Welcome back. Our review today is going to cover the excellent TPI DC710C1. I’ve kind of tipped my hand already by calling it “excellent”, but I really do think there are some great features to recommend this analyzer. We’ll go through a quick summary upfront so that those of you who want to get to the goods right away can look over the most important points, and then we’ll dig just a little deeper after that. Finally, we’ll compare the TPI DC710C1 Flue Gas Analyzer Kit to some of the other competitors on the market.

TPI DC710C1 Review Summary:

I’ll start this summary, since it’s a review here, by saying that for the price you actually won’t find anything superior in performance to the TPI Combustion Analyzer DC710C1. I find it sort of remarkable that TPI can produce such a high-performance meter at such a low cost.

The biggest selling point, and perhaps why you might not have heard as much about this manufacturer as the others, is the CO range. Now, it’s not a very flashy thing to excel in and frankly some analyzers are much better looking than the DC710C1 and have more bells and whistles. However, for some techs performance is paramount and for less than $500, you get a CO sensor in this meter that will measure up to 10,000ppm.

If you’re not familiar, residential jobs rarely put you anywhere near 4,000ppm and the commercial stuff is going to range up to 8,000ppm on occasion. So, the long and short of it is that you’re getting a commercial to light-industrial quality CO sensor in this thing for less than half a grand. Literally unheard of. If anything like that exists elsewhere, I don’t know of it, and if I were the marketing department at TPI I’d be plastering this all over every bit of promotional material. But I’m not and I’m just a humble reviewer, so I recommend this tester fully based solely on the CO range alone.

The other big selling point is the bluetooth wireless connectivity to the TPI reporting and monitoring app. Now this is actually your only option for monitoring your readings with the DC710, since there is no screen on the analyzer itself. Some might find that a drawback, but it’s worth it in my opinion for the extended CO range. We’ll cover that in more detail in the full TPI DC710C1 Combustion Analyzer review below.

So, the first thing is the crazy high CO range and the second is the wireless app functionality. For less than 500 bucks, to me, those things alone warrant purchasing a TPI DC710C1.

Now we’ll dive in just a bit deeper.

DC710C1 Full Review:

Digging in a little bit, let's explore this analyzer in more detail.
First and foremost, as above, the primary thing to consider is the CO range. This is the primary concern really with any combustion analyzer, but nowadays a lot of the fancy tech features can obscure the need for a solid tool. The DC710C1 certainly has a few cool techy features but basically the 10,000ppm sensor is the biggest draw.

Moving on, you’ll notice that the meter is small. I’m talking about the size of a 4x6 photo and about 3 inches deep. They’ve accomplished this by eliminating a built-in screen. I said above that some technicians might not like this design choice. Personally I can see pros and cons to it. However, the small size is certainly convenient and you’ll find the physical housing sturdy and easy to use, in the sense of using the powerful magnets in the boot to slap it up on the heater housing and get to work. I like it being small, but I get why someone might not want to only be able to view results on their smart device. Frankly, it’s the sacrifice you make if you want the CO sensor in this thing for so cheap.

Naturally, since there’s no screen, you’ll use the smart app to view your results. The app is serviceable, meaning it ain’t pretty exactly. Aesthetics are not TPI’s strong suit, but we’re not buying accessories for our outfits here, and as a tool it works great. So the results will stream to your smart device that’s app-equipped in real time. You can also save all the results to reports and then file each under jobs. Jobs are a way to organize work over time too, since you can add multiple reports under a single job. You can export these and email them as well or print them from a computer if you need hard copies for whatever reason. It all works just as well as any competing “smart” analyzer, it’s just not as shiny, metaphorically speaking.

When it comes to sensors, these are your standard electrochemical type, so while the CO especially is a fantastic sensor for little expense, you will need to replace at least the O2 sensor when it dies out. This usually happens around the year mark of regular use, like with any analyzer. The TPI  DC710C1 Flue Gas Analyser features field-replaceable sensors, which are another great benefit I wouldn’t overlook at this price point. Another famous combustion analyzer brand that starts with “T” still makes an analyzer that, while nice in its own right, has to be sent back to the factory whenever you need a sensor replacement. With the DC710 you can just order them and pop them in yourself. This is a huge savings in terms of potential downtime and field replaceable sensors aren’t yet common at the DC710’s price point.

The TPI DC710C1 kit includes the DC710 combustion gas analyzer, flue gas probe with temperature, USB charger, rechargeable battery, and carrying case.

Now let’s compare it to a few competitors in the price range.

DC710 Comparison:

One obvious competitor for this analyzer would be the new Seitron S500-1. I think this unit is an excellent analyzer in its own right and is neck and neck in the lower price ranges for me. However, it’s still a couple hundred dollars more than the TPI and doesn’t include wireless capability. I think the choice here would come down to whether you want a screen or not. It also bears repeating that while the Seitron will work great for residential work, you’re not going to get anywhere 10,000ppm CO on it. Overall a good analyzer thought from a more well known brand.

The next least expensive competitor is the classic Testo 310. This is more or less the “industry standard” entry-level analyzer. Again, probably the only reason I’d go with this one over the TPI is either because you’ve been trained on it and trust the brand, or you want a screen. Otherwise the DC710 beats it on most of the other parameters. A good meter as well, but TPI has outdone them in my opinion.

Of the three choices in this class, I prefer the TPI  DC710C1 Combustion Analyzer simply for the sensor range, though you might have other considerations.

Final Summary:

If it’s not clear yet, I think the fact that you can buy a sub-$500 analyzer with a 10,000ppm sensor is crazy. The good kind of crazy. There’s nothing “too good to be true” about it though. It’s a great meter and the wireless reporting software and field-replaceable sensors are awesome too. Really I’d recommend this to all technicians on a budget and even those who aren’t. It’s a seriously underrated tool. The only thing to think about is whether you really need that screen.