This stuff gets taught in week-long courses and buried in 400-page standards documents. We pulled out the parts that matter and wrote them in plain language. No fluff, no sales pitch.
Each topic is self-contained but cross-referenced. Pick whatever's relevant to you right now, or read front to back if you're starting fresh.
The fire triangle. Explosive atmospheres. Thirteen ways something can go wrong, and three layers that stop it. If you read one page, make it this one.
Start hereZones 0, 1, 2 for gas. Zones 20, 21, 22 for dust. How the classification gets done, where people get it wrong, and why it drives every other decision.
IIA, IIB, IIC. What makes hydrogen different from propane at the molecular level, how MESG works, and the hierarchy rule that simplifies everything.
T1 through T6. Auto-ignition temperatures. Why carbon disulphide is more trouble than hydrogen, and what changes when you're dealing with dust layers.
Every Ex type in one place. Flameproof, intrinsic safety, increased safety, pressurization, encapsulation — how each one works and when you'd pick it.
Most detailedGa, Gb, Gc. Da, Db, Dc. The bridge between zone classification and equipment selection. How many faults you can tolerate before things get dangerous.
That cryptic string on the nameplate? Every letter and number means something. Five real markings, decoded piece by piece.
IEC 60079. ATEX 2014/34/EU. NEC 500/505. How the same physics gets wrapped in different paperwork depending on which country you're in.
Notified Bodies, IECEx certificates, ExTR test reports, quality audits. The people and the process behind the stamp on your equipment.
Cable glands, clearances, the three inspection grades, and the ten mistakes that keep coming back. Where the paperwork meets the real world.
Six questions. One decision tree. Cost ranges, timeline estimates, and the strategic stuff nobody puts in the standards. Two-minute answers.
Quick refPeople who work with Ex equipment — designing it, installing it, inspecting it, buying it, or trying to figure out what certificate they actually need. Not a textbook. A reference you can use on Monday morning.