OHAUS ST300C Starter Portable Conductivity TDS Meter Instruction Manual

STARTER 300C
Portable Conductivity Meter
Instruction Manual

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for choosing OHAUS. Please read the manual completely before using the STARTER 300C portable conductivity meter to avoid incorrect operation.
The STARTER 300C has an excellent performance/price ratio and is designed with many useful features. Other accessories such as electrodes, conductivity standard solutions are also available.
Starter 300C offers many practical features such as:

• Ergonomic, multifunctional design for ambidextrous measurements or table top use
• Integrated labeling design for quick product identification
• IP54 protection against dust and water
• Ohaus’ renowned user friendly software

1.1 Definition of Signal Warnings and Symbols
Safety notes are marked with signal words and warning symbols. These show safety issues and warnings. Ignoring the safety notes may lead to personal injury, damage to the instrument, malfunctions and false results.
Signal Words

WARNING| For a hazardous situation with medium risk, possibly resulting in injuries or death if not avoided.
---|---
CAUTION| For a hazardous situation with low risk, resulting in damage to the device or the property or in loss of data, or injuries if not avoided.
Attention| For important information about the product.
Note| For useful information about the product

General hazard
Explosion hazard
Corrosive hazard
∼ Alternating current
** Direct current
1.2 Safety Precautions
CAUTION:** Read all safety warnings before installing, making connections, or servicing this equipment. Failure to comply with these warnings could result in personal injury and/or property damage. Retain all instructions for future reference.

• Use the equipment only in dry locations.
• Dry off any liquid spills immediately. The instrument is not watertight.
• When using chemicals and solvents, comply with the instructions of the chemical producer and the general lab safety rules.
• Use only approved accessories and peripherals.
• Operate the equipment only under ambient conditions specified in these instructions.
• Do not operate the equipment in hazardous or unstable environments.
• Service should only be performed by authorized personnel.

1.3 Display and controls
Displays

1. Endpoint stability icon ; Auto endpoint icon
2. Measurement icon – ; measurement or calibration is running
3. Calibration icon – ; calibration in progress
4. Setup icon – ; instrument is in the setup mode
5. Battery status icon shows the condition of the batteries – fully charged, half-charged or fully discharged
6. TDS factor in the setup mode
7. Conductivity / TDS / Cell Constant
8. Standard / Memory number / Error index
9. Temperature during measurement or reference temperature in setup mode

Controls

– Increase value during setting
– Scroll up through the memory| – Recall stored data
| – Switch between conductivity and TDS measuring modes
– Decrease value during setting
– Scroll down through the memory| – Enter setup mode
| – Start self-diagnosis|

INSTALLATION

Carefully unpack the meter.

2.1 Package contents
The model ST300C-B (Basic Model)should have the following items

In addition to ST300C-B content, the ST300C Kit also includes the conductivity electrode STCON3:

The best measurement range for STCON3 4-ring (4-pole) cond. electrode is 70 μS /cm-200mS/cm.
In this range the measurement accuracy can reach 0.5%.
If you use STCON3 to measure pure water in which conductivity value is below 70 μS/cm, the measurement will be less accurate (approximately 1% to 5%).
Does not use STCON3 to measure conductivity value less than 2 μS/cm, the accuracy is > +/-5%.
Accessories:

(70 μS/cm-200mS/cm, 0.5% accuracy;)
(2-70 μS/cm, 1-5% accuracy)| 83033972
STCON7| Pure water cond. electrode
(0.02μS/cm-200 μS /cm; 0.02 μS/cm accuracy)| 30080693
Standard Conduct 10 μS/cm 250ml| 30100441
---|---
Standard Conduct 84 μS/cm 250ml| 30100442
Standard Conduct 1413 μS/cm 250ml| 30100443
Standard Conduct12.88mS/cm  250ml| 30100444
Portable Bag for portable meters| 30031635

2.2 Installing the batteries

1. Remove the battery cover screw using a coin or screwdriver and remove the battery cover
2. Insert the batteries in the battery compartment as shown
3. Replace the battery cover and tighten the battery cover screw

2.3 Installing the electrode clip The electrode clip is an electrode holder that can be placed next to the display on either side of the housing.

