If you work for a water board or conduct scientific research, then you will appreciate easily being able to monitor the quality of groundwater and surface water. You can do this with the help of a water data logger. A water data logger gives you information about temperatures, cloudiness or light transmission, pH values, dissolved oxygen, conductivity and salinity of water. Water data loggers also give you information about water levels.
Water data loggers continuously record water quality without you having to do anything yourself, making forgotten measurements or lost papers a thing of the past. Comprehensive, user-friendly analysis software helps you map out all measured values.
You can easily download readings from your water data logger using Bluetooth or other connectivity methods.
A water data logger accurately records the values you need to measure. This information can be periodically downloaded. You can do this on-site either with a single universal, handy and waterproof ONSET mobile reader or using a cable and a laptop. Pedak has recently started supplying ONSET Hobo Data loggers with Bluetooth connectivity. You can download data to your phone or tablet without the need for a reader. So it’s even faster and more convenient!
Which water data logger do you need?
Choosing the best water data logger depends on what you want to use it for. There are water data loggers that measure temperature and light. Other loggers measure conductivity, pH values, dissolved oxygen (DO) or water levels. Sometimes, there are various options are available among the different types of water data loggers.
When deciding which data logger is the right one, it is a good idea to ask yourself a few questions.
- What degree of accuracy do you need from your water data logger? Do you only need to see that changes are happening, or do you need accurate measurements of parameters such as conductivity values or water levels?
- At what depth do you want to take measurements?
- Do you want an easy way of checking the collected data on-site?
- Will you be taking readings in an estuary or an area exposed to fresh, salt or brackish water? Choose your water data logger accordingly.
- Check the water data logger’s response time. Do you need to take readings every second, every minute, every 15 minutes or every hour?
- Does the sensor have to be easy to clean?
- Check whether the water data logger can be easily submerged. Does it need a sinkweight?
- How do you want to fix the water data logger in place? For example, does it need to have a mounting eye?
- The smaller the water data logger, the easier will be to handle and hide. What is important to you?
- A water data logger with an optical interface in the housing will prevent water damage or errors when retrieving data. When it comes to waterproofing, a mechanical plug-in connection is a weak point.
What requirements does the software of your water data logger need to meet?
The software that analyses and displays the collected data must be user-friendly and compatible with your operation. Always check whether the software meets your requirements when choosing it. Here are some other helpful tips:
- Check whether the device allows wireless configuration and retrieval.
- Can you receive alarms without logging in?
- Check whether you can enter your own coefficients.
- Do you need software that adjusts compensation values?
- Check whether it is easy to enter calibration points.
- Check whether you can combine measurement data from different data loggers on a single graphic display.
- Select software that enables data to be easily exported to a spreadsheet etc. It is also handy if the software lets you copy charts and other graphic representations into other programmes so you can create reports.
- The software should allow you to save any changes you make to charts.
- Can the measurement data be shared directly by WhatsApp or email and can it be uploaded to a server or network printer?
So you can see, there is a lot to take into consideration when you are looking for a water data logger.
