Apera Instruments PH60 User manual

PH60 Series Premium pH Testers
Instruction Manual
PH60 pH Tester
PH60S Spear pH Tester
PH60F Flat pH Tester
APERA INSTRUMENTS, LLC
www.aperainst.com

1
Thank you for purchasing the Apera Instruments PH60 Series Premium pH Tester. Please
read this manual thoroughly before use in order to properly use the instrument and have a
reliable testing experience. Apera Instruments reserves the rights to update the information
of this manual without giving prior notices.
For video tutorials, please go to support.aperainst.com
Table of Contents
1. Battery Installation ......................................................................................................................2
2. Keypad Functions .......................................................................................................................2
3. Complete Kit............................................................................................................................3
4. Preparation Before Use ..............................................................................................................3
5. pH Calibration ............................................................................................................................4
6. pHMeasurement ........................................................................................................................5
7. Parameter Setting ......................................................................................................................6
8. ORP Measurement .....................................................................................................................8
9. Technical Specifications ..............................................................................................................8
10. Other Specifications .................................................................................................................8
11. Probe Replacement .................................................................................................................9
12. Warranty..............................................................................................................................10

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1. Battery Installation
Please install batteries according to the following steps. *Please note direction of batteries:
All POSITIVE SIDES (“+”) FACING UP. (Wrong installation of batteries will cause
damage to the tester and potential hazards)
2. Keypad Functions
Short press: < 2 seconds
Long press: > 2 seconds
1. Short press to turn on the tester and long press
to turn off the tester.
2.When turned off, long press to enter parameter
setting.
3.In measurement mode, short press to turn on
backlight.
1. In measurement mode, short press to switch
parameter pH→ORP
2. In mode setting, short press to change
parameter (Unidirectional).
1. Long press to enter calibration mode;
2.In calibration mode, short press to confirm
calibration;
3.When measured value is locked, short press
to unlock.
+
+
﹣﹣
+
+
﹣
﹣
① Pull the battery cap up
②
Slide the battery cap along to the direction of arrow
③
Open the battery cap
④
Insert the batteries (ALL POSITIVE SIDES FACING UP) (see graph)
⑤
Close the battery cap
⑥
Slide and lock the battery cap along to the direction of arrow
⑦ Fit the tester’s cap while making sure to push all the way down. The tester’s
waterproof design may be compromised if the cap is not fitted correctly.

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3. Complete Kit
4. Preparation Before Use
4.1 PH60 and PH60F: If it is first-time use or the tester hasn’t been used for over 30 days, pour
certain amount (about a quarter of the probe cap) of 3M KCL solution in the probe cap, and soak
the probe for about 3 to 15 minutes. The black fill line on the cap does NOT indicate how much the
KCL soaking solution should be poured in. The volume of KCL solution for soaking the probe
should be less than that. The black fill line indicates the minimum volume for sample testing in the
probe cap. Users can store the KCL solution in the probe cap when the tester is not in use to keep
the sensor’s accuracy.
To achieve maximum accuracy, we recommend soaking the probe for one night (12 hours) to
activate the glass membrane thoroughly.
4.2 PH60S: Do not keep thespear probein a dry condition. Thespear probe should always bestored
in the soaking solution. If the soaking solution was contaminated, please replace with new ones
timely.
4.3 The soaking solution is 3M KCL. One bottle of 10mL soaking solution comes with the tester kit.
Users can make this solution by themselves. Preparation: Dissolve 25g KCl in 100ml of purewater.

