Hanna DiST®5 or Pinpoint or Milwuakee MA887

[ajgiov]

OK so I thought it time to ditch the telescope and start getting a digital reading of my SG.

They are all in the same price range give or take $15.
Which one of these 3 are most popular?

*The Pinpoint salinity monitor seems pretty straight forward but not sure of its accuracy or how often it needs to be calibrated. I am unsure how this reports conductivity, if it diplays SG or not.

*The Hanna seems very handy to stick right into either my display, sump or mixing water. It also measures TDS. This meter reports conductivity but needs to be converted to SG however so that is a small extra step.

*The Miwuakee MA887 from what i read needs less calibration and is more accurate. The drawback is the sample needs to be placed on the dish versus sticking a tester directly into the water. This meter does give SG readings though so that is a plus.

I am looking for some guidance hopefully from someone who has tried 2 or all of these devices. Thanks!

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The Hanna DiST 5 conductivity does not read in the right range. It is fine for monitoring DI, but not seawater salinity. It only reads up to 4 mS/cm, you need up to about 60 mS/cm. :)

The Milwuakee MA887 is not a conductivity meter, but rather a digitized refractometer. I do not know if it is, but I hope it is properly made for seawater and not based on brine solutions as many refractomerters are. Unless it read a seawater standard correctly, I'd be wary of its results.

The Pinpoint is fine and many people like it. I've used it. The temperature response is a bit slower than my old Orion model 128 conductivity meter, so I use the latter more, but it is a far more expensive device (at least when new).

I do not consider reading in mS/cm any drawback. I prefer it since I do not have to try to figure out if the company understands the proper conversions between conductivity, temperature, and specific gravity. Many apparently do not.

[ajgiov]

Randy Holmes-Farley thanks for the fast and info filled reply.
I see you on a lot of posts here and people respect your opinions.

2 Last questions.

Can the Pinpoint be used for long periods of time if I wanted?
Do you have a good mS/cm to SG conversion chart you can link me?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I generally wouldn't keep a conductivity probe in the water 24/7 since as stuff collects on it between the electrodes (bacterial growths, detritus, etc), one will begin to get a false low reading.

That said, some folks who have controllers do keep their probes int eh water 24/7. If you do, just be sure to take out out once in a while, clean it carefully,a nd see that the salinity is about where you think it is.

FWIW, the Pinpoint is also useful for monitoring limewater potency, something which is not easily done other ways than conductivity.

These sorts of meters are also great during acclimation since they read continuously in real time, and my Orion at least also reads temp.

[jcw]

I thought it would be a lot easier when I purchased mine as well, however, waiting for the numbers to stabilize on the pinpoint take at least as long as using the refractometer.

And you have to be sure the probe or cord isn't sitting near pumps or ballasts otherwise the numbers are way off.

[ajgiov]

Pinpoint it is then. Thanks Randy.
I found the conversion chart here.
http://www.americanmarineusa.com/salinityconversion.html

Looks like 52.5 would be my sweet spot.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That sounds like a fine target value. :)