1. Attach the clip by inserting the tabs into the recess.
2. Slide the clip forward to lock in position. Slide the shaft of the conductivity electrode into the clip from above.

2.4 Installing the IP54 cover
Use the small plastic tool as shown: 2.5 Integrated stand for table top use
Starter 300C has an integrated table stand as shown, which can be pushed out to use the meter on a lab bench or desk. To close the stand, push the middle edge of the stand toward the meter.

SETUP

3.1 Set temperature unit

• Power the meter on by pressing .
• Press and hold until the setup icon appears on the display and the current temperature unit blinks. (°C or °F )
• Use or buttons to select the temperature unit.
• Press button- to confirm your setting.

Note: °C = 5/9 (°F -32)
Continue with MTC temperature value setting by following instructions or press button- to go back to the measurement screen.
3.2 Set MTC temperature value
After the temperature unit setting, the meter goes to setup the MTC temperature value setting.
Use or buttons to adjust the value.
Press button- to confirm your setting.
Continue with calibration standard setting by following instructions or press button- to go back to the measurement screen.

3.3 Set calibration standard
After the MTC temperature value setting, the meter goes to setup the calibration standard.
Use or buttons to select the calibration standard.
Press button- to confirm your setting.
Continue with calibration standard setting by following instructions or press button- to go back to the measurement screen.
3.4 Set temperature correction coefficient
After the calibration standard setup, the meter enters the temperature correction coefficient
setting. Use or buttons to increase or decrease the temperature correction value (0.00 to 10.00 %/°C). Press button- to confirm your setting. Continue with reference temperature setting or press button- to go back to the measurement screen.
Note:
If you set the temperature correction coefficient value as 0 %/°C, it means there will be NO Temperature Compensation for the conductivity measurement. The meter displays the real conductivity value at current temperature.
3.5 Set TDS factor
After selecting the reference temperature, the current TDS factor blinks. Use or buttons to increase or decrease the value. Press to confirm your setting. The meter will exit automatically to the measurement screen.

STARTER 300C OPERATION

WARNING Do not operate the equipment in hazardous environments. The equipment is not explosion protected.
WARNING When using chemicals and solvents, comply with the instructions of the chemical producer and the general lab safety rules.
4.1 Calibration
4.1.1 Selecting a standard
Always begin by calibrating your conductivity electrode. When using the STARTER 300C conductivity meter, you must select a standard for calibration. (See 3.3)
Press and hold the to enter setup mode and set calibration standard. Use or buttons to select and press to confirm. Press to leave setup mode.
The four predefined calibration standards are:

Tables for automatic temperature compensation are programmed in the meter for each standard (see appendix 7.1).

4.1.2 Performing a calibration
When performing calibration, Ohaus recommends using Auto End Point Mode. After powering the meter on, be sure the top of the screen shows to ensure the meter is in Auto End point Mode.
Auto or Manual End point Mode:

• Press and hold to change the End Point Mode.
• When in Manual Mode, to manually reach a measurement or calibration value, you need to press button- when reading is stable and displays : then the sample reading or calibration value freezes, blinks 3 times and freezes on the display.
• When in Auto End Point Mode, the meter determines when the reading is stable then displays and locks the reading or calibration value automatically, the reading freezes and blinks 3 times then disappears; blinks 3 times and freezes on the display.

Be sure the conductivity electrode is securely attached to the meter and place it in the defined calibration standard, wait 10-15s, and press .
The calibration icon and the measurement icon appear on the display. The measurement icon is blinking during calibration measurement. The meter reaches the end points according to the preselected endpoint mode.
When the calibration is finished, the standard value is displayed and stored; the measurement icon blinks 3 times and disappears. Then, the endpoint stability and auto endpoint icon blinks 3 times and freezes on the display. If the calibration was ended manually (by pressing ), then only endpoint stability icon blinks 3 times and freezes on the display.
To finish the calibration and return to the sample measurement, press . The cell constant is then shown on the display for 3 seconds.
To reject the calibration, press before the meter returns automatically to the measurement screen.

