The AAA batteries of Hanna checkers

[Muffin87]

Little story:
Since my Hanna PO4 URL checker always turned on and appeared to work properly, I always assumed that, despite the glorious reviews, it probably wasn't that great.
In fact, according the PO4 URL checker, both my display and my coral quarantine were always a random number between 0.26 and 0.11, never lower.

I changed the battery, and I finally got 3 results in the range of 0.03 and 0.08 ppm, for the first time.
A week passed, and it went back to recording much higher results.

Well, finally, it's started to work properly after I started using an expensive battery. I got a four pack of the energizer ultimate lithium after watching this really in-depth review of AAA batteries.
Today, I checked the checker against a standard PO4 solution, and it finally read 0.04 ppm, the precise amount of PO4 in the sample.

Is this issue with batteries known? How can a checker turn on, work fine, but give different results depending on quality/level of change of the battery?
Also, very weird that I had to get really good AAA batteries from a reputable brand in order to get the checker to work properly.

Moral of the story:
If ur hanna checker is giving you one or more unexpected readings, try new batteries before buying new test kits or assuming something is going on.
This issue may be specific to the Ultra-Low Range checkers, since the difference in light transmittance the checker needs to pick up and measure is particularly small for URL checkers.

 

[Frank SM]

Interesting post. My Hanna alkalinity checker has caused me great concern. So much so I went to pH titrations, which in retrospect were worse, and now to LaMotte. Now I performing LaMotte and Hanna and average them. But, according to ICP, that is still off.

 

[Muffin87]

Interesting post. My Hanna alkalinity checker has caused me great concern. So much so I went to pH titrations, which in retrospect were worse, and now to LaMotte. Now I performing LaMotte and Hanna and average them. But, according to ICP, that is still off.

Have you read that you get much better results keeping the hanna alkalinity reagent in the fridge?

 

[Frank SM]

Have you read that you get much better results keeping the hanna alkalinity reagent in the fridge?

Yes. And, I bought replacement bottles just in case.

 

[taricha]

never heard that. Thanks!

 

[elysics]

One would think that at that price point they'd at least give a low battery warning with ****** fake batteries instead of just giving a wrong result. They do have a low battery status, weird that it doesn't kick on.

Come to think of it, I've never changed the batteries in mine

 

[Jason_MrFrags]

I try change them every couple months. But there is also a range of error in the Hanna checkers, even when you are using the calibration samples.

 

[Muffin87]

I try change them every couple months. But there is also a range of error in the Hanna checkers, even when you are using the calibration samples.

of course there is a margin of error, but 0.11 to 0.26 for the same sample is not within that margin.

What made you start changing your batteries every couple of months?