Monitoring Water Quality

Remember last week when I asked about conductance?

My current assignment is to spec and implement a system to monitor contaminants in our parts washer. The principle things I'm concerned with are soap, oil, and to a lesser extent, particles of metal. Temp is around 200 degrees. The monitor has to be able to alarm to the washer's PLC if anything falls out of spec.

Now, I've been pursuing this thing for a couple of weeks now. I know a conductivity meter, or a Ph meter, will work for the soap. I know meters exist to measure the other two factors. But I was suprised to find that no comprehensive meter exists to measure all three.

Our vendor is being of astonishingly little help here, and various web searches turn up nothing. A search on Water Quality Monitor will get you everything from farm supply houses to the EPA, but little industrial use.

Anybody ever confront a problem like this before? If so, where did you go for a solution (pardon the pun)?

TM

For stuff like that I usually go to...

http://www.omega.com/


They have a terrific set of catalogs that are just as much reference material as sales material. You can get them in Hardcover or CD.

Several of the devices you need can be obtained from Analytical Technologies Inc. http://www.analyticaltechnology.com

If you talk to John Becker there he can give you no BS info on his products, and probably give reliable reccommendations for sources on the stuff he can't provide.

Tell him I sent you!

Hach is a manufacturer of a wide range of water quality analyzers. They are at http://www.hach.com

You might also try global-spec.com

I take it you want one device that can measure PH, conductance, TDS(total dissolved solids).

Goto Davis Instruments (if you dont have a catalog handy) and look at their water quality meters.
http://www.davisontheweb.com/showl5.asp?L5ID=21