Hanna salinity checkers selling on.

[exnisstech]

Mines been fine for the 6 months or so I have been using it. It measures . 001 lower than a calibrated refractometer but that's good enough for me. I do spot check it once in a while like all test equipment. I think like most things newer the people who are unhappy comment and the people who are happy just don't bother or have the time because they are enjoying their purchase. Such is the online age with all things not just our hobby equipment.

 

[HuduVudu]

The Hanna salinity checkers bust onto the scene as something as a godsend for us reekeepers. At first there were lots of reviews saying how good they are.

I am now reading lots of disgruntled users so much so I am now seeing lots for sale secondhand. That's not just on this forum.but a well known UK one as well as on eBay.

I was going to buy one but after reading of issues and seeing so many up for sale a
Simple question. What's your take on them, have you had one and discarded it or sold it on.?
Seems like the Tropic marn precision hydrometer could be a better bet.

Seriously this hobby is adding alarms, stereos and phones to coffee makers, and I know you know what I am talking about.

I got frustrated with testing salinity. It is a joke. I went back to a hydrometer (ohhh how I miss the IO ones) and a TM floater to calibrate. Less stress, more accurate. The electronics are supposed to simplify our lives not make them more complex ::sigh::

 

[Rhodes87]

Love mine. Never a problem in about 2 years now Calibrate it every once in a while just to be safe and its really never off by much at all each time.

 

[Derrick0580]

I think this is a matter of typical reviewers! Most people who are happy don’t submit reviews. I am one who is religious about researching everything I buy but am also leary about some reviews. The local news station did a story recently about false reviews, especially on amazon. That being said my buddy has one he loves. I have a TM hygrometer and petco refractometer that are within 0.01 of each other and recently received a red sea refractometer with a used tank and equipment I bought but have yet to calibrate it and compare it against the hygrometer.

 

[atoll]

Seriously this hobby is adding alarms, stereos and phones to coffee makers, and I know you know what I am talking about.

I got frustrated with testing salinity. It is a joke. I went back to a hydrometer (ohhh how I miss the IO ones) and a TM floater to calibrate. Less stress, more accurate. The electronics are supposed to simplify our lives not make them more complex ::sigh::

Funny you should say that. I have given.up and ordered a large Tropic Marine hydrometer with accompanying vial instead of the Hanna.

 

[HuduVudu]

Funny you should say that. I have given.up and ordered a large Tropic Marine hydrometer with accompanying vial instead of the Hanna.

Would love to be able to find the cylinder.

 

[atoll]

Would love to be able to find the cylinder.

Yeah its a big brute around a foot long..

 

[atoll]

We are talking about the Hanna HI98319 here, correct? and not the Hanna salinity refractometer?

Yep.

 

[EricR]

Would love to be able to find the cylinder.

Tangent (((sorry to OP))) but I've been tempted to use this $13 cylinder as a close facsimile:

500mL Graduated Cylinder

*doing in-tank periodic checks with flow off now with just enough depth (40B) but cylinder would be more convenient

 

[HuduVudu]

Tangent (((sorry to OP))) but I've been tempted to use this $13 cylinder as a close facsimile:

500mL Graduated Cylinder

*doing in-tank periodic checks with flow off now with just enough depth (40B) but cylinder would be more convenient

Woot you fixed my issue.

Was going to buy clear PVC and glue something up. This is it.

 

[EricR]

Woot you fixed my issue.

Was going to buy clear PVC and glue something up. This is it.

If only it came with free/optional engraving:
"Turn OFF ATO!" ...just kidding

 

[atoll]

Tangent (((sorry to OP))) but I've been tempted to use this $13 cylinder as a close facsimile:

500mL Graduated Cylinder

*doing in-tank periodic checks with flow off now with just enough depth (40B) but cylinder would be more convenient

Am getting it from a long time LFS of mine. The hydrometer with cylinder for a VERY very good price.

 

[KStatefan]

Funny you should say that. I have given.up and ordered a large Tropic Marine hydrometer with accompanying vial instead of the Hanna.

Pay attention to the units on it.

 

[psumms]

Had mine for three years and still working consistently. Calibrated maybe five times over the years - gives a solid reading every time. Possible people aren't taking care of them? I have a cup of RO on the shelf to dip everything after use. Give my Hanna a RO dip, wipe and quick shake before returning to its box.

 

[Sean Clark]

I really wanted to like my Hanna HI98319 salinity tester when I got it right after they came out. I have since moved on to the Hanna HI96822 digital seawater refractometer. I won't go out of my way to tell someone that the Hanna HI98319 Salinity tester is bad, but when a thread like this comes up I do share my experience with it. Mine was terrible at holding calibration and was never accurate. I may have just received a bad one as many people claim to love theirs. Its not for me though. I will agree that the gold standard for the hobby right now is the Tropic Marine high precision hydrometer.

 

[atoll]

Pay attention to the units on it.

Apparently. There is a German model as well as a UK and others edition with different scales.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Love mine, just make sure to keep it calibrated and have a good battery in it and back up.

 

[OscarHaglund]

Mine drifted 4-5 ppm in two months between calibrations

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Conductivity measurements are very accurate this is the same way of measuring salinity that oceanographers use. However it is not as precise as other measurement options. The most repeatable results come from a large floating hydrometer that never needs calibration and has no electronic or moving parts. It may be off a bit but it will be consistently off every single time.

Why do you think that?

My conductivity meter is certainly as precise or more so than the tropic marin hydrometer. It reads to 0.1 mS/cm, which is akin to a hydrometer that could distinguish 1.02635 from 1.02640.

Is your tropic marin hydrometer more precise than that?

 

[Montiman]

Why do you think that?

My conductivity meter is certainly as precise or more so than the tropic marin hydrometer. It reads to 0.1 mS/cm, which is akin to a hydrometer that could distinguish 1.02635 from 1.02640.

Is your tropic marin hydrometer more precise than that?

It is precise provided that there are no extraneous variables. Any little thing can throw one off. Electrical interference, too long between calibration, air bubbles, temperature variability ect. Granted all devices need to be maintained cleaned and calibrated but conductivity meters require more attention than refractometers and hydrometers which is why they are great for the lab but not ideal for most hobbyist.

The amount of threads on conductivity meters giving bad results is huge. I have also seen this when I worked at the LFS and was selling these tools. I never found a single person who could mess up a floating hydrometer and with refractometers even if people dropped them or scratched them as long as they were calibrated they were reliable. Only conductivity meters had customers complaining that they suddenly had results that were obviously off even after calibration. In almost every case I could find out what was wrong. Using the meter in a garage to test very cold or hot water from a mixing bin, dirty or corroded sensors, electrical interference from measuring too close to pumps or other devices, or air bubbles on the sensor. I eventually learned that I did not want to sell people these tools because I knew I would get complaints but if I sold them a floating hydrometer they would never mess it up and with a digital refractometer as long as it was clean and calibrated there were no issues.

In a technical sense conductivity meters are precise however in the real world where people are neglectful they often have issues.