ORP Probe Maintenance

[old95er]

I have been dosing ozone for the past month using an Ozotech unit, monitored/controlled by a milwaukee ORP unit.

It seems that every few days the ORP reading reaches over 400. I heard that the probe needs to be cleaned often, so to be curious, I cleaned it with vinegar and a q-tip. The reading then dropped to 300 or so.

Is this normal? Are there higher grade probes that will not need to be cleaned so often?

 

[RichConley]

Yes, its normal. No, there aren't better probes.

Its not the probes that are the problem, its that crap grows on them.

 

[ScubaTC]

I recently got a Milwaukee ORP controller. How long could the probe -probably- go without cleaning and still keep a good reading? I realize this depends on growth in the tank, but figured there may be an average timeframe... once a month, every few months, etc.

 

[Fishbulb2]

Sorry I can't directly answer your question because I don't use ozone. But in general, probes are like every other piece of equipment in out tanks. The more often you clean it, the easier it will be to clean and the longer it will last. I would just dip it in vinegar for 5 minutes once a month and that would probably be all it would take to keep it clean. If you wait every 6 months, then it will probably be a lot more work.

 

[old95er]

so far it seems that I need to clean with a qtip dipped in vinegar every few days.

 

[USC-fan]

yes you have to clean it a lot....