Comparison Soeks Ecovizor F3 vs Anmez GreenTest 3

General purpose of the device. Note that there are many models that combine several purposes at once: for example, a nitrate tester is often combined with a dosimeter or aquatester.

— Nitrate tester. Nitrate testers in the original sense of the word are devices designed to measure the level of nitrates (nitric acid salts) in various products. Initially, nitrates are an important component of mineral fertilizers, they serve as a building material for plants and are found in almost all living things. However, an excess of nitrates in food is harmful to the human body. Therefore, the ability to measure their concentration in a particular product is important for those who care about a healthy diet.

— Dosimeter. Instruments for measuring background radiation. In this case, the function of the dosimeter is rarely the only one, most often it is provided as an addition to the nitrate tester (see above). Nevertheless, such devices are quite capable of both determining the general radiation situation indoors or outdoors, and registering radiation from products and objects, detecting objects contaminated with radiation. You need to follow certain measurement rules for this; they are most often indicated in the instructions, in extreme cases, you can turn to special sources.

— Aquatester. Instruments for determining the overall quality of water. Th...e main criterion for such an assessment is the level of mineralization — the amount of impurities dissolved in water. At the same time, more or less advanced aquatester checks not just the total amount of impurities, but the content of specific substances — hardness salts, organic compounds and heavy metal ions, and based on these three data, they derive a complex result. Of course, no device is perfectly accurate, but with the help of an aquatester, you can quite reliably separate potable water from unsuitable. In addition, such devices are indispensable for assessing the performance of filters — it is enough to measure the water indicators before and after filtration.

— Indicator of electromagnetic fields. Devices designed to detect electromagnetic fields and measure their intensity. Strong electromagnetic radiation adversely affects both various electronic devices and the human body. The sources of such fields can be not only external emitters (power lines, powerful radars), but also home devices — for example, a microwave with a shielding defect. EMF indicators allow you to identify adverse levels of electromagnetic pollution and take timely action.

— Salt concentration tester. Instruments for measuring the amount of table salt in various foods, mostly liquid. Salt is vital for the body, but its excessive amount leads to discomfort and even health problems; and for some diseases, low-salt diets are indicated. At the same time, it is not always possible to determine the salinity by taste: salt can be “disguised” by other ingredients, a raw product cannot always be tasted, etc. Thus, special devices are being produced that allow you to objectively measure the concentration of salt and control its intake.

— CO2 level meter. Devices designed to measure the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. The most well-known sign of increased CO2 concentration is that the room becomes stuffy. However, according to sensations, it is not always possible to objectively assess this moment — for example, even a freshly ventilated room with a minimum level of carbon dioxide may seem stuffy in the heat, and in the cold, on the contrary, the feeling of stuffiness is dulled. At the same time, an increased content of CO2 leads to various troubles — from headaches and deterioration in concentration to health problems. Therefore, to maintain an optimal microclimate, it is desirable to control the amount of carbon dioxide, for which special devices are produced.

The range of nitrate measurement provided by the device with the appropriate functions (see "Purpose"). Essentially, this is the concentration of nitrates (from minimum to maximum) that this model is able to effectively detect.

When evaluating this parameter, one should proceed from the fact that the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of nitrates in products can range from 30 mg/kg (pineapple, corn, citrus fruits) to 2000 mg/kg (broccoli, cauliflower and Peking cabbage, celery) according to sanitary standards. The actual amount, of course, can be both noticeably lower and higher than the MPC; accordingly, the wider the range — the more extensive the capabilities of the device, the lower the posibility that its range will be too narrow. The upper limit of the range is usually 5000 mg/kg, or even 10 000 mg/kg — this is more than enough in fact. The lower limit should ideally be 0, but this can not be achieved in every device — a value of about 20 mg/kg is more common. However, this point is also usually not critical.

The scale division of the device when operating in the nitrate tester mode (see "Purpose").

Most modern nitrate testers are digital, and the scale division is the smallest difference between two readings that the instrument can detect. For example, if this value is 0.1 mg/kg, then the device will "see" the difference between the results of 15.5 and 15.6 mg/kg, but the results of 15.51 mg/kg and 15.54 mg/kg will both be shown as "15.5".

Accordingly, the smaller the scale division, the more subtle measurements the device provides. However, two points should be taken into account here. First, "thin" does not necessarily mean "accurate", and when choosing, you should also look at the maximum error (see below). Secondly, in fact, a scale division of 0.1 mg/kg is usually more than enough — a smaller difference in readings in everyday life most often does not play any role. However, there are also smaller values — up to 0.001 mg/kg.

The range of radiation background measurements provided by the device with the dosimeter function (see "Purpose") in microsieverts/hour (µSv/h).

