A Fertilizer Discussion Reprise

[estación seca]

There is no such thing as a PPM meter and there is no such thing as a TDS meter. It's physically impossible to make something like that for mixed chemicals dissolved in water. Have you ever taken a chemistry class?

[Shadeflower]

ES that is your belief, if you type it in to Amazon they do sell them.

Whether you want to believe they exist or work is entirely up to you.

Jjust like I could argue clocks don't work. Thermometers don't work, ie they are inaccurate.

So throw all thermometers in the bin, never rely on the clocks, they are always seconds off. Thermometers are not needed, just stick out a wet finger to measure and I dunno taste the fertilzer water I suppose but to me relying on technology helps me.

I know my thermometer can be as much as 1 degree off but I still use them and that is good enough for me. Atleast I know roughly what I am measuring.

It's the same with a ppm meter. They might be an innaccurate EC meter but so is a thermometer. You can either chose to use one or not.

Fine by me either way but I love my ppm meter and I would be lost without my thermometers.

[wisdomseeker]

Originally Posted by estación seca

There is no such thing as a PPM meter and there is no such thing as a TDS meter.

I'm confused about this, and don't fully understand.

There are several quality TDS bench meters (various brands) that are frequently used in the water/wastewater field that are fairly accurate with their test results.

Relationship Between TS, TSS and TDS

Solids, Total and Dissolved (TSS and TDS) - Water Quality Parameters | Hach

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by wisdomseeker

I'm confused about this, and don't fully understand.

There are several quality TDS bench meters (various brands) that are frequently used in the water/wastewater field that are fairly accurate with their test results.

Relationship Between TS, TSS and TDS

Solids, Total and Dissolved (TSS and TDS) - Water Quality Parameters | Hach

This is my point exactly. The only way to measure dissolved solids is to evaporate all the water, then weigh the residue. When people discuss a "TDS meter" they imagine a device similar to a pH meter that they stick in a glass of water, then read a number off a screen. There is no such TDS meter.

The "TDS meters" available on Amazon and shown above in other posts measure electrical conductivity, not dissolved solids. Electrical conductivity can't be converted to a TDS reading without knowing the exact composition of the minerals suspended in the water.

[wisdomseeker]

WW "SUPER MOD" - phone rang as I was typing post, and that call went on longer than wanted - came back and hit "submit reply" before you moved this thread. Can you move it to the correct location? Thanks.


ES - I figured that's where you were coming from, along with the point you were trying to convey. "There is no such thing as a ppm meter and there is no such thing as a TDS meter. It's physically impossible to make something like that for mixed chemicals dissolved in water. Have you ever taken a chemistry class"?

Maybe, without someone realizing how to measure TDS -and/or- without someone really knowing what TDS is all about, they might assume any device labeled as a EC or TDS meter is going to give true/accurate results: along with providing the answers of knowing the exact amount/composition of total dissolved solids.

Most of these meters are more-or-less considered to be an 'easy button' tool. Test results are going to vary greatly in mileage, per se. I "also agree" with other previous comments: that these devices can help to give someone a basic "idea/result" (especially if accuracy is not needed for their testing applications).

I inserted a couple links within my previous post, trying to be cordial, and hopefully without stepping on any toes. And just maybe, the links were able to provide some useful information (maybe, helping to eliminate any confusion). I think Ray had a good explanation in his last post (within this thread).

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by wisdomseeker

WW "SUPER MOD" - phone rang as I was typing post, and that call went on longer than wanted - came back and hit "submit reply" before you moved this thread. Can you move it to the correct location? Thanks.

Not WW, but got it done.

[wisdomseeker]

Thanks Roberta. That was quick! I now see where the word 'super' comes in to play

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by wisdomseeker

Thanks Roberta. That was quick! I now see where the word 'super' comes in to play

The three of us, in different time zones, have the world pretty well covered.

Where I find my "TDS" meter useful is not so much for absolute readings (which don't say much) but rather for changes. For instance, I know when my RO membrane is pooping out both by the slowing of its production, and also an increase in TDS. Do I care whether the "true" TDS is 5 or 10 or even 15 ppm? Not particularly. But when it hits 30, a pretty good indication that I need to change it out. So the differences that I read are comparing apples and apples. Likewise, when I check on my tap water, if it reads 180, it doesn't much matter whether the true value is 150 or 200. When it reads 400, it is a "bad water" day, the chemical composition of the water is going to be pretty much the same, there's just more calcium because the water company was changing sources. (But I know it isn't sodium causing the rise because that isn't what is in the water based on historical analyses and knowing something of the sources)

[Ray]

Shadeflower should have been a politician - neither facts nor context matter.

[spes1959@gmail.com]

Ray in your article ‘Do-It-Yourself K-Lite’ you write to mix Akerne’s Rain Mix, calcium nitrate, Epsom Salts but I Know that calcium nitraste and Edson Salts are not miscible and precipitate in solution. are you sure ?