New Touchscreen Meters Help Monitor BOD

Faster and more convenient biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved oxygen (DO) readings are always a bonus in the lab and in the field when it comes to wastewater and environmental testing.

A series of accumetRegistered meters manufactured by Fisher Scientific Lab Equipment Division provide speed, accuracy and new features. Tony Rozzi, a chemist with the Fisher Electrochemistry Division, helped develop the new line of meters that feature touchscreen technology.

"We initially designed a series of pH meters in 1996 that used touchscreen technology, and they were very successful, so we decided to develop a full line of meters with a lot of different capabilities using touchscreen technology," he said. "Touchscreen technology is one of the fastest-growing areas in computer technology."

One advantage of the touchscreen technology is flexibility, Rozzi said.

"The computer screen offers a variety of functions," he said. "You can key in the information a lot easier, and it prompts help messages in plain English. You can also have the meter programmed in different languages."

The small LCD of older models is replaced by a 460 by 640 high resolution display. The accumet meter's screen can be configured to display as much or as little information as desired. The main purpose of the new design is to enable laboratory and field personnel to more easily and accurately obtain BOD and DO measurements, Rozzi said.

The accumet Research AR 40 Benchtop Meter Kit provides both DO and BOD readings. Its dissolved oxygen readings offer a measuring range of 0 to 60 mg/l or 0 to 600% saturation with a temperature range of 0 to 45° C. The AR 40 automatically calculates 5-day BOD results, gives automatic barometric atmospheric pressure readings and stores up to 250 sample measurements. It includes a self-stirring probe and a bi-directional RS232C port, which enables data to be sent to a printer or PC.

The accumet series of DO meters includes a Basic Benchtop Meter Kit, AB40, that features the self-stirring probe. Additional portable designs include 5-button Portable (AP) Handheld Meter Kits, AP 64 and AP64C, that are small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. They can be held and operated with the same hand.

The portable meters often are used by wastewater treatment personnel at checkpoints in municipal sewage treatment facilities or at various points throughout the plant, or they are used on-site at streams to measure oxygen in surface water.

David Lowry, president and general manager of Hoh-Pak Laboratory in New Iberia, La., was impressed with many of the AR 40's features. His company is contracted to handle BOD readings for sewer treatment facilities throughout southern Louisiana. He said taking BOD readings was easier with the AR 40 when compared to other models he has used.

"We don't even need to remove the bottles from the rack," he said. "We just open the BOD bottle and insert the self-stirring probe-it eliminates the need for a magnetic stirrer. There's no overflow, and no need for an overflow cup."