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Frustrated with pH meters!

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  • #31
    Modern Times and " Tek "

    I used to run a Surface Water Treatment plant. The Test gear we used that was the most rugged and reliable was made by Hach. Pricey , but lab grade gear. I use a multifunction conductivity instrument for testing boiler water made by Hanna. It is ok, if you understand the limits of this kind of low end lab gear. The Storage solution made by Hanna will destroy the unit and keep in in a " bad " calibration state. Sad but true. Other variants on storage solution my be the cats meow, but I'd have to do detailed research on the formulation with respect to the nature of the element being stored in the solution. While not an expert by any means. I do have some small time in a real chemistry lab as well a photolab experience.
    The Higher dollar devices are generally worth the coin.
    Its the cheapness of the low end units that makes them temperamental and requires that one find the envelope where they will work for you instead of always giving erroneous readings. Similar to learning how to read a Refrigerant leak detector which is an art.
    I xompare PH by reading it to the tap water here as a parallel baseline to reading Boiler water.
    After I got this figured out I have not seen the need to recalibrate. Why invite trouble?/?
    Its pretty easy to see where the trends are going by looking at all four parameters I am reading along with Sulfite tests.
    The Hach instruments used to store in DI or Distilled water, but that PH would likely be a problem for the Hanna meter.
    If you are worried about the quality or hardness of your tap water to store gear like Hanna in you could opt for a home brew.
    it was our Boiler Chemical rep who introduced me to the Hanna instrument and said store it in plain water [ softer is better than harder] and this reads out things like Boilers, Closed Loops, and Cooling towers in the field all the time.
    Its a groove that can be found.
    The other thing about the higher end units is they will mostly have probes that can be replaced rather than the conventional throw away asian units.
    Last edited by Starcat; 09-29-2017, 06:40 PM.
    Warren Turner
    Industrial Engineering Technician
    HVACR-Electrical Systems Specialist
    Moab Brewery
    The Thought Police are Attempting to Suppress Free Speech and Sugar coat everything. This is both Cowardice and Treason given to their own kind.

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