A gas laser apparatus including a laser oscillating section including a
blower forcibly circulating a medium gas in a medium circuit, and a
blower monitoring section monitoring a maintenance state of the blower.
The blower includes a lubricant storage chamber storing a lubricant, and
a lubricant monitoring chamber connected to the lubricant storage chamber
to ensure fluidic communication therebetween at a position lower than an
oil level of a lubricant having a predetermined appropriate volume and
stored in the lubricant storage chamber. The blower monitoring section
includes a lubricant detecting section detecting that a lubricant stored
in the lubricant storage chamber of the blower flows into the lubricant
monitoring chamber and at least a part of the lubricant is present in the
lubricant monitoring chamber, as a result of internal-pressure change in
the lubricant storage chamber, and a lubricant-change judging section
monitoring whether the lubricant detecting section detects a presence of
the lubricant in the lubricant monitoring chamber, before the laser
oscillating section is activated, and judging that, when the lubricant
detecting section does not detect the presence, the lubricant stored in
the lubricant storage chamber is in a state immediately after a lubricant
change.