Note:
To ensure the most accurate conductivity readings, you should verify your cell constant with a standard solution before measurement and recalibrate if necessary. Always use fresh standards.
For STCON3 the normal cell constant range is 1.50 – 2.00. (e.g. 1.71 /cm) if the cell constant is outside the range due to an improper calibration, you may need to recover factory settings (see 5.4) , then repeat calibration.
4.2 Sample measurement
Place the conductivity electrode in the sample, wait 10-15 seconds, then press to start the measurement. The measurement icon appears on the display. The measurement icon is blinking during measurement and the display shows the conductivity value of the sample. When measurement reading reaches endpoints (auto endpoint or manual endpoint); you can record the endpoint reading result.
By pressing and holding , you can switch between the auto and manual endpoint modes.
Stability criterion for conductivity measurement: The sensor input signal of the meter may not change by more than 0.4% from the measured average conductivity of the probe in 6 seconds.
4.3 TDS measurement
To perform a TDS measurement, follow the same procedure as for a conductivity measurement.
Press to switch between conductivity and TDS measurement mode.
4.4 Using the memory
4.4.1 Storing a reading
The STARTER 300C can store up to 30 results. Press when the measurement has endpointed. M01 indicates that one result has been stored.
If you press when M30 is displayed, FUL indicates the memory is full. To store further data you will have to clear the memory (see section 4.4.3)

4.4.2 Recalling from memory
Press and hold to recall the stored values from memory when the current measurement has endpointed.
Press or buttons to scroll through the stored results. R01 to R30 indicates which result is being displayed. Press to exit.

4.4.3 Clearing the memory

Continue pressing or buttons to scroll through the stored results until MRCL appears.
Then press , CLr blinks. Press again to confirm the deletion or press to return to the measurement mode without deleting the data.

MAINTENANCE

5.1 Error message

sure that you finish pressing all five keys within two minutes.
Error 2| Measured values out of range
C: > 199.9 mS/cm
TDS: < 0.1 mg/L or > 199.9 g/L| Check if the electrode is properly connected and placed in the sample solution.
Error 3| Measured standard temperature out of range (5 … 35 °C)| Keep the standard temperature within the range for calibration
Error 4| Measuring temperature out of range (0 … 100 °C)| Check if the electrode is properly connected and keep the sample temperature within the range.
Error 9| The current data set has already been stored once| A measurement can only be stored once. Perform a new measurement to store a new data set.

Any more problems, you can contact Ohaus sales rep.
5.2 Meter maintenance
Never unscrew the two halves of the housing!
The STARTER 300C does not require any maintenance other than replacement of depleted batteries. To clean, use a damp cloth.
The housing is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). This material is susceptible to damage by some organic solvents, such as toluene, xylene and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). Any spillage should be immediately wiped off.

5.3 Self diagnosis

Press and hold and simultaneously until the meter displays the full screen. Each icon blinks one after the other. This way you may check whether all icons are correctly shown. The next step is to check that the keys are functioning correctly. This requires user interaction.
When b blinks, five icons are displayed. Press the five keys in any order. Each time you press a key an icon disappears from the screen, continue to press the other keys until all the icons have disappeared. When the self- diagnosis has been completed successfully, PAS appears. If selfdiagnosis fails, error message Err 1 appears.
Note: You have to finish pressing all five keys within two minutes, otherwise Err 1 appears and you will have to repeat the procedure.

5.4 Recover factory settings

• When the meter is off, press and hold & & together for 3 seconds, the screen displays “RST” and blinks, press to reset factory settings (MTC, slope and offset, etc.).
• Press to switch off the meter.

TECHNICAL DATA

6.1 Specifications
Ambient conditions

• Altitude: Up to 2000 m
• Specified Temperature range: 5°C to 40°C
• Humidity: maximum relative humidity 80 % for temperatures up to 30°C decreasing linearly to 50% relative humidity at 40°C
• Installation category: N/A
• Pollution degree: N/A
• Operability is assured at ambient temperatures between 5°C to 40°C

0.1 mg/l…199.9 g/l (TDS)
0 °C…100 °C
Resolution| Automatic range
0.1 °C
Error limits| ± 0.5 % of the measured value
± 0.3 °C
Calibration| 1 point
4 predefined standards
Memory| 30 measurements
Current calibration
Power supply| 4 x AAA(LR03) batteries

