Best Low Cost Portable Water Testing Tool?

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Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a low cost water testing tool? I'm working with a community in Colombia, and would like to test their drinking water to see what kind of bacteria/pathogens are in it.

Thank you,

Brian

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16 Answers

  1. Thanks again for all of the suggestions.  These all seem great, although some are out of my price range right now. 

    David Laker, I couldn't find what you were talking about on Millipore's website.  Do you have a link?

    1 Comment

    1. Millipore has been gobbled up by a larger company.  The kits are available through   https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/mm/mhpc10025?lang=en®ion=US

      Price also changed--about 10X

  3. Hello Brian,

    We have low cost water test kits for total bacteria, called AquaVial.  They can detect total bacteria, E.coli, fungi, molds, etc. from ranges of < 500 cfu/mL, > 500 cfu/mL - 2000 cfu/mL, and + 2000 cfu/mL.

    The results can be determined in 15 minutes. It is a visual/color test.

    Please contact me at petrisca@homes-water.com

    Thanks and kind regards,

    Darian

  6. Hi Brian 

    i  sell the Water Safe City and Countey Water test kits .to EPA standards .

    They do a yes no to Ecolo as well as Lead Cooper Chlorine Nitrates Nitritrs Hardness and pH Values

    Regards 

    Paul

    www.enviropaul.com.au

  7. Hi Brian,

    Please check out our portable water quality test kits that are easy for anyone to use and are designed for on-site, field level testing in low resource, rural and remote areas.

    Our CBT Kit for E. coli  is a simple test that   detects and quantifies (MPN) E. coli in a 100 mL sample. No labs, electricity, expensive equipment, cold chain or highly trained technicians are required. It enables ambient temp incubation at 25 degrees C and above and works at variable temperatures.

    Quantitative test results are obtained by easy color match.

    We also provide quantitative CBT Kit for H2S bacteria, which is a lower cost yet very informative test for fecal contamination in water.

    Last but not least, we have a collection of portable water testing field kits.

    Visit us a www.aquagenx.com.

    Please let me know if you have questions or would like additional information!

    Lisa Hirsh
    Aquagenx
    lhirsh@aquagenx.com

  8. Thank you for all your suggestions. I'll take a look at all of them, but the 3M sounds like it could be the way to go.

    The water in community I'm working in hasn't been tested before, so this will be used for a baseline test to see what we're working with. 

  9. Hi

    Noah again

    Check

    Potakit of wagtech/palintest

    Answered on by

  10. Hi Brian.

    I have over 30 yrs water quality monitiring exp. Own water consulting comp. That works in Horn of Africa. And explored many portable test technologues. 

    One the best that beats technologies is Wagteh of the UK.

    Chech their website...wagtech.

    Or check mine

    Globalwaterconsulting.org

    Contact me at 2146772941....dallas, TX

    Answered on by

  12. Hi Brian.

    As mentioned by Dwight Petri disk of 3M is a low cost option (2 to3 US$ per test). It does test 1 ml so is not an official test (which should be 100 ml) but it indicates the number of bacteria and the type. SMART Centres  often use it to create awareness. For instance wells, boreholes with clear water can be contaminated and you can show that with a simple test.  Regards  Henk Holtslag  SMART Centre Group. 

  13. Hi Brian, low cost water testing can be done with field testing kits commonly called FTK in India. With little training, community or the community workers can test the potability of water. In case of tests for bacteria or pathogen present in water these kits can provide a reasonable answers. FTKs are used for first level information and the detailed analysis and confirmation can be done with laboratory test methods. 

  14. Millipore make an all-in-one "popsical" that is cheap and easy.  Fill the holder, dip the popsical in a few seconds, throw out the sample, replace the popsical and rather than find an incubator, carry it in your jock for a day.  98.6 does it.  

  15. Petri-disks by 3M are cheap and easy.  You need to incubate the samples to show presence of e-coli which is easy to do in Columbia, just find a warm but not hot room.  Sensafe has bottles you fill that check for both coliform and e-coli.  They are more expensive than the Petri-disks but real handy.  Here is their website.  https://sensafe.com/waterworks-ez-cult-bacteria-absence-of-coliform-with-e-coli-using-uv-light-extra/
     

  16. There are many  Commercial testers.  try this site. http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/testkits-all/