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5. pH Calibration
5.1 Rinse the probe in pure water and dry it.
5.2 Pour certain amount (about half volume of calibration bottles) of pH7.00 pH and pH 4.00 buffer
solutions in separate calibration bottles.
5.3 Long press to enter calibration mode; Short press to exit.
5.4 Dip the probe in pH 7.00 buffer solution, stir gently, and allow it to stand still
in the buffer solution until a stable reading is reached. When stable icon
comes up and stays on the LCD screen (as shown in Diagram 2), short press
to complete 1-point calibration and the tester will return to measurement mode.
Indication Icon will appear on the bottom left of the LCD screen.
5.5 Rinse the probe in pure water and dry it. Dip the probe into pH 4.00 buffer solution, follow the
steps in 5.1~5.4 to complete 2-point calibration. Indication icons will appear on the
bottom left of the LCD screen. If necessary, dip the probe into pH 10.01 buffer solution, follow the
steps in 5.1~5.4,to complete 3-point calibration. Indication icon will appear on the
bottom left of the LCD screen.
5.6 Notes
a) Tester can perform 1~3 points automatic calibration. *Please note that pH 7.00 or pH 6.86
buffer solution must be used to conduct 1st point calibration. Then use other buffer solution to
conduct 2nd or 3rd point calibration. Tester will recognize 5 kinds of pH buffer solutions. For
details, please refer to the following chart:
Calibration
USA Series
NIST Series
Indication icon
Recommended
1-point
7.00 pH
6.86 pH
Accuracy ≥ 0.1 pH
2-point
7.00 pH,
4.00 pH or 1.68 pH
6.86 pH,
4.01 pH or 1.68 pH
Range < 7.00 pH
7.00 pH,
10.01 pH or 12.45 pH
6.86 pH,
9.18 pH or 12.45 pH
Range <7.00 pH
3-point
7.00 pH, 4.00 or 1.68
pH,
10.01 or 12.45 pH
6.86 pH, 4.01 or 1.68
pH, 9.18 pH or 12.45 pH
Range: 0 to 14.00 pH

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b) pH 4.00 and pH 7.00 buffer solutions are included in the test kit, but pH 10.01 is not. Users
can purchase it separately if needed. The buffer solutions poured into the calibration bottles
are NOT for one-time use. They can be used for about ten to fifteen times as long as they are
not contaminated and the bottles are covered when not in use. After that, we recommend
replacing the buffer solutions in the calibration bottles with new ones that are in the buffer
bottles (50ml ones) to keep the accuracy of the standard buffer solutions.
*Do not pour used buffer solutions back into the buffer bottles in case of contamination.
c) The tester has self-diagnostic functions:
Icons
Self-diagnostic information
Checking and methods to fix
Wrong pH buffer solution or the range of
calibration solution exceeds standard.
a) Check whether pH buffer solution is correct
(1st point calibration must be 7.00).
b) Check whether the probe is damaged.
c) Start the calibration from pH 7.00, then pH
4.00 or 10.01
Press key when measuring value is not
stable during measurement.
Press key after icon appears and
stays for 2 to 3seconds.
6. pH Measurement
6.1 Short press to turn on the tester. Rinse the probe in pure water and dry it. Dip the probe in
sample solution, stir gently, and allow it to stand until a stable reading isreached.
Get readings after comes up and stays for about 2 to 3seconds.
6.2 Special notes
a) Applications of each model:
Model/Probe
Application
PH60/Bulb probe
Most common liquid measurement such as
hydroponics, aquaculture, pools and spas,
water treatment, cooling towers, etc.
PH60S/Spear probe
Cheese, sushi rice, meat, fruit, bread, soil, solid culture medium
and semi-solid medium measurement; Most common liquid
measurement.
PH60F/Flat probe
Flat surface measurement such as skin, paper, fabric, leather and so on;
micro sample testing; Most common liquid measurement.
b) PH60S Spear probe testers are widely used for solids containing water or semi-solid medium.
When conducting such tests, pay attention to insert probe evenly, and be careful to prevent
probe from damage. If the medium is too hard (such as meat or fruits), please bore a small hole
with a knife before inserting the probe.

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c) PH60F Flat probe testers are mostly for flat surface sample test.
■For skin test: skin should be without sweat or dirt, nor be overly cleaned (do not use facewash
products before testing) to avoid affecting measurement results, dampen skin with some distilled
water, slightly force flat probe onto the skin, get readings after valuestabilized.
■For paper, fabric and leather test: add 1~2 drops of distilled water on surface, then perform
measurements.
■For meat and fruit test: use a clean knife to cut the sample open, then perform measurements.
■For micro sample testing, use a container with an inner diameter<=19mm and a flat bottom. The
tester can test volume >=0.5ml.
6.3 The probe must be cleaned thoroughly after each use. If used to test meat, soapy water
should be used to clean the grease.
6.4 Special notes:
1) For pH measurement of any cooked food (such as sushi, cheese, etc.), it should be a
sampling test. That means test samples will no longer be edible.
2) The instruments will NOT give accurate and stable pH readings when testing distilled or
deionized water. This because distilled and deionized water do not have enough ions present for
the electrode to function properly. To measure distilled or deionized water’s pH, users need to use
a specialized electrode.
3) Do not store probe in distilled water or deionized water because they will cause damage to the
glass membrane of the pH probe. The probe should be stored in 3M KCL solution for best
accuracy or stored without any liquid.
7. Parameter Setting
7.1 Setup Menu
Symbol
Contents
Parameter
Factory Default
P1
Select pH buffer solution
USA –NIST
USA
P2
Low value measurement alarm setting
0 ~ 14.00pH
0
P3
High value measurement alarm setting
0 ~ 14.00pH
14.00
P4
Select automatic lock
Off –On
Off
P5
Select backlight
Off - 1 - On
1
P6
Select temperature unit
℃ - ℉
℃
P7
Restore to factory default
No –Yes
No

