Occasionally I need to test mortar, wallpaper, plaster samples etc for
traces of chloride and nitrate salts which are deposited in them by
ground water (rising dampness).  I have been purchasing tablets which
are mixed in distilled water with the material under test to define
whether they contain salts or not.  Unfortunately my only known
supplier has become rather vague and I want to know what's in these
tablets so that I may purchase them elsewhere. Does anyone know what
they are and what the reaction is (change of colour in water etc etc)?
 If not, does anyone know where I can get a regular supply of them?

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 15 May 2005 02:56 PDT

Hello grassyass-ga,

Can you tell us more about the tablets you've been using? Do you have
the packaging at hand so you can tell us the brand name, chemical
composition, or anything else that might be relevant to identifying
what you're looking for? What other kinds of products does your
current supplier sell? I believe you could get the tablets you're
looking for, or something else that might do the job, at pool and spa
supply stores. I look forward to your clarification.

~ czh ~

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Clarification of Question by grassyass-ga on 15 May 2005 08:18 PDT

The tablets are supplied by a company called GE Protimeter plc who are
a UK/USA?German company.  I have no idea what's in the tablets, the
only packaging says Chloride or Nitrate 1 and 2.  No doubit I can
eventually get them from Protimeter when they eventually answer my
requests but I would quite like to just buy the generic chemicals for
myself so that I never run out again!

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Request for Question Clarification by czh-ga on 15 May 2005 14:15 PDT

Hello again grassyass-ga,

GE seems to have very tight controls on the Protimeter product line
and the supplies for it. I've found one UK vendor that lists the
Protimeter Replacement Salt-Analysis Tablets in their product line.
Would the contact information for this company be of interest to you?
Thanks.

~ czh ~

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Clarification of Question by grassyass-ga on 16 May 2005 04:20 PDT

It's only of interest if they actually sell it as opposed to merely
advertising it; which for some reason, quite a few people seem to do!

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Clarification of Question by grassyass-ga on 16 May 2005 04:25 PDT

Sorry, on second thoughts, I'm really after the chemical make up of
these tablets rather than other suppliers who probably get them from
GE anyway. Sorry for any confusion.

I am unsure of what the chemical reaction is to change the color but I
suspect you may be able to achieve similar results by employing a
salinity meter.  I took the liberty of taking a quick look on froogle,
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=Salinity%20Meter%20&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=wf,
to get an idea of the costs and there is quite a range.

I think what you are looking for is a total dissolved salts (TDS)
measurement?  How to translate that into the color change you are
accustom I suspect will take some parallel testing and documentation
on your part.

Hope you find the suggestion worthy,
Michael

Don't know if this helps but presently I Submerge a sample in 60cc of
distilled water for one minute.  I then decant 10cc of that water into
another container.

In the 50cc left in the first container I add a tablet which changes
the colour of the water to brown if no Chlorides are present and to
Yellow if Chlorides are present.

In the 10cc container I add two tablets.  The first one, after
dissolving, turns the water Yellow. When this has happened I then add
the second tablet which, if Nitrates are present will turn the water
either Brown if there are only traces or Red if there are significant
amounts.

Therefore I guess there are three different chemicals involved and
it's these chemicals I need to identify.  Apart from the difficulty in
getting a supply, they also cost 50 sterling for ten tests, which is a
lot of money when you're doing them on a regular basis :((