250 operating hours
Size/weight| 90 W x 150 D x 35 H mm / 0.16 kg (without batteries)
Display| Liquid crystal
Input| Mini-Din
Temperature-compensation| Linear: 0.00 %/°C…10.00 %/°C
Reference temperature: 20 & 25 °C
IP protection| IP54
Housing| ABS

6.2 Compliance

This product conforms to the EMC Directive 2004/108/EC and the Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC. The Declaration of Conformity is available online at europe.ohaus.com/europe/en/home/support/compliance.aspx.
**** In conformance with the European Directive 2002/96/EC on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) this device may not be disposed of in domestic waste. This also applies to countries outside the EU, per their specific requirements. Please dispose of this product in accordance with local regulations at the collecting point specified for electrical and electronic equipment. If you have any questions, please contact the responsible authority or the distributor from which you purchased this device. Should this device be passed on to other parties (for private or professional use), the content of this regulation must also be related. Disposal instructions in Europe are available online at europe.ohaus.com/europe/en/home/support/weee.aspx. Thank you for your contribution to environmental protection.

FCC Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

ISO 9001 Registration
In 1994, OHAUS Corporation, USA, was awarded a certificate of registration to ISO 9001 by Bureau Veritus Quality International (BVQI), confirming that the OHAUS quality management system is compliant with the ISO 9001 standards requirements. On June 21, 2012, OHAUS Corporation, USA, was re-registered to the ISO 9001:2008 standard.

APPENDIX

7.1 Conductivity standards

7.2 Examples of temperature coefficients (α-value)

Substance at 25 °C HCl| Concentration [%]| Temperature coefficient α [%/°C]
---|---|---
KCl| 10| 1.56
CH3COOH| 10| 1.88
NaCl| 10| 1.69
H2SO4| 10| 2.14
HF| 10| 1.28
| 1.5| 7.2

α-coefficients of conductivity standards for a calculation to reference temperature of 25°C

Standard| Measurement temp.: 15°C| Measurement temp.: 20°C| Measurement temp.: 30°C| Measurement temp.: 35°C
---|---|---|---|---
84 μS/cm| 1.95| 1.95| 1.95| 2.01
1413 μS/cm| 1.94| 1.94| 1.94| 1.99
12.88 mS/cm| 1.90| 1.89| 1.91| 1.95

7.3 Conductivity to TDS conversion factors

Conductivity
At 25 °C| TDS KCI| TDS NaCI
---|---|---
ppm value| Factor| ppm value| Factor
84 pS| 40.38| 0.5048| 38.04| 0.4755
447 pS| 225.6| 0.5047| 215.5| 0.4822
1413 pS| 744.7| 0.527| 702.1| 0.4969
1500 pS| 757.1| 0.5047| 737.1| 0.4914
8974 pS| 5101| 0.5685| 4487| 0.5000
12.88 pS| 7447| 0.5782| 7230| 0.5613
15 pS| 8759| 0.5839| 8532| 0.5688
80 mS| 52.168| 0.6521| 48.384| 0.6048

LIMITED WARRANTY

Ohaus products are warranted against defects in materials and workmanship from the date of delivery through the duration of the warranty period. During the warranty period Ohaus will repair, or, at its option, replace any component(s) that proves to be defective at no charge, provided that the product is returned, freight prepaid, to Ohaus.
This warranty does not apply if the product has been damaged by accident or misuse, exposed to radioactive or corrosive materials, has foreign material penetrating to the inside of the product, or as a result of service or modification by other than Ohaus. In lieu of a properly returned warranty registration card, the warranty period shall begin on the date of shipment to the authorized dealer.
No other express or implied warranty is given by Ohaus Corporation. Ohaus Corporation shall not be liable for any consequential damages.
As warranty legislation differs from state to state and country to country, please contact Ohaus or your local Ohaus dealer for further details.

Ohaus Corporation
7 Campus Drive
Suite 310
Parsippany, NJ 07054 USA
Tel: +1 973-377-9000
Fax: +1 973-944-7177
With offices worldwide
www.ohaus.com PN 12113778 D © Ohaus Corporation 2014, all rights reserved

References

• Lab Balance | Industrial Scales | Lab Equipment | Lab Instruments | OHAUS

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