIX800 detector, steel conduit was first clipped in place to route the power and communication lines.

The team worked together to run the display board's 220V power line as part of the display installation.

Once the display board's 24V power supply and RS-485 communication line were connected to the detector, the installation work was complete.

When power is first applied to the display and detector, there is a standard 60-second warm-up period during which the display briefly shows all readings — O2, LEL, and the rest — at zero. After the warm-up period completed, normal readings were confirmed.

After confirming with the chief engineer that it was safe to release calibration gas inside the coal storage room, a technician descended alone with a calibration gas cylinder to verify all four gas channels responded correctly, and the alarm beacon was tested twice to confirm it activated properly.

With the crew and engineering officer confirming the system was working correctly from up on deck, the installation was complete.

Notes for Marine Installations

Confirming whether wall penetration is permitted is essential; running cable through existing trays or conduit is preferred over creating new penetrations.

Since a ship is inherently subject to wave motion, equipment must be securely mounted at a location where it will not be dislodged or loosely installed.

Close coordination with the ship's engineering officer, who knows the vessel's interior well, is required during installation — any wall penetration must be pre-approved and checked against what lies behind the wall.

This project marks RS Korea's first completed gas detection installation inside a ship's interior.

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