Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Coastal Instruments is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited calibration laboratory for mass flow calibration.

Our accreditation demonstrates that our laboratory operates under established technical and quality requirements for calibration laboratories, including measurement traceability, documented procedures, equipment control, and measurement uncertainty.

Customers requiring an accredited calibration can contact Coastal Instruments to confirm that their specific MFC calibration requirements fall within our current accredited scope.

No. Mass flow controllers can be calibrated and serviced by a qualified independent calibration and repair facility. Coastal Instruments specializes in MFC calibration and repair across multiple manufacturers, allowing customers to consolidate service for different brands through a single provider.

Coastal Instruments services mass flow controllers from many major manufacturers, including Brooks Instrument, HORIBA STEC, MKS Instruments, Tylan, Unit Instruments, and others. View our Service Catalog for a comprehensive list.

We also support many older and discontinued MFC models that may have limited OEM support.

Contact us with the manufacturer and model number if you're unsure whether we can service your particular MFC.

Many mass flow controllers can be configured or calibrated for a different gas, full-scale flow range, or both. The available options depend on the manufacturer, model, sensor technology, valve configuration, and desired operating range.

Contact us with the MFC model number, current configuration, and desired gas and flow range, and we can determine whether conversion is possible.

Yes. We accept all major credit cards; once service has been completed we will email a Payment Invoice via Quickbooks/Intuit. The link will include secure payment options. Once payment is made you can save or download copy of the paid invoice. We will receive notification of payment via Quickbooks/Intuit.

Yes. Coastal Instruments services both analog and digital mass flow controllers from a wide range of manufacturers.

In addition to traditional analog MFCs, we service digital MFCs using communication protocols including DeviceNet, PROFIBUS, Modbus, and EtherCAT. We use OEM software and communication tools when servicing supported digital MFCs, allowing us to properly communicate with, configure, diagnose, calibrate, and test the device.

Our capabilities allow us to service both legacy MFC technology and the latest generation of digital mass flow controllers used in semiconductor, industrial, and other critical gas-flow applications.

Yes. Every mass flow controller serviced by Coastal Instruments is helium leak tested twice before shipment as part of our quality-control process.

We use helium mass spectrometer leak detection equipment capable of detecting extremely small leaks, with sensitivity into the 10⁻¹⁰ atm-cc/sec range. Actual allowable leak-rate specifications vary depending on the MFC manufacturer, model, and application.

By performing leak testing twice during our service and final QC process, we can verify the integrity of the MFC and provide confidence that the device meets the applicable leak requirements before it is returned to the customer.

Yes. Coastal Instruments maintains an extensive in-house inventory of approximately 10,000 mass flow controllers, including current, legacy, and discontinued models from a wide range of manufacturers.

Our refurbished MFCs are fully cleaned, serviced, and restored to like-new operating condition by our experienced MFC technicians. Each device is configured and calibrated for the gas and full-scale flow range requested by the customer, when supported by the specific MFC.

Each refurbished MFC is thoroughly inspected and serviced before undergoing helium leak testing, calibration, and final performance verification using our professional calibration equipment and quality-control processes. The completed MFC is supplied with a Calibration Certificate.

With approximately 10,000 MFCs in-house, Coastal Instruments can often provide replacement solutions for difficult-to-find, obsolete, or discontinued MFCs that may no longer be readily available from the original manufacturer.

If you're looking for a specific MFC, contact us with the manufacturer, model number, required gas, full-scale flow range, and communication type. Our team can check our inventory and determine the appropriate configuration for your application.

Yes. We offer Same Day, Next Day, and 3-Day turnaround upgrade options. Please contact us with your targeted deadline, and we can provide you with specific pricing options.

We currently average 14 to 21 business days, depending on current volume. Please note that turnaround time does not include shipping transit times.

Coastal Instruments uses high-accuracy Fluke Calibration molbox systems with molbloc flow elements, as well as sonic nozzle flow calibration technology, to calibrate and verify mass flow controllers.

Our molbox, molbloc, and sonic nozzle calibration standards are calibrated directly by Fluke Calibration, providing documented traceability and confidence in the standards used throughout our MFC calibration process.

These technologies provide accurate and repeatable flow measurements across a wide range of mass flow controller applications.

Coastal Instruments uses fully automated calibration and quality-control software developed in-house to collect and verify final QC data before an MFC is returned to the customer.

Our final testing verifies flow accuracy and MFC performance while communicating with the device using the actual protocol used by the end user whenever applicable. This allows us to verify not only the MFC's flow performance, but also that the device communicates and operates correctly using its intended interface.

We support analog MFCs as well as digital communication protocols including DeviceNet, PROFIBUS, Modbus, and EtherCAT, using OEM software and communication tools where applicable.

This final QC process helps ensure that the MFC is not simply calibrated, but is tested as a complete device and ready to operate properly when returned to the customer's system.

