Spectrophotometer still going strong after 27 years 14 December 2012

A Hach Lange DR3 spectrophotometer, purchased back in 1985, has been found in good working order, used by Wicklow County Council for testing colour, turbidity, pH, residual aluminium and residual fluoride at a water treatment plant.

The machine came to light when Michael Whelan, of Wicklow County Council, responded to Hach Lange's competition to find the oldest operational Hach or Lange photometer in Ireland as part of its launch celebrations for its new DR 3900 and DR 6000 spectrophotometers.

"Amazingly, we have only ever had to replace the bulb, such is the quality of Hach instruments," comments Whelan.

"I am looking forward to using the DR3900, with barcode identification, because water quality testing will be easier and quicker," he adds.

According to Hach Lange, its DR 3900 uses barcode recognition to ensure that every sample is tested for the correct parameter. The instrument will also read the sample barcode to determine the batch number and expiry date, and this data will also be assigned to the analytical result.

In addition, RFID (radio frequency identification) is being used to ensure that an accurate, reliable, traceable record is created for every sample. Plant engineers are also able to define their own set points for sampling locations, so that any results falling outside these thresholds are flagged in real time.

Brian Tinham

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