Calibrate pressure instruments accurately with this range of hand pumps. Features fine adjustment for pneumatic and hydraulic systems, for technicians & engineers.
Calibration hand pumps are specialized manual devices designed for the precise generation of pneumatic or hydraulic pressure and vacuum, crucial for the calibration and verification of pressure instruments when used in conjunction with a pressure transfer standard. These pumps offer engineers and technicians the fine control needed to accurately set calibration points in laboratories, industrial factories, and process plants, ensuring instruments like gauges, transmitters, and switches meet required performance specifications.
14,500 psi hand held portable hydraulic pressure calibration pump - Hand operated hydraulic portable pressure pump for generating calibration pressures up to 14,500 psi.
100 bar / 1,500 psi Hand Operated Pressure Calibration Pump – ADT918
+/- 6 psi / 0.4 bar Low Pressure Calibration Pump – ADT901
200bar/3000psi Hand Operated High Air Pressure Test Pump – ADT920
2000 bar pressure calibration pump and digital test gauge
70bar/1000psi Benchtop Pneumatic Calibration Pump – ADT917- 2,500 bar / 37,500 psi Hydraulic Pressure Calibration Pump – ADT949
140 bar / 2,000 psi Hand Operated Air Pressure Test Pump – ADT919A
60 psi / 4 bar Low Pressure Calibration Pump – ADT912
PGS1000 Handheld Hydraulic Pressure Test Pump
PGS700 High Pressure Calibration Hand Pump
PGS40 Mid Pressure Calibration Hand Pump
Find out more about Calibration Hand Pumps to determine which product options and capabilities will best meet your application requirements.
Calibration hand pumps serve as essential field and laboratory tools, enabling the precise generation of pneumatic (air) or hydraulic (liquid) pressures, as well as vacuum levels. Their operation is intrinsically linked with a high-accuracy pressure transfer standard or a precision pressure indicator, which acts as the reference measurement against which the device under test (DUT) is compared. These pumps are designed for meticulous control, allowing users to establish exact pressure setpoints critical for verifying and adjusting instruments in diverse settings, from controlled laboratory environments to demanding factory floors and expansive process plants.
Pneumatic calibration pumps excel in applications requiring clean pressure generation, typically using ambient air as the medium. They are indispensable for tasks such as the calibration of differential pressure transmitters monitoring airflow in HVAC systems, setting up sensitive pressure switches in automated machinery, or verifying gauges in cleanroom environments where contamination by hydraulic fluids would be problematic. Advanced pneumatic models incorporate features like fine-volume adjusters, precision needle valves for bleed control, and high-leverage mechanisms, enabling technicians to manually generate and stabilize minute pressure increments or decrements for achieving exact air pressure setpoints when calibrating instruments. Some pneumatic pumps also offer the capability to generate controlled vacuum, extending their utility to the calibration of vacuum gauges and sensors.
Hydraulic hand pumps are the solution for generating significantly higher pressures, utilizing liquids such as distilled water or specialized hydraulic oils. These are frequently employed in heavy industrial scenarios, including the calibration of pressure transducers on hydraulic presses, testing high-pressure gauges used in oil and gas extraction, or verifying the integrity of pressure vessels. The precise setting of these substantial pressures is facilitated by robust pump mechanisms, often featuring a dual-piston design for rapid pre-filling and high-pressure generation, coupled with vernier controls or screw presses for fine-tuning the output. The choice of hydraulic medium is also a practical consideration, balancing compatibility with the DUT and the pressure transfer standard against the required pressure range and environmental conditions. Effective priming and purging of air from the hydraulic system are also key operational details for achieving stable and accurate high-pressure calibrations.
The operational efficacy of any calibration hand pump is fully realized when it is paired with an appropriate pressure transfer standard. The pump provides the controlled force per unit area, but it is the transfer standard – be it a digital reference indicator, a deadweight tester, or a high-precision analog gauge – that quantifies this pressure to the required level of accuracy. This combination allows calibration technicians and instrument engineers to confidently adjust and certify the performance of various pressure instruments, ensuring their reliability in critical control and safety applications across industries. The portability of hand pumps further allows for in-situ calibrations, minimizing downtime and the need to remove instruments from service.
Questions & Answers about Calibration Hand Pumps
When to use pneumatic or hydraulic calibration pump
How do I decide whether to use a pneumatic calibration pump or hydraulic calibration pump?
Hydraulic calibration pumps are most commonly used for generating high level calibration pressures such as 700 bar or 10,000 psi.
Pneumatic calibration pumps are used to generate lower calibration pressures such as 20 bar, or a suction pressure to create a vacuum.
Air is often used to calibrate pressure instrumentation normally used on fluids, but it is less common to use liquids to calibrate air or gas pressure instrumentation either because it will lead to contamination of the process being measured by the device or will damage the sensing technology only designed for dry use.
Using only normal operation media to calibrate
Should pressure transmitters be calibrated using the same or similar media as which is measured in normal operation?
If the sensor uses a diaphragm technology to measure pressure, then the applied pressure will be the same regardless of media type. As long as the materials within the the pump and the sensor are compatible with the media used you can use gas or liquids.
Using pneumatic calibration pump with oil
If I have a pneumatic calibration pump should I use a separator on it to protect it from oil?
Yes, generally most pneumatic pumps should only be used to calibrate sensors which are dry with all traces of moisture removed. This is particularly important if the pneumatic pump is used to calibrate other equipment that must not come into contact with oil. So if the device you are testing has been measuring oil pressure, then it is advisable to use an air/oil separator or remove all traces of oil by other means to ensure that no oil contaminates the pump.
Cleaning oil calibrated devices before re-fitting
Do I need to clean devices that have been calibrated on oil before re-fitting?
Some processes are sensitive to contamination so you will need to ensure in these cases that the sensor is cleaned to the appropriate standard before re-installing after calibration.
Using the same oil in pump as used in service
If using a hydraulic calibration pump, should the pump be filled with the same oil as normally measured by the pressure sensing device in normal service?
Each type of hydraulic pump will have its own list of compatible media and component materials, some will work with mineral oil only, some can be used with more aggressive oils, and some can be used on water. If it is not possible to match the media type to the pump then you will need to use a diaphragm separator to isolate the two different liquids, whilst allowing the transmission of pressure from one side to the other. Alternatively if the device under test is compatible with a pump media which is different to the operational media, then you just need to ensure the it is adequately cleaned before putting the device back into service.