Vapor Pin^® FAQs

Please check here first for your technical drawings first: 

https://vaporpin.eu/product-documentation/

If you don’t find the image you need there, to receive Vapor Pin® spec sheets/cut sheets send a request to customersupport@vaporpin.com.  Once your request has been received, a drawing agreement form will be generated.  Once the form has been fully executed, the requested spec sheets/cut sheets will be sent to the requestor.

The Vapor Pin® can be installed in any hard surface material. The most common materials that Vapor Pin® are installed in are Concrete and Asphalt.

Here are some “situations” that Vapor Pin® has been installed in:

Driveway Apron | Gas Stations | Airport Runways | Walls beneath surfaces |

If you’ve seen the Vapor Pin® used elsewhere let us know so we can add to this list!

The first and most simple answer is to check out our Standard Operating Procedures.  Each Standard Operating Procedure provides a list of all the equipment you need.

For a first-time user of the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device, which of the following samples are you completing?

Are you completing a grab sample or are you doing an extended sample study?

If you answered, grab sample, we would suggest the Brass Vapor Pin® Sampling Device.

If you answered, an extended study, we would suggest the Stainless Steel Vapor Pin® Sampling Device.

Note: The Brass Vapor Pin® Sampling Device may also be used for extended time periods.  If you do, be aware that brass is more susceptible to corrosion. Also, Stainless Steel FLX Vapor Pin® is another product available that provides a flexible way to sample!

Please always refer to your regulators!

To understand what you need for a point and for the most bang for your buck the Vapor Pin® Sets demonstrate what you need for a single point grab sample, assuming you already have an Installation/Extraction Tool.

Note: The Vapor Pin® Sets are the most cost-efficient when sampling five or fewer points.

For first-time users looking at what is included in a Vapor Pin® Contractors Kit will be most beneficial for understanding what is needed for flush mount installations.

Yes, you can attach a piece of tubing, filter or other accessories to the bottom of the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device.  Below is a list of our extensions and their applications.

Vapor Pin® Barb Extensions – This extension is used to create connections beneath your slab

Vapor Pin® Capsule – This extension is used to house the Waterloo Membrane Sampler™ – Vapor Pin® (WMS™-VP) produced by SiREM

Vapor Pin® Sealing Extension – The Vapor Pin® Sealing Extension is exactly as it sounds, an extension on your seal

Vapor Pin® Sieves – This extension is used to allow air to enter from the sides.  The sieves are used to avoid clogging the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device

Vapor Pin® Filter – This extension is made up of sintered porous metal which provides a means of filtering particulates from the vapor stream

Vapor Pin® Extension 1.5″ – This extension adds 1.5″ Inches to your Vapor Pin® Sampling Device

When the fill material beneath the slab is made out of clay you can sample your VOCs passively!

To take a sample passively please reference the following SOPs for the equipment needed to sample.

Standard Operating Procedure (VPC)

To get the Water Membrane Sampler, contact Kesler Krieg at Eurofins, using his contact below.

Kesler.Krieg@et.eurofinsus.com

Mobile:  +1 317-519-6124

To that question we ask our own! Are you performing a grab sample or are you performing an extended study? 

If you are performing a grab sample we suggest the Brass Vapor Pin® Sampling Device and if you are performing an extended study we recommend the Stainless Steel Vapor Pin® Sampling Device.

We recommend stainless steel for long-term installation as it is more resistant to corrosive environments than brass.  This is due to brass being a softer metal.

No, the slab should be at least 2 inches thick.

– The Mini Vapor Pin® Sampling Device can be installed in slabs as thin as 2 inches.

For the rest of our Vapor Pin® Products:
– For a stick-up installation, the slab should be at least 3 inches thick.
– For a flush mount installation, the slab should be at least 4 inches thick.

There is no maximum thickness for any of our products. Your drill bit just needs to be long enough to reach your designated sampling depth.

SOP for Installation of the Mini Vapor Pin® Sampling Device.
SOP for Installation and Extraction of the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device
SOP for the Drilling Guide & Secure Cover

The Vapor Pin® Sampling Device will not leak vapors into the building if you leave it in place.  This is with the assumption that the product has been installed properly with the Vapor Pin® Cap.  If not, yes you will be exposing the building to leakage.

Yes. The Vapor Pin® Sampling Device can stay in place as long as necessary. For repeated use, we recommend a flush mount installation using a Stainless Steel Vapor Pin® Sampling Device with the Stainless Steel Secure Cover or the Plastic Flush Mount Covers.

Yes, the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device can be re-used after removal from the slab.

The Vapor Pin® Sleeve and the Vapor Pin® Cap need to be discarded between sampling events.

Prior to reuse the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device needs to be properly decontaminated in accordance with the standard operating procedure(SOP). 

Please follow the following steps to decontaminate the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device between installations.

1. Discard the Vapor Pin® Sleeve and Vapor Pin® Cap

2. Pre-heat an oven to a temperature of 265° F (130°C)

3. Decontaminate the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device in a Alconox® solution for 8 minutes if brass or 30 minutes if stainless steel

– An Alconox® solution is a concentrated, anionic detergent that can be used for manual or ultrasonic cleaning

4. After bath dry off your Vapor Pin® Sampling Device and put the Vapor Pin® in the pre-heated over for 8 minutes if brass or 30 minutes if stainless steel

Please be sure to follow all possible health and safety guidelines when working with chemicals and handling product.

