Trident Reagent Help?

[BlingityBling]

Simple question: How does the Trident determine when to tell me a reagent is empty?

Does it just go by a timer based on when I last reset a bottler such as the A? (as in an empty alert is automatic after 4 weeks from reset?)

Or, does it actually sense fluid no longer being drawn into the tubes? (Which it does know when I've left the sample line out of the water)

Reason I ask is I'm setting up a second Apex on a new tank and lately have been thinking of switching to the ABC reagents as they don't have an expiration. This is appealing to me as my current Trident starts to drift off at the end of the two month supply very consistently to untrusworthy numbers. This of course is easily remedied by new fluids and a fresh calibration. Secondly in my reasoning, very consitently again, when the trident wont test because something is empty, I find a significant amount of reagent always in the bottle it thinks is empty... enough so that I can top off the new bottle with what is in it and still have more to throw away. This has lead me to the conclusion that every two months I'm throwing out somewhere between 10 -20% of my reagent without getting test results. I find that annoying as I'm about to bring a second trident online soon.

I'm just about finished designing my own 3d reagent container to maximize the amount of each reagent that can fit in the trident. I'm making the cap to have a brace to hold the tube straight verticle so it drop to the very bottom of each section which has a 5 degree slant to the center like a shower drain essentially. I should be able to get a few more ounces of each reagent in there so that's why I'm cosidering ABC's stuff... I'm all about changing fluids as less often as possible. Perhaps someone usingf the ABC stuff can chime in as to wether their Trident drifts off or not?
Thank you

 

[tdhnry]

Following.....

 

[Coolcasino]

When you first place a fresh bottle of reagent it resets itself. It knows how much a new bottle should be. It then keeps a tab on the amount of reagent it used for each test. Then lets you know in real time how much is left. Sometimes there's a a few mls of reagent left when the trident indicates that its out of a particular reagent. Lets say you have a bottle of reagent in the trident that is half empty and you fill it up and don't tell the trident that you did, it will still think its half empty and will give the empty error even when there's half a bottle left.

 

[Coolcasino]

I use the ABC reagents and they work just like the Neptune brand. Cool design in the bottles you have. I wouldn't mess around with the length of the tubes as like my post above mentions everything is calculated. The bottles would only need to fit inside the trident. I think each bottle has that little extra to make sure the trident doesn't suck up any air.

 

[BlingityBling]

When you first place a fresh bottle of reagent it resets itself. It knows how much a new bottle should be. It then keeps a tab on the amount of reagent it used for each test. Then lets you know in real time how much is left. Sometimes there's a a few mls of reagent left when the trident indicates that its out of a particular reagent. Lets say you have a bottle of reagent in the trident that is half empty and you fill it up and don't tell the trident that you did, it will still think its half empty and will give the empty error even when there's half a bottle left.

So I'm assuming it has a programmed volume that it's metering for each container and when it hits that number... no more tests and an empty reagent message. That makes sense. I suppose there would be no way for anyone to change said volume before an alarm as their stuff is all one size? Ultimately I was hoping to triple the volume of the containers and set it next to the unit holding a six month supply at once. Set a reminder to do an occasional calibration. I could even then double the A so it would not need changed until the rest. I was shooting for least maintenance possible, but maybe ABC can just be topped off and simply reset as opposed to changing the whole bottle out? Oh well, maybe its just not gonna work like I'd hoped.

 

[Coolcasino]

Yeah... I don't believe that set amount can be edited or changed. The Trident is designed with those dosing lines. They need to be the length that they are. Not shorter or longer. You would need to design an awkwardly shaped bottle just so that you could add more volume to each bottle and keep the same length of tubing. I think what your thinking is good. ABC bottles don't fit in the Trident so I just empty them out into old Neptune bottles. So If you wanted to you could design a container in the shape of 3 Neptune bottles instead of how you did with that big square like shape that will fit in the Trident. Just remember to take it out once in a while and rinse it out.

 

[BlingityBling]

Yeah... I don't believe that set amount can be edited or changed. The Trident is designed with those dosing lines. They need to be the length that they are. Not shorter or longer. You would need to design an awkwardly shaped bottle just so that you could add more volume to each bottle and keep the same length of tubing. I think what your thinking is good. ABC bottles don't fit in the Trident so I just empty them out into old Neptune bottles. So If you wanted to you could design a container in the shape of 3 Neptune bottles instead of how you did with that big square like shape that will fit in the Trident. Just remember to take it out once in a while and rinse it out.

Thank you for the info!

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Thank you for the info!

The problem you will have if your lines will start to clog. Not sure what’s in the regents but it does definitly settle to the bottle and then get drawn up thru needle. This is why the numbers start to drift as regent starts to get low. You will have issues with accuracy at the very least yhen clogging issues after that. Stick with 1 month worth of regent and throw away or clean inside of your bottles