Hanna Instruments offers a wide variety of pH electrodes that are designed for many different applications. The type of glass used for sensing pH, bulb shape, body material, type of junction, type of reference and electrolyte used are just some of the design considerations.
The HI1413B uses low temperature (LT) glass, flat tip bulb, glass body, and the open junction with viscolene gel electrolyte.
Low-Temperature Glass Formulation
The glass tip uses a special LT glass formulation with a lower resistance of approximately 50 megaohms compared to general-purposes (GP) with a resistance of about 100 megaohms. This is beneficial since many food products are stored at low temperatures. As the temperature of the glass decreases in the sample, the resistance of the LT glass will increase approaching that of GP glass at ambient temperatures. If using GP glass, the resistance would increase above the optimum resistance for the high impedance input of a pH meter. The HI1413B is suitable to use with samples that measure from 0 to 50°C.
Flat Glass Tip
A flat tip is recommended to optimize surface contact for measurement on the skin, leather, agar plates, paper, and samples that cannot easily be penetrated.
Glass Body
The glass body is ideal for laboratory use. The glass is resistant to many harsh chemicals and is easily cleaned. The glass body also allows for a fast transfer of heat to the internal reference electrolyte. The mV generated by the reference cell is temperature-dependent. The faster the electrode reaches equilibrium, the steadier the reference potential.
Open Junction Reference
Suspended solids and proteins found in food products will clog a conventional ceramic reference junction. This clogging will impede the measurement circuit between the indicating electrode and the internal reference resulting in slower response time, erratic readings, and frequent electrode replacement. The open junction design consists of a solid gel interface (viscolene) between the sample and the internal Ag/AgCl reference. This interface not only prevents silver from entering the sample, but also makes it impermeable to clogging, resulting in a fast response and stable readings.
BNC Connector
The HI1413B uses a BNC connector. This type of connector is universal in that it can be used on any pH meter that has the female BNC probe input. Other types of connectors include DIN, screw type, T-type, and 3.5mm to name a few. These types of connectors tend to be proprietary for a particular type of meter and are not interchangeable.
