The BL-1 baselining unit is ideal for the automated baselining of simple respirometry systems. It has three pairs of ports - common, baseline and chamber. Usually, air is pushed or pulled from the chamber port to the common port. When the BL-1 baselining unit receives a simple voltage signal from a switch or a data acquisition system, flow is switched instead from the baseline port to the common port. In most respirometry systems, the "baseline" port is connected to the source of air that flows into a respirometry chamber. Thus, connecting the gas analyzers to the "baseline" port allows the gas concentrations of the incurrent air stream to be measured automatically. Regular "baselining" can essentially eliminate drift caused by variable background gas concentrations, analyzer drift and other unwanted effects. 

As shown in the diagram to the right, the simplest baselining system simply alternates between measuring ambient air, and air that has flowed past an animal in a chamber. Only one pair of the BL-1's ports are connected in this configuration. When used with animals such as mammals, this simple system suffers from the disadvantage that oxygen will decline and CO2 will rise in the chamber in the absence of flow, lengthening the time required for the system to return to normal after each baseline. Other, more sophisticated plumbing schemes eliminate this problem. We will be happy to suggest a configuration that matches your research goals.

The comprehensive manual accompanying the BL-1 contains much useful information.

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