Can anyone recommend a good home test kit to test for hardness? I bought a $10 kit at Home Depot, but I got only two samples out of it, and it didn't seem to be as precise as I would like.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Brian
Hardness of what? Steel? Soft metals? Water? Plastic?
They all take different tests.
Mike
Kitchen or bathroom scale with a Moh's converter.
No need for a kit. Moh's scale is universally accepted and requires no special tools or equipment, but you do need up to 10 materials:
1 Talc Fingernail scratches it easily. 2 Gypsum Fingernail scratches it. 3 Calcite Copper penny scratches it. 4 Fluorite Steel knife scratches it easily. 5 Apatite Steel knife scratches it 6 Feldspar Steel knife doesn't scratch it easily, but scratches glass. 7 Quartz Hardest common mineral. It scratches steel and glass easily. 8 Topaz Harder than any common mineral. 9 Corundum It scratches Topaz 10 Diamond It is the hardest of all minerals.
Tell me why you need to change the diamond stylus of a phonograph record? Diamonds are the hardest substances known to man, and surely much harder than vinyl. Why would a phonograph needle ever wear out?
Since you got the kit at Home Depot it must be a test for water hardness.
The tests are available all over the internet. eBay is a good way to go.
Sorry about the lack of clarity in my post.
I'm looking for a way to test for hardness (total hardness) in incoming well water.
Nick
If I remember, the hardest is diamond. And some where down the scale include granite, quartz, and talc is way down the list. Maybe you should contact some other geological supply houses, and see if they have kits with more samples of hardness test stones.
Any pet shop will sell aquarium hardness tests which will serve the same purpose, just make sure to get the GH (general hardness) as they may also have KH (carbonate hardness) kits sold separately, or the KH may come as part of the GH depending on the kit. Also, it depends on the kit whether the results will be in ppm or degrees hardness, but the conversion is straightforward - 1 degree of hardness = 17 ppm. The titration kits, the ones which use an indicator which is dripped into the sample one drop at a time, are more accurate than the dip strips in my experience. The titration kits are easy to use and the one I use gives an accuracy of 1 degree of hardness.
Here in GA, for about $20, you can get a test done by the Extension Service which will not only tell you the hardness and pH, but the concentration of other minerals that may cause health problems, tastes, odors or stains in your fixtures. All that is needed is to go to the extension office to get the sample container and instructions, follow the instructions and then return the sample to the Extension Service. IIRC it took about a week to get the results back. The results are easy to read and any set standards are listed for comparison to your results.
Later, Mike (substitute strickland in the obvious location to reply directly)
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Most men just let their women tell them how hard it is. If the woman starts to moan, it's probably hard enough. Otherwise, talk to your doctor for a prescription. If you insist on doing it alone. Take a tape measure and measure it when it's soft, and again when it's hard, and using a calculator, determine the percentage of difference. If it gets at least 50% longer when it's hard, you should be doing ok.
That's a very good question.
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Rocks are surely much harder than water. Why would a rock in a river ever become a smooth pebble?
the diamond doesn't wear out the surrounding interface hardware wears out ..
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