How to measure color / clarity of "clear" fluid

[shackney]

I am using a water / glycerine mixture in an application with visual exposure (filled gauges). I have seen discoloration of this mixture from time to time, and I need to start tracing down how and when this discoloration happens.

I am looking for a method of measuring coloration of the mixture or of the glycerine itself. Precision does not have to be too great, cost is an issue.

I suspect that I need some sort of colour reference standard -- fill up a tube with the fluid in question, and look at it next to a colour chart. More or less the sort of gauge that a pool chemical shop would sell for testing your pool pH, only for clarity and color of a "clear" liquid. But I can't find anything like this at the lab suppliers.

Any suggestions?

Steve

 

[rhodie]

Look into "turbidity" meters and standards...

 

[rhodie]

Actually, a colorimeter is probably more what you are looking for. Colorimeters use the L*A*B* standard to define where color falls on the spectrum...

 

[IRstuff]

But it sounds like you don't have a mechanism identified as the cause of the discoloration, so colorimetry seems somewhat premature.

You'll need to perform some sort of chemical assay to determine what is causing the coloration and at what level does the contaminant create other problems or at what level does the color indicate a catastrophic failure.

After that, you could come up with a color comparison chart for the maintainer to use for evaluating the health of the system.

TTFN