Bacharach is well-known manufacturer of HVAC equipment, including combustion analyzers. Many technicians looking to purchase an analyzer for tuning, servicing, or commissioning furnaces, boilers, and hot water heaters are faced with choosing between two popular meters: Bacharach’s Fyrite InTech and their Fyrite Insight Plus.

The InTech is Bacharach’s entry-level combustion analyzer, and is intended for use on residential combustion appliances. The Insight Plus, however is designed for both residential and commercial combustion equipment. Also, the Insight Plus throws in advanced features not found on InTech. Not surprisingly, the Insight Plus does cost more than the InTech.

But is the Insight Plus’ higher price tag worth it? Let’s dig into differences between these two models so that techs can make the best investment for their workload.

Common Features
Both handheld analyzers measure the following the concentrations of CO and O2 in the flue gas, as well as the temperature of that flue gas. In addition, they also calculate combustion efficiency, exhaust gas CO2 concentration, and CO air free levels. Finally, both meters offer manual and automated zeroing of the CO sensor, are compatible with Bacharach’s “B-Smart®” field replaceable, pre-calibrated sensors, and the Fyrite User Software which allows test data saved on the analyzer to be downloaded via USB to computer.

Specs and Features
Many of the differences between the InTech and Insight Plus lie in their specifications and measurement limits. Here’s a list of the most important ones:

• Max measurable flue gas CO concentration: 2,000 ppm for the InTech vs. 4,000 for the Insight Plus
• Number of pre-programmed fuels: the InTech has 6, but the Insight Plus features 9
• Test Data Storage: the InTech as internal memory space for 10 tests, whereas the Insight Plus can store 100

The two analyzers also differ when it comes to measurement features:

• NOx filter on CO sensor: the Insight Plus has this, but the InTech doesn’t
• Flue draft or differential pressure measurement: This isn’t available on the InTech, but it is on the Insight Plus

Finally, the Insight Plus has other useful and convenient features which the InTech lacks:

• A full-color graphic display
• Assisted combustion tuning and troubleshooting via the built-in Tune-Rite software
• The option to use Bacharach’s long life O2 sensors, which are backed by a 3 year warranty

As you can see, the advantages of the Insight Plus over the InTech include both functional and ease of use features. Each HVAC professional will have to decide if those upgrades are worth the higher upfront cost, but both the InTech and Insight Plus are solid analyzers.