Microsievert (derived from sievert) is a unit of measurement of the radiation dose absorbed by the human body. Technically, this unit is similar to the micro-roentgen (see below) — both of them describe the amount of radiation received in fact; some units can even be converted to others, 1 micro-roentgen/hour corresponds to 0.01 µSv/h. However, nowadays, speaking about the direct effects of radiation on the human body, they prefer to use microsieverts.

Natural background radiation averages from 0.08 to 0.2 µSv/h. A safe threshold for human, depending on sanitary standards in different countries, is most often considered to be about 0.3 – 0.4 μSv/h. At the same time, note that household dosimeters give a rather significant error, and if the measurement result is at the threshold level, this does not mean that the background is dangerous. Nevertheless, in such cases, it is worth contacting a health station or other similar structure to check the situation with a professional dosimeter — especially when it comes to the place of permanent residence of people.

The range of radiation background measurements provided by the device with the dosimeter function (see "Purpose") in micro-roentgens/hour (μR/h).

The micro-roentgen (derived from "roentgen") is a traditional unit of radiation dose measurement that was used even before the introduction of the microsievert. Nowadays, formally, micro-roentgens are used to describe the general ionizing power of radiation (its effect on the air), while micro-sieverts are used to describe the effects of radiation on the body. However, both units actually describe the same thing — the amount of radiation received; therefore, the use of microroentgens is allowed along with microsieverts in principle. These units are related in this way: 1 µg/h = 0.01 µSv/h.

For more information on specific values of background radiation, see section "Range of background radiation level" above.

The range of values, expressed in microsieverts per hour, in which the radiation warning threshold can be set. If this threshold is exceeded, the device will give an audible signal, announcing a dangerously high radiation background.

This feature is convenient because the user does not have to look at the screen to receive the warning. In fact, this gives additional convenience: for example, the device can be put in your pocket and kept with you all the time and freeing your hands; you can check the background in hard-to-reach places where you can reach with your hand, but not look, etc. For more details on microsieverts per hour, see p. "Range of background radiation level" above. Here we recall that, as a general rule, a background of up to 0.4 μSv/h is considered safe, but in some cases, a different response threshold will be more convenient. For example, if the dosimeter is taken with you for a short trip to a zone of increased background radiation, where values of 1 – 1.5 µSv/h are normal, the threshold can be set to a higher value, and the dosimeter will warn only about the most “hot” zones, not responding to the general background.

The range of values, expressed in micro-roentgens per hour, in which the threshold for activation a radiation warning can be set. If this threshold is exceeded, the device will give an audible signal, announcing a dangerously high radiation background.

This feature is convenient because the user does not have to look at the screen to receive the warning. In fact, this gives additional convenience: for example, the device can be put in your pocket and kept with you all the time and freeing your hands; with its help, you can check the background in hard-to-reach places where you can reach with your hand, but not look, etc. For more details on micro-roentgens per hour, see p. "Range of background radiation level" above. Here we recall that, as a general rule, a background up to 40 μR/h is considered safe, but in some cases, a different threshold will be more convenient. For example, if the dosimeter is taken with you for a short trip to an area of high background radiation, where values of 100 — 150 μR/h are normal, the threshold can be set to a higher value — and the dosimeter will warn only about the most "hot" zones, not responding to the general background.

The minimum energy of gamma radiation that the device is able to register.

Such radiation is one of the key components of radioactive radiation; it has the highest penetrating power, and it is gamma rays that are responsible for most of the surrounding radiation background. This parameter actually determines the sensitivity of the dosimeter, its ability to detect this type of radiation.

Theoretically, the lower the recorded energy, the more sensitive the device, the weaker the background it is able to detect. In fact, in most household dosimeters, this parameter is 0.1 MeV — this is quite enough for such devices; higher sensitivity is typical mainly for professional equipment.

The range of mineralization measurements provided by the device with the function of an aquatester (see "Purpose"); in other words, the range from the lowest to the highest concentration of impurities in water that the device can detect.

To estimate the range in a particular device, the following data will be useful. Mineralization up to 5 mg/L corresponds to distilled water, an indicator up to 50 mg/L is considered optimal for drinking water. A level of up to 150 mg/L is drinking water of average quality (from mountain springs and artesian wells, as well as passed through carbon filters). An indicator of 150 – 300 mg/L is considered the maximum allowable for drinking water, mineralization of more than 300 mg/L makes the water unsuitable for human consumption, and at a level of more than 500 mg/L water can be dangerous to health. However, most modern water testers cover these ranges with a margin: devices with a range from 0 to 999 mg/L, and sometimes up to several thousand mg/L, are not uncommon.