No, the Vapor Pin® Sleeve surrounding the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device will not affect your sample.

Vapor Pin® Enterprises, Inc. airs out the Vapor Pin® Sleeves until they read 0 on a PID prior to packaging to ensure that our customers have nothing to worry about.

Prior to directly answering this question, we would like to make note, please consult your states regulator/inquire to your own guidance documents first. This is to ensure that you are purging the “correct” amount as you might have your own specific number of purge volumes needed prior to sampling.

We believe it to be in best practice to purge two to three Purge Volumes

One Purge Volume is the following:
PV = Purge Volume
ml= milliliters
.83(ml) = For the volume of the Vapor Pin®
5.0(ml) = Milliliter volume per inch of depth beneath the Vapor Pin®
.42(ml) = Milliliter volume per inch of Tubing used in sample train
PI = Inches (depth) of the hole beneath the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device
PT = Inches of Tubing in sample train (assuming OD of .25 inches and ID of .187 inches)
*Add. = Additional internal volume. If any other fittings or hardware in the sample train

PV= .83(ml) + 5.0(ml)*(PI) + .42(ml)*(PT) + *Add.

Note: Tygon tubing will expand in use, and because it should be used in short lengths to minimize contact with soil gas, its ID will typically not be part of the purge-volume calculation.

You should conduct your leak tests in accordance with applicable guidance. If the method of leak testing is not specified, an alternative can be the water dam and vacuum pump, as described in SOP Leak Testing the VAPOR PIN® via Mechanical Means. 

SOP- Homemade Play Dough for Leak Testing the Vapor Pin® with the Water Dam

Here is a live DEMO of the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device and the various leak tests.

Yes, the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device provides a leak proof environment for all of you sampling needs!  This is with the assumption that you are properly installing our product through a concrete slab.

Please be aware in some situations, such as a thin concrete slab or cracked and degraded concrete, or a hole greater than what is specified in the SOP for installation, may result in a poor seal.  Always be sure to leak test!

To connect sample tubing to the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device and other equipment, we recommend using our Tygon Connectors or our Tygon Tubing. The Tygon Tubing or Tygon Connectors will provide a leak proof connection between your Vapor Pin® Sampling Device and your Sample train.

To minimize the risk of chemical interference from all tubing, reduce tubing lengths as far as possible, particularly soft tubing, and keep tubing away from vapor sources during storage and transport.

The tubing needed for soil gas sampling, in relation to the Vapor Pin® are the following.

1.Vapor Pin® Sleeves
This is to create leak proof environment

2.Nylaflow/Teflon
This is your rigid tubing for your sample train

3.Tygon Tubing
This is your soft tubing, used only for making connections between semi-rigid tubing and other devices

To minimize the risk of chemical interference from all tubing, reduce tubing lengths as far as possible, particularly soft tubing, and keep tubing away from vapor sources during storage and transport.

You can sample as soon as the sub-slab soil gas has reached equilibration.

However, the time you have to wait prior to sampling from your Vapor Pin® Sampling Device can vary if you have particular guidance, but can be as little as 20 minutes following installation, since the Vapor Pin® installation result in very short hole-open times.

The type of drill you need is a hammer drill.

The drill bits you need to be able to install the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device are 5/8″ Inch and 1 1/2″ Inch.

-5/8″ Inch – is the hole for the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device

-1 1/2″ Inch bit – is only needed for when you want to install the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device in the flush mount orientation

Vapor Pin® Enterprises, Inc. does not sell drills however we do rent and sell the bits necessary for installation.

Rental

Hammer Drill Bit 5/8″ Inch

Hammer Drill Bit 1 1/2″ Inch

Purchase

Hammer Drill Bits

The Vapor Pin® Sampling Device can be installed in the stick-up configuration in less than five minutes. Installation in the flush-mount configuration could require an additional two or three minutes.

The “easier” ways of installing the Vapor Pin® Sleeve on the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device are the following.

1.Using our Elastrator Tool to hold the Vapor Pin® Sleeve open while inserting the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device

2.Threading the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device into our Stainless Steel Secure Cover or the coupling of the Installation/Extraction Tool to provide you with a better grip while installing the Vapor Pin® Sleeve

To see what’s in a Vapor Pin® Contractor Kit, click here!

To see what’s in a Vapor Pin® Kit, click here!

Yes, all of the Vapor Pin® Sampling Devices are abled to be installed in a flush mount configuration!

Please use the following SOPs as guidance!

Standard Operating Procedure (Mini)

Standard Operating Procedure (VP)

Standard Operating Procedure (Guide and Cover)

The Vapor Pin® Sampling Device doesn’t take your sample.  The Vapor Pin® Sampling Device provides a leak proof environment for you to take your sample from.  The VOCs that will get reported is dependent on the analytical method employed by your laboratory.

Yes and No. Our Brass and Stainless Steel Vapor Pins® do not connect to the Swagelok Fitting.  However our FLX Vapor Pin® and Mini Vapor Pins® do.

When the Vapor Pin® Sampling Device is failing a helium leak test, you should look for false positives from methane.  Most helium detectors respond positively to methane. High concentrations of C5-C12 hydrocarbons in soil gas have been reported to also cause false positives in helium detectors.

When using a helium detector, we recommend using a model that does not respond to methane, and test the soil gas for false positives before applying helium.

Please use the links below for testing for leaks via mechanical means!

Standard Operating Procedure (Homemade Play Dough)

Standard Operating Procedure (Water Dam)