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7.2 Parameter setup method
When turned off, long press to enter parameter setting→Short press toswitch P1-P2-
…P7→Short parameter flashing→Short press to chooseparameter→Short press
to confirm→Long press to switchoff.
7.3 Parameter setting instruction
a) Select standard pH buffer solution (P1):
There are two options of standard buffer solutions: USA series and NIST series. Factory default is
USA series, for details see clause 4.7.
b) Heads-Up Function (P2 and P3)
For example, the following
■Alarm when measured value ≥ 3.20 pH:
Preset lowest value (P2) = 3.20 pH, highest value (P3) = 14.00 pH, when measured value ≥ 3.20
pH (stable displays on LCD); LCD displays red backlight.
■Alarm when measured value ≤ 8.60 pH:
Preset highest value (P3) = 8.60 pH, lowest value (P2) = 0.00 pH, when measured value ≤ 8.60 pH
(stable displays on LCD); LCD displays red backlight.
■Alarm when measured value in range of 6.50 pH and 7.20 pH:
Preset lowest value (P2) = 6.50 pH, highest value (P3) = 7.20 pH, when measured value in range
of 6.50 pH and 7.20 pH (stable displays on LCD); LCD displays red backlightalarm.
c) Automatic lock (P4)
Select “On” to activate auto lock function. When reading is stable for more than 10 seconds, the
tester will lock the value automatically, and HOLD icon will display on LCD. Press key to
cancel reading hold.
d) Backlight (P5)
“Off”-turn off backlight, “On”-always turn on backlight, “1”- backlight will last for 1 minute.
e) Factory default setting (P7)
Select “Yes” to recover instrument calibration to the theoretical value (pH value in zero potential is

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7.00pH, slope is 100%), parameter setting return to initial value. This function can be used when
instrument does not work properly in calibration or measurement. Calibrate and measure again
after recovering the instrument to factory default status.
8. ORP Measurement
Refer to Clause 11 to replace OPR probe (to be purchased separately), press key to enter
ORP mode. Rinse the probe in pure water and dry it. Dip the probe in sample solution, stir gently,
and allow it to stand still until a stable reading is reached. Get readings after comes up and
stays.
9. Technical Specifications
pH
Measuring Range
-2.00 ~ 16.00pH
Resolution
0.01pH
Accuracy
±0.01pH
Calibration Points
1 ~ 3 points
Automatic temperature compensation
0 ~ 50℃
ORP
(mV)
Measuring Range
± 1000mV
Resolution
1mV
Accuracy
±0.2% F.S
Temp.
Measuring Range
0 ~ 50℃
Resolution
0.1℃
Accuracy
±0.5℃
10. Other Specifications
LCD
Clear LCD screen, 180°Viewing angle
Blue: Measurement; Green: Calibration; Red: Heads-Up Mode
Reading Lock
HOLD
Low-Voltage Warning
Flashing, reminder of battery replacement
Auto. Power-Off
In 8 minutes without operation
Water Proof Rating
IP67, floats on water
Power
DC3V, AAA batteries×4
Battery Life
Continuous operation＞2000 hours
Dimension/Weight
Tester: 40×40×178mm/133g; Case: 255×210×50mm/700g;

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11. Probe Replacement
11.1 Twist off the probe ring, unplug the probe, plug in new probe (pay attention to probe’s
position), and twist on the probe ring.
11.2 The model numbers of replacement probes that are compatible with the tester are:
PH60-E (Regular pH glass bulb probe)
PH60S-E (Spear pH probe for solids/semi-solids pH testing)
PH60F-E (Flat pH probe for surface pH testing)
ORP60-E (ORP probe)