HANNA Salinity Checker Issues

Topreefer92 · Aug 28, 2019

Hi All,

I wanted to ask on here if any one has been having issues with Hanna's Salinity checker HI98319. It was working like a champ for the first couple of months with regular calibrations every month. Now it is not staying calibrated to save its life! I have used a few other checks (refractometer, Hanna refractometer) and those are consistent. The deviation between just a few day is .05 Specific gravity depending on the day, basically rendering this thing useless unless I wanted to calibrated it everyday. Now I understand there is a difference between the refractometer and conductivity but I would expect this thing to stay calibrated for more than a day. Below I have included a conversation I had with their customer support that seemed odd for some additional context. My questions to you all are: is anyone having this problem? Should I really pay to send it to them for diagnosis or just go a different route? I find really hard to believe that I need to have this thing calibrated every time I don't want a reading that is extremely off. Full disclosure there was additional emails sent but did not see the need to include those as he just gave me their shipping information and reference articles on the different between salinity measurement tools.

Me:
"Hello,
I wanted to reach out as I am having some issue with the HI98319 Salinity Checker. My issue is it will not stay calibrated for longer than a few days. I have followed the instructions to the letter especially for storage. The deviation I am getting from the instrument is .05 below what I compare it to, which is a standard refractometer and your HI96822 both calibrated before the test. Below I have included the instructions required information for contacting you.
Model Number: HI98319
S/N: LA02500683
Date of Purchase: 3/13/19
Thank you,
Nick

Hanna:
"Nick,
There specific days it should stay calibrated. The manual recommends you calibrate whenever high accuracy is required.
I can issue you a RMA# if you want to send the meter into us for evaluation. Give me your shipping information."
Best Regards,
Pete Smith
Tech Service Representative

Dragon52 · Aug 28, 2019

I've been having issues with my Hanna PH meters also ( can't get them to calibrate) & found out it was cheaper for me to buy another one then send it in to get the probe replaced. I also use a pinpoint so that helps.

Topreefer92 · Aug 28, 2019

So this thing is only a few months old and was $70 which in the grand scheme of our hobby is not a whole lot. I just would expect it to function past the first couple of months. Have you had any experience with sending them something?

Dragon52 · Aug 28, 2019

I agree 100%. No I have not sent them anything to fix or check it out.

jrill · Aug 28, 2019

I'm on my third unit. First one BRS took back because it wouldn't hold calibration. Second one was reading way different than ICP and refractometer and results would vary. Hanna support was right on and sent me a new one along with a return label for the second bad one. So far it's good but it's only been two weeks. If this one fails I'm done.

Topreefer92 · Aug 28, 2019

jrill said:
I'm on my third unit. First one BRS took back because it wouldn't hold calibration. Second one was reading way different than ICP and refractometer and results would vary. Hanna support was right on and sent me a new one along with a return label for the second bad one. So far it's good but it's only been two weeks. If this one fails I'm done.

That is good, they definitely did not offer to send me a new one or offer a return label. I am having to pay to send it to them and we are well within the warranty. How did you get them to pay for the return shipping, or did you have to pay to send it to them?

jrill · Aug 28, 2019

Topreefer92 said:
That is good, they definitely did not offer to send me a new one or offer a return label. I am having to pay to send it to them and we are well within the warranty. How did you get them to pay for the return shipping, or did you have to pay to send it to them?

They paid shipping both ways. That was the way they did it, just got lucky I guess.

Topreefer92 · Aug 28, 2019

Yeah it seems you did get lucky! I guess I did not get the right rep for that. Anyways I am going to ship it back and see what they say. Thank you sharing your experience so that despite their email telling me that I am wrong I can reference that others are having this issue.

TARHEEL78 · Aug 28, 2019

I stopped using mine and threw it in the junk bin. I'll be a little more careful buying hanna products in the future.

Dragon52 · Aug 28, 2019

I'm going to try one more but still have my Pinpoint probe & want a dble check. If I have issues with the new one I also wont buy them anymore.

EmdeReef · Aug 28, 2019

What do you get in ppt?

Topreefer92 · Aug 28, 2019

I will just say that I have nothing but success with there products but lack of customer service and this is leading me to stop. I will check ppt and post it

EmdeReef · Aug 28, 2019

Topreefer92 said:
I will just say that I have nothing but success with there products but lack of customer service and this is leading me to stop. I will check ppt and post it

I’ve only had mine for about 2mo and can’t speak about longevity but it’s been dead on vs my Orion which costs about 20x more.

When I sent Hanna a checker, I paid for shipping one way but they paid for shipping back. The checker didn’t work what turned to be my fault (water damage) but they sent me back a brand new unit.

A lot of companies will make you pay for shipping both ways even for items taht would cost hundreds to ship...not great but most also disclose that upfront.

I’m mostly indifferent to Hanna but they have a few good products.

Topreefer92 · Aug 29, 2019

Totally understand what you are saying, I guess within warranty I have never had to pay but that is fine. The customer service was just lacking that is really it.

Quick update I used it again and it continues to keep being drastically off. I am shipping it back to them tomorrow. Something is faulty here and it is water proof so water damage better not be the reason lol. I will keep you guys updated as to what they say.

jurgenph · Aug 29, 2019

mine's been great so far. only had it two weeks

hope it lasts.

J.

EmdeReef · Aug 29, 2019

Topreefer92 said:
Totally understand what you are saying, I guess within warranty I have never had to pay but that is fine. The customer service was just lacking that is really it.

Quick update I used it again and it continues to keep being drastically off. I am shipping it back to them tomorrow. Something is faulty here and it is water proof so water damage better not be the reason lol. I will keep you guys updated as to what they say.

I hear you. Would’ve been the right thing from them to give you a free shipping label...

I was curious about the ppt because a lot of the “cheaper” meters often mess up the conversion and your ppt may actually be within the accuracy range so you could be sending it for nothing. Again don’t know and it could be off so please don’t take this the wrong way.

Topreefer92 · Aug 29, 2019

Oh no buddy nothing to take the wrong way, you are just trying to provide ideas and I appreciate it! I tested the ppt and it is at 48.9....Not saying I am an expert but in my decade in this hobby I think salinity like that would cause my acros, better yet all my corals to be upset. It is getting worse and worse by the day with the checker being so far off.