Name: Water EC Meter
Cost: $60 to $250
Available at: Amazon and manufacturers’ websites
Intended use
Water EC meter is used to measure water Electrical Conductivity (EC). Electric conductivity is a measure of the ability of water to conduct an electric current. The International unit of measurement for EC is deciSiemens per meter (dS/m), which is equivalent to milliSiemens per centimeter (mS/cm). The EC value depends on the concentration of charged ions (e.g. salts) in the water. If you have the EC value of your water, you can calculate the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) value using the following formulas.
TDS (mg/L) = EC (dS/m) x 640 (where EC from 0.1 to 5 dS/m)
TDS (mg/L) = EC (dS/m) x 800 (where EC > 5 dS/m)
How does it work?
The EC meter consists of electrodes that are used as a probe or sensor to measure EC. The probe that is inserted into the water sample applies a voltage between electrodes. The drop in voltage measures the resistance of water, which is converted to conductivity.
Standard EC measures for poultry water
- EC between 0 and 1.56 dS/m (best practice level)
- EC between 1.57 and 4.69 dS/m (acceptable)
- EC greater than 4.70 dS/m (above the acceptable level). If your water EC falls in this category, try to use reverse osmosis to treat the water.
Using the device
To use the EC meter, take the electrode cap off and turn the device on. Insert the electrodes in the water sample and gently stir. Once the measurement reading stabilizes, read the measurement for EC. Always replace the protective cap after each use.
Device Calibration
Before taking any measurements, make sure the meter has been calibrated. Follow the following steps to calibrate the device.
- Press the CAL button to enter calibration mode from measurement mode.
- The meter will enter the calibration mode, displaying “mS/cm 12.88 USE” with CAL tag blinking.
- Pour 2” (5 cm) of standard solution into a container.
- Place the probe in a calibration solution. The probe tip should be centered in the solution and submersed 1.18” (3 cm). The meter will automatically recognize the solution.
- If the solution is not recognized or is out of the accepted range “—- Err“ is displayed. During the calibration process, if the reading is out of the accepted range, the meter will display “—- Err” For example, 20.00 mS/cm blinking means the limit of the measured value is out of range. If the measured temperature is higher than 50.0 ºC or lower than 0.0 ºC, the 50.0 ºC or 0.0 ºC temperature value will blink on the LCD in measure mode.
- If the calibration solution is recognized “REC“ is displayed until the reading is stable and the calibration is accepted.
- After acceptance, the “Stor“ message is displayed and the meter returns to measurement mode.
Mohammad was the PIP team Research Associate (2021-2024) with extensive experience in poultry nutrition. He wrote science articles for newsletters and worked on developing adaptations and recommendations to support the adoption of new managerial tools, products, services, and practices by the poultry industry.
Looking at his poultry industry perspective, Mohammad has been serving the poultry industry through his extensive experience in feed formulation as an animal nutritionist over the past ten years. He was also a university lecturer for 10 years. Mohammad was a member of the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) at the U of A. Mohammad graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Animal Science from the University of Alberta with a Postdoctoral fellowship before moving to his Research Associate position with the PIP team. Serving the poultry industry as an animal nutritionist for more than a decade, Mohammad loves teaching and worked as a university lecturer in Iran and a teaching assistant at the U of A. Mohammad was inspired by Dr. Frank Robinson, practicing the inquiry-based learning method when working as a TA in his “Principles of Animal Agriculture” class. “I have a strong passion on poultry nutrition and have always loved to help poultry producers with optimizing the poultry systems. The challenging part of working with live animals is that you need to be on call even as a nutritionist. However, the joy of seeing healthy animals and help with their welfare overcome the challenging part.”
