TrolMaster PPH-2 Heavy Duty Intank pH Sensor | 3.6 m Cable, BNC, Aqua-X

What the TrolMaster PPH-2 Heavy Duty Probe Reports

The PPH-2 is a single-cylinder pH electrode built to stay in a reservoir and read continuously. It is the commercial, heavy duty pH probe in the Aqua-X line. The cable is 3.6 m, close to twelve feet, and ends in a BNC connector that screws onto the sensor board. On an Aqua-X NFS-1 the board is the AMP-2, and on the NFS-2 and NFS-3 it is the AMP-3. The same probe serves the Green-X and the Tent-X through an AMP-3. The board hands the reading to the controller, and the pH shows on the Aqua-X LCD the moment the probe is wet. It can sit in a tank or in a tee in PVC pipe, which is why TrolMaster calls it both intank and inline. The probe is rated for an environment of 32 to 122 °F at humidity below 90 percent. Its applications are hydroponics, aquariums and laboratory work. A pH electrode is a glass bulb with a reference junction, and it is alive only while it is wet. TrolMaster is firm on the point: the probe is stored with its cap on and in proper storage solution. One that has dried out no longer reads correctly. A probe returned dry and without the cap is outside warranty. It also carries part number TRCPPH2, boxed at 10.8 by 3.4 by 3.75 in and under a pound. The sensor comes alone, and the board is a separate part.

Keeping an Intank pH Probe Honest Through a Cycle

An intank pH probe drifts, and the whole job of owning one is knowing by how much and when. Calibrate it against fresh 7.0 and 4.0 buffer at the start of every cycle, and check it against the 7.0 once a week after that. Rinse the bulb in clean water between buffers, and blot nothing against the glass. Hang the probe mid-depth in the mixed body of the tank, away from the acid inlet and the return. A probe next to the dosing point reads every injection as a plunge and tells the controller to chase it. If it is going inline, choose a tee after the mixing pump where the flow is steady. Keep the bulb in the stream rather than in a dead pocket. Never let the bulb dry. When the tank is drained between cycles, the probe comes out and goes straight into its cap with storage solution. Tap water is wrong for it, and distilled water is worse. Watch the response time at each calibration. A healthy electrode settles in under a minute, and one that takes several minutes to find a buffer is coated or ageing. A coating from nutrient salts lifts in a mild acid wash. A probe that will not calibrate after cleaning has reached the end of its life. A pH electrode is a consumable on a schedule of months, not years. Run the cable so it never bears the weight of the probe. Keep the BNC dry and screw it on finger tight. Label the board input so the EC and pH probes are never swapped at a glance.

Key Features

• Continuous pH in the tank: Reads live on the Aqua-X LCD, no hand meter.
• Heavy duty: The commercially rated pH probe in the line.
• 3.6 m cable: Around twelve feet from tank to board.
• BNC connector: Screws onto the sensor board terminal.
• AMP-2 or AMP-3: AMP-2 on the Aqua-X NFS-1, AMP-3 on the NFS-2, NFS-3, Green-X and Tent-X.
• Intank or inline: A reservoir or a PVC tee.
• 32 to 122 °F: Rated for humidity below 90 percent.
• Store wet, capped: A dried-out electrode is finished and outside warranty.

Technical Specifications