Mass flow controller calibration and repair is a highly specialized field, and experience matters. Coastal Instruments has an exceptionally experienced team of calibration and repair technicians, including technicians with OEM training and experience.

Many members of our technical team have been with Coastal Instruments for 20 years or more, and our longest-tenured technician has worked in MFC calibration and repair since 1984.

That depth of hands-on experience gives our team decades of knowledge across multiple generations of mass flow controller technology, from legacy analog MFCs to today's advanced digital devices.

Our technicians have worked with MFCs from numerous manufacturers and across a wide range of gases, flow ranges, and applications. This experience is especially valuable when troubleshooting difficult problems or servicing older and discontinued MFCs where documentation, parts, and factory support may be limited.

At Coastal Instruments, MFC calibration and repair isn't simply one of many services we offer. It's what we specialize in.

Coastal Instruments provides detailed as-found and as-left calibration data with our ISO/IEC 17025 accredited mass flow controller calibrations.

MFC performance is documented at multiple calibration points across the device's operating range, typically at:

100%, 80%, 60%, 40%, and 20% of full-scale flow.

The as-found data documents the MFC's performance when it arrives at our laboratory, before calibration or adjustment. The as-left data documents its final performance after calibration and service are complete.

This provides customers with a clear record of how the MFC was performing when received and verification of its performance before being returned to service.

Our Clean and Calibration service is a comprehensive MFC service that goes well beyond a standard calibration.

The mass flow controller is fully disassembled to the component level, allowing the internal components to be thoroughly cleaned and inspected. Components are cleaned using ultrasonic cleaning equipment and then oven dried before reassembly.

The MFC is reassembled using new Viton or metal seals, as appropriate for the specific model and application. After reassembly, the MFC is helium leak tested to verify its integrity and then calibrated using our high-accuracy flow calibration standards.

Final performance is verified through our quality-control process, and the unit is supplied with a Calibration Certificate documenting the completed calibration.

Our Clean and Calibration service includes:

• Complete component-level disassembly

• Inspection of internal components

• Ultrasonic cleaning

• Oven drying

• New Viton or metal seals

• Helium leak testing

• MFC calibration

• Final performance and quality-control verification

• Calibration Certificate

The result is a thoroughly cleaned, resealed, leak-tested, calibrated, and performance-verified mass flow controller ready to be returned to service.

Yes. Coastal Instruments has the OEM software and communication tools required to service, configure, and calibrate modern multi-gas mass flow controllers from supported manufacturers.

Multi-gas MFCs can be configured for different gases and flow ranges through their digital platform. Our technicians use the appropriate OEM software to access and verify these configurations rather than treating the device as a conventional analog MFC.

As part of our service process, we can configure the MFC for the customer's required gas and flow range, calibrate and verify its flow performance, and confirm proper operation and communication before the device is returned to service.

Our capabilities cover both legacy single-gas MFC technology and today's advanced digital multi-gas/multi-range mass flow controllers.

Coastal Instruments calibrates approximately 600 mass flow controllers every month, representing more than 7,000 MFC calibrations annually.

That volume gives our technicians extensive hands-on experience with a wide variety of manufacturers, models, flow ranges, gases, communication protocols, and both current and legacy MFC technologies.

Combined with our ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, specialized MFC calibration equipment, experienced technicians, and extensive in-house MFC inventory, our calibration volume reflects the depth and scale of Coastal Instruments' mass flow expertise.

For customers with large MFC inventories or recurring calibration requirements, our facility and processes are designed to support both individual devices and high-volume calibration programs.

Yes. Coastal Instruments provides calibration services for Baratron capacitance manometers and pressure transducers across a broad pressure range, from approximately 0.1 Torr up to 100 PSIA.

Our laboratory utilizes an MKS PVS-6 pressure calibration system along with appropriate pressure standards to accurately evaluate and calibrate Baratron pressure transducers.

The reference standards used in our pressure calibration process are returned to MKS annually for calibration, providing documented traceability and confidence in the measurements used to calibrate customer devices.

With extensive experience servicing semiconductor process instrumentation, Coastal Instruments can support both mass flow and pressure measurement devices used throughout gas delivery and process control systems.

Yes. All services performed include a hard copy of the Certificate of Calibration.

YES, One of Coastal Instruments' specialties is supporting older mass flow controllers that may no longer receive full factory support. Depending on the model, condition, and availability of components, we may be able to repair and calibrate an older MFC rather than requiring the customer to replace it.

No. Coastal Instruments offers a no-charge evaluation of mass flow controllers sent to us for service.

Send us your MFC and our experienced technicians will evaluate the device to determine the problem, whether it can be repaired, and what service is required. We will then provide you with the repair options and cost before proceeding with the work.

If you decide not to proceed with the repair, there is no evaluation charge. We will return the MFC to you without charging a diagnostic or evaluation fee.

This allows you to have an MFC professionally evaluated before deciding whether repairing the existing device or replacing it is the best option.