There’s a school of thought that says you shouldn’t mess around with a solution that’s already working, but that’s never seemed to stop anyone in this community. When [Skye] was looking at the current state of connected pH meters they realized there was incredible room for improvement.
Called the Nectar Monitor, this pH meter is a more modern take on what is currently offered in this space. Open source and based on the ESP32, it’s accessible to most people with a soldering iron, fits into a standard project box, and includes other modern features like USB and WiFi connectivity. It can even measure conductivity and temperature. But the main improvement here is that unlike other monitors that can only be submerged temporarily, this one is designed to be under water for long time periods thanks to a specially designed probe and electrical isolation.
This design makes it an appealing choice for people with aquariums, hydroponic farms, or any other situation where constant monitoring of pH is extremely important to maintaining a balanced system. We’ve seen some unique takes on hydroponics before especially, including this build that moves the plants instead of the nutrient solution and this fully automated indoor garden.
Uhm, i think there’s have quite a bit of a misunderstanding… pH/EC probes are ALWAYS submerged, because otherwise they can’t measure anything, and the electrical isolation has nothing to do with being submerged/waterproof, but to prevent interference between the two probes – because they both measure current, at the same time, in the same liquid. It doesn’t say anywhere that the box itself can be submerged, which would also be pretty pointless.
So in short: just another pH/EC monitoring project, just with a custom PCB.
How about you show off your projects (if you even have any) instead of criticizing others who actaully did something good.
okay… that’s a pretty harsh response. Did you do really do any research about J. Grewes projects before you typed “show off your projects”?
However, I have to agree with the comment of J. Grewe as I’m wondering the same thing, what is it that makes this design so special as I can’t seem to find any info (on this Hackaday page or in the provided link) about WHY this design is actually an improvement, what technical challenge was solved and more importantly HOW? Just mentioning something is specially insulated or protected against water doesn’t cut it for many of us here. We like details so that we all can actually learn something from it.
I don’t see it as criticizing the project, but the text.
I personally think it’s a great project for those that have the need for it. When I need to measure pH I do it using sensors my employer buys and you end up with the nke wimo plus or something else very expensive but very precise. But I’m measuring pH levels in the oceans, rivers and lakes all around the world, not in an aquarium. This might (text doesn’t really specify why) be a great solution for home use.
I don’t see it as criticizing the project, but the text.
I personally think it’s a great project for those that have the need for it. When I need to measure pH I do it using sensors my employer buys and you end up with the nke wimo plus or something else very expensive but very precise. But I’m measuring pH levels in the oceans, rivers and lakes all around the world, not in an aquarium. This might (text doesn’t really specify why) be a great solution for home use.
Wow! Harsh response to valid criticism of the writeup.
For continuous monitoring of Ph/EC the probes need both electrical isolation and to be continuously submerged. That’s not really a feature so much as a basic requirement.
I was excited by the writeup cause it read like they’d developed a way to make continuous Ph/EC probes at home. Then I read the project itself and saw that it just uses COTS probes.
The project itself seems to be nothing more than a pointer to a crowdsupply campaign. There’s nothing there but a few pictures and advertising text.
Home-made pH probe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkgUStPq6g4
There are commercial pH sensors with BT/WiFi for homeowner’s pools. My understanding is that they don’t work very well over time because the probe needs periodic calibration. This is done by using fluids with known pH. Most homeowners don’t want that “hassle”. How does this compare ?