Misco introduces the first-ever digital salometers which provide increased accuracy and efficiency when measuring the percent saturation and freeze point of sodium chloride salt-brine solutions
The digital salometer addresses demands for a faster and more reliable test method.
Sodium chloride salt-brine solutions are used for processing and preserving meat and seafood, as a refrigerant, an antifreeze, and as a replacement for rock salt in roadway deicing.
The problem with traditional analogue salometers is that they are cumbersome to use and time consuming.
They are simply a glass or plastic hydrometer with a special scale that displays degrees SAL instead of specific gravity.
In use, the salometer is floated in a graduated cylinder containing salt brine.
The reading is taken at the point at which the surface of the fluid crosses the analogue scale; the temperature must then be read with a thermometer, followed by a manual temperature correction of the reading.
There is no method for field calibrating the apparatus; it is difficult to resolve the tiny scale divisions; it must be thoroughly cleaned and dried to prevent salt residue from influencing subsequent readings; and it is easily broken.
"For years, industry has been demanding a faster, easier, and more accurate means of testing salt-brine solutions.
"The Palm Abbe Digital Salometer overcomes the shortcomings of the older analogue technology," according to Michael Caminer, Misco's director of marketing.
"With only two drops of solution, the digital salometer provides an instant determination of sodium chloride salt-brine saturation or freezing point".
The digital salometer relies on the proprietary optical engine in Misco's Palm Abbe refractometer platform.
The refractive index of the salt-brine solution is measured and is internally converted to percent saturation or freezing point.
A simple, user-friendly interface consists of two buttons: one to take readings and the other to step through various menu options.
The large dual-line LCD display is easily read, even in dim light, and readings are automatically temperature compensated for fluids read between 0 and 50C.
Calibration of the salometer is also automatic and does not require special calibration solutions or tools.
A digital salometer removes the subjectivity associated with analogue salometers that require users to interpret where a boundary line crosses tiny scale divisions.
Two models are available: one reads percent saturation and freeze point in degrees Fahrenheit, and the other reads percent saturation and freeze point in degrees Celsius.
