CIRAS-3 Operation Manual V. 1.09  16  support@ppsystems.com 
 
Please Note 
The measured and calculated data that is shown in this tutorial should be similar but not 100% identical to 
what you will witness.  Actual results will be based on the biological state and type of plant that you use 
and its response to the environmental conditions presented.  However, what is most important is that you 
should observe stable and comparable results. 
Let’s Get Started 
Charge internal battery packs 
Before taking your system to the field for measurements it is critical that the internal batteries are fully 
charged.  We recommend charging the batteries the night prior to use.  Connect the power supply 
adapter supplied with the system to the EXT PWR socket on the CIRAS-3 console to charge the internal 
batteries.  Make sure that the connection is secure.  The indicating LED should be steady green in color 
indicating secure connection and that the internal batteries are being charged. 
 
Inspect desiccants 
Make sure that all desiccants are fresh before beginning measurements and that all columns are properly 
seated in their respective manifolds.  The soda lime can be either self-indicating or non-indicating.  If 
using non-indicating soda lime we recommend changing out more regularly to play it safe.  The Drierite 
will be blue in color when fresh.  It turns from blue to pink as it becomes exhausted.  The Molecular Sieve 
is white and non-indicating.  The Molecular Sieve should always be discarded when changing out the 
Drierite.  For this tutorial we recommend that you change out all desiccants to ensure that they are fresh.