Arty, the truncheon ... what exactly does that do, measure the presence of each nutrient?
It's a nutrient meter for measuring nutrient solutions.
It measures
- PPM 500 scale mostly used in the USA
- PPM 700 scale mostly used in the UK & Cananda
- CF measure electrical conductivity
- EC measure electrical conductivity
Bluelab Truncheon Nutrient Meter Features
- Fully waterproof
- Auto on/off function
- No calibration required
- Daylight readable blue LED’s
- Battery operated – 3 x AA batteries included
- No buttons, switches or knobs
- Provided with EC, CF, ppm 700 and ppm 500 scales
It is also nice a rugged and is great for stirring nutrients in you water.
To convert EC to CF multiply by 10 so an EC of 1.6 EC will be 16 CF
They are both measurement of electrical conductivity which like PPM tells you what strength of solution you have.
When talking to fellow growers it is important to know which scale you are using otherwise you may, overfeed or underfeed your plants.
Here is a chart showing the different scales
In the above chart Hanna & Dutch Master are 500 scale
Truncheon is shown as 700 scale (truncheon can also show 500 scale, CF & EC)
The most popular scales are 500 scale and 700 scale and EC.
Different nutrient companies use different scale to measure their nutes and also give feeding advice in the scale the use.
WHAT PPM SCALE IS YOUR NUTRIENT FORMULA REFERRING TO?
Manufacturer Scale
Advanced Nutrients 700 scale
Botanicare 700 scale
Cutting Edge Solutions 500 scale
Dutch Master 500 scale
Dyna-Gro 500 scale
FoxFarm 700 scale using dechlorinated tap water
General Hydroponics 500 scale using reverse osmosis water
General Organics 500 scale using reverse osmosis water
House & Garden 700 scale
Humboldt Nutrients 500 scale
Hydro Organics/ Earth Juice 500 scale
Miller Chemical & Fertilizer
Nectar for the Gods 700 scale
Rock Nutrients 700 scale
Roots Organics 500 scale
Soul Synthetics 500 scale
Technaflora 500 scale
There are a number of different scales of measurement for PPM, here is the nitty-gritty:
PPM MEASURES PARTS PER MILLION.
PPM is known as dimensionless quantities; that is, they are pure numbers with no associated units of measurement. A mass concentration of 2mg/kg – 2 parts per million – 2ppm – 2 x 10-6.
There are many different scales used for different industries around the world and for many different reasons! Did you know there are more than two scales? The most widely used scales in Hydroponics are the 500 scale, 650 scale and the 700 scale.
CF AND EC ARE MEASURES OF ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED NUTRIENT IONS IN A SOLUTION.
Pure water will not conduct electricity. Water usually conducts electricity because it is full of impurities (in our case, electrically charged nutrient ions). The two black dots on the end of Bluelab nutrient probes are called electrodes. When they are placed in a solution, an electrical current passes from one electrode to the other, counting the number of electrically charged ions present. This represents the units measured – CF or EC.
WHAT’S THE DI
ERENCE?
The ppm 700 scale is based on measuring the KCl or potassium chloride content of a solution. The ppm 500 is based on measuring the NaCl or sodium chloride content of a solution and is also referred to as TDS – total dissolved solids. Individual nutrient ions have different electrical effects! The true ppm of a solution can only be determined by a chemical analysis. ppm cannot be accurately measured by a CF or EC meter. They are present on Bluelab products as a conversion guide only. The conversion is the following:
2.4EC x 500 = 1200ppm (500 scale) or 1200ppm / 500 = 2.4EC
2.4EC x 700 = 1680ppm (700 scale) or 1680ppm / 700 = 2.4EC
If written instructions say you should grow your crop at 1100 ppm – how do you know which scale the author is referring to? Is the scale on your ppm meter right for the job? If the contents were compiled in the USA, it could be the 650 or 500 scale. If the book is written in the UK, it could be the 700 scale. If it was from Australia, it could be any of the three!
If you grow using ppm, you will need to know the following:
- What ppm scale is the book referring to?
- What ppm scale is your meter using?
- Which standard or calibration solution should you use for your meter?
- What ppm scale is the nutrient formula referring to?
copied and pasted from -
https://www.thegoodearthorganics.com/tips/ppm/
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.........
..but a three-some..cuddled up.....you don't want the peeps see how much debauchery went on..right?)!
....hubby skipped out to golf to avoid it....
...coz everyone thought I was a bloke.....
...they look wonderfully green and healthy,,,,,
