Alkatronic Issues

[m.kristoff]

I setup My alktronic this past Sunday.
My 1st reading came back with 9.09. I crossed checked to with my Hanna which was 9.0. I thought it can't get any better than that! It went downhill from there!

Next test came back with 9.77. I did a manual retest which came back 9.74. I turned off my Kalkawasser dosing just to rule out a spike. The next test came back with 9.71.
I emailed Foucstronic and they said give it a week to settle in- Not sure I am on board with that but why not.

For the rest of the day I seen consistent range between 9.74 trending downward to 9.54. It held 9.54 for 3 test so I figured it was indeed settling in. My Hanna came back with 9.1.

I decided to rule out calibration errors, I recalibrated the pumps and mixed up new reagent using a scale.
Next test came back with 9.4.
the following test came back with 5.12- not sure why it didn't automatically retest
it tested 3 hours later and it was 9.60
as of the last test it is 9.77

I believe my dkh is really about 9.0ish based on the hanna and I had a trident and its last test before I took it offline was 8.75.

Should I consider a reset and start over or let it run and see if it settles in?

 

[blaxsun]

If they suggested letting it run for a week I'd probably try that first. Even the Trident needs a few days to settle in and be recalibrated.

 

[m.kristoff]

If they suggested letting it run for a week I'd probably try that first. Even the Trident needs a few days to settle in and be recalibrated.

I agree and am doing that. it is constant even though it is reading it high. just making sure I am ruling out any errors I may have caused with setup

 

[blaxsun]

I agree and am doing that. it is constant even though it is reading it high. just making sure I am ruling out any errors I may have caused with setup

I took me a month or two playing around with my Trident to get it to deliver consistent results, too. I still test to "keep it honest" - but I'm not manually testing anywhere near as much as I used to. How's the pH in terms of accuracy?

 

[Oldreefer44]

Mine always runs about .6 above my Hanna. So being more concerned with consistency than an actual number, as long as it is close to my target, it really doesn't bother me. It has been much more consistent than the Trident I had.

 

[m.kristoff]

Mine always runs about .6 above my Hanna. So being more concerned with consistency than an actual number, as long as it is close to my target, it really doesn't bother me. It has been much more consistent than the Trident I had.

I got rid of my trident because of inconsistency. My numbers are very high compared to my hanna.. it just came back with a 12.5!

 

[m.kristoff]

How's the pH in terms of accuracy?

PH was spot on. verified with Hanna handheld. I also recalibrated the PH prob just to rule out any mistakes there as well. currently my hanna handheld is 8.1 (reciently calibrated) now after the probe calibration, its off. its reading 7.78

it just ran another test and its 11.64 so it is actually worse now

 

[MGarrison]

1) it does take a few days for it to settle in. Even when changing out the pump hoses. you will want to let it run a few days then recalibrate again.
2) Where you are drawing tank water from or Reagent container, could there be a possibility of it pulling air bubbles?
3) check the height of your ph prob. I had to add a rubberband to raise it a bit to clear the magnetic pill.
4) Pipe from pump B must be in contact with the bottom. Very important!!
5) Pipe from pump A must be around 2 mm above bottom. Very important!!

 

[m.kristoff]

1) it does take a few days for it to settle in. Even when changing out the pump hoses. you will want to let it run a few days then recalibrate again.
2) Where you are drawing tank water from or Reagent container, could there be a possibility of it pulling air bubbles?
3) check the height of your ph prob. I had to add a rubberband to raise it a bit to clear the magnetic pill.
4) Pipe from pump B must be in contact with the bottom. Very important!!
5) Pipe from pump A must be around 2 mm above bottom. Very important!!

please see photos. everything is set as you suggested. I have moved the intake to 3 different places just to rule out air bubbles. it does have the filter on it. It has been running since sunday and is getting worse.
I did recalibrate probe using Milwaukee 7.01 and Pinpoint 4.000 fluid. I wouldn't think that would be an issue

 

[MGarrison]

where are you dosing in relation to the intake?

 

[m.kristoff]

the intake is in a different chamber . The only thing I dose is kalkawasser and I have turned that off to validate that is was not interfering and it is not.
I just moved the unit to its final spot. recalibrated the pumps and got an expected reading of 9.09 and I verified with my Hanna at 9.1 . Next tests are now really low. cant figure it out.

 

[MGarrison]

Black dots mean washout.
Follow the bad precision section of the manual.

 

[m.kristoff]

Black dots mean washout.
Follow the bad precision section of the manual.

I did and validated that there is no air in the line.

the 9.09 value is after a restart if that makes any difference.

the machine is proving to have extreme swings. from a high of 12.7 down to 8.06. not sure what else I can do
Washout mode is turned off

 

[MGarrison]

black dots in the logs mean wash out... the difference in the last test and the current test was > 0.1 or 0.2 don't recall so the machine tested again.

I am out of ideas... have you tried the facebook group?

 

[m.kristoff]

ran a test again and it came back at 8.02 same as the washout test. I am on the facebook group and not making much progress. I wonder if I should do a re-set and start over. also what is the latest firmware?

 

[MGarrison]

mine is @ V03.03.03

 

[m.kristoff]

I worked with Eric @ focustronic and he had me test pump A and C. they were both off. Recalibrated and the readings are back in the mid 9's now. I think it probably needs to settle in

 

[Robinson]

I worked with Eric @ focustronic and he had me test pump A and C. they were both off. Recalibrated and the readings are back in the mid 9's now. I think it probably needs to settle in

That looks fine for me, what I compare is the previous day test at the same time with the current day. Also remember the Hanna have accuracy of +/- 0.3 DKH, so when you compare to that equipment you need to take that in consideration. Like someone already mentioned what is important is the consistency than the actual number.

 

[m.kristoff]

That looks fine for me, what I compare is the previous day test at the same time with the current day. Also remember the Hanna have accuracy of +/- 0.3 DKH, so when you compare to that equipment you need to take that in consideration. Like someone already mentioned what is important is the consistency than the actual number.

Agreed that consistency is key. still need that baseline! I think ill let it run for a week and watch the trends. Ill recalibrate in about 7 days or so.

 

[MGarrison]

You can also test your reagent mixture against a Salifert test kit. do standard salifert reagent then test again but for part B use your mixture. you can compare both these results to what the Alkatronic is reading.