The DR2800 is so advanced that it replaces the DR2400/2500, the LASA30/50/100 and the Lico 100, offering the widest range of ready-to-use (tube tests) and parameters covering all major water tests
Hach Lange says the 'voice of the customer' drives everything it does.
So, before developing the next class of spectrophotometers, its development engineers did not simply incorporate the latest technology, they contacted their massive customer base and simply posed the question 'What would you like to see in an ideal spectrophotometer?' The feedback featured a number of key requirements.
First, the spectrophotometer should be capable of accepting all of the common Hach and Lange tests.
Second, it should be extremely reliable and accurate.
Third it should be flexible, but quick and easy to use - and finally it must be cost-effective.
Hach Lange says that its DR2800 spectrophotometer was designed to meet all of the needs for testing wastewater, drinking water and process water.
The DR2800 is so advanced that it replaces the DR2400/2500, the LASA30/50/100 and the Lico 100.
It achieves this by meeting its customers' stated needs.
Delivered pre-programmed with in excess of 200 tests, the DR2800 offers the widest range of both ready-to-use (tube tests) and parameters covering all of the major tests from ammonium to zinc including BOD, COD, TOC, nutrients, metals, disinfectants and surfactants.
Previously, users of Hach and Lange ready-to-use test tubes were unable to benefit from the other party's tests.
However, with the DR2800 users can now run both the Lange 13mm tests and the Hach powder pillow and Accuvac chemistries through the same unit.
Reliability and a comprehensive after-sales service come as standard with every Hach Lange product, says the company, but one of the greatest strengths of the DR2800 is its accuracy.
The tight spectral bandwidth (8nm) of the high quality optics within the DR2800, coupled with a tungsten lamp with reference beam to eliminate any ageing effects, result in extremely high levels of accuracy, says the company.
Instrument design has ensured that ambient light does not interfere with the reading and readings can be taken without the need for a lid.
Ready-to-use test tubes follow standard international test methods and it is important that sample vessels are without scratches, dust or finger marks.
However, Hach Lange acknowledges that such perfection is not always achievable, so each sample is rotated and ten measurements are taken before an instantaneous indication of concentration (or transmittance or absorbance).
Any unusual measurements, as a result of scratches etc, are ignored.
Human error can sometimes eliminate instrument accuracy, and for this reason Hach Lange 13mm tubes are bar coded and recognised by a laser within the instrument.
As a result, the cuvette is identified and the correct calibration data is applied automatically.
This also makes the test procedure faster and easier.
A further design feature to boost accuracy on certain tubes is the Dosicap-Zip, an adaptation that allows a precise quantity of solid reagent to be added to the sample.
Speed and ease of use are further improved by a large backlit touch-screen with intuitive software.
Diagrammatical test procedures are supplied on a card with each pack of test tubes and a USB connection is provided for data collection with a memory stick, transfer to PC or for printing.
So, the DR2800 really has been designed for maximum simplicity, saus Hach Lange.
Flexibility is another key feature, and a facility for up to 50 user-methods is available as standard in addition to the ever-increasing range of Hach Lange tests, updates for which can be downloaded and transferred to the DR2800 with the USB stick.
In addition to the 13mm Hach Lange round tubes, the DR2800 can also accommodate 10mm, 50mm and 1-inch rectangular cells in addition to 1-inch round cells.
A battery power option means that testing can take place almost anywhere, providing up to 40 hours of operation before recharge.
The move to a 13mm test tube provides a number of other, mostly environmental, benefits; there is less packaging, and there are less chemicals for disposal.
Furthermore the tubes are provided in ecologically sustainable cardboard boxes.
Hach Lange says it is so excited about the prospects for the DR2800 that it has organised a major marketing campaign to make sure that every possible customer is made aware of the advantages that it offers.
This will include articles and advertisements in the major laboratory, water and environmental press, coupled with newsletters, demonstrations and workshops.
Sarah Blayds, who is responsible for Hach Lange marketing in the UK, believes "the DR2800 represents a major step forward because in the past customers with Hach equipment were unable to utilise all of the Lange tests, and vice versa, but with the DR2800 both sets of customers will have access to the widest range of tests in the world".
