Extech FL700 Fluoride Meter

Complete waste of valuable time for reasons that surely missed the mark by the Extech company &/or Amazon itself, for the following reasons:1). it was obviously used; I requested & paid for a new meter.2). the box the meter was delivered in was wet with fluid extruding from the meter itself3) the top of the internal white box which contained the meter was ripped off and sloppily taped over with clear packing tape.4) the plastic bag that amazon put the meter in stated in orange letters "ready to ship". This plastic bag was ripped open.5). the cap that covers the meter tips was coated with a precipitate that clearly illustrated it was and had been used....please see pic attached6). the meter itself would not turn on, because the batteries were drained. Note: I purchased four new lithium batteries at my own expense in an attempt to get the meter to work. .. understand, that time was of the essence and I desperately needed to get a reading of the Fluoride in the water that my granddaughter was consuming. I could not have the granddaughter of a Dentist who practiced multiple decades develop fluorosis ... family would never forgive me!7). once I installed the four new lithium batteries, size CR 2032, the meter itself would only work episodically. IT WAS FOR THIS REASON THAT I DECIDED TO NOT PURCHASE, at an additional cost, the calibration solution which did not come with the meter itself.8). over half of the calibration pills in the bottle were already pulverized.9). making matters worse, I purchased this meter in the middle of October 2024, and returned it to Amazon shortly after that, and for whatever reason, Amazon keeps on postponing the expected credit date as of this date (12-03-2024). Why Amazon refuses to credit my account is a mystery to me, even after talking to an employee on the phone at their customer service department, who apparently contacted peers working in the refund department.Maybe the issue for no refund as of yet, is because I removed the defective batteries that the meter came with, as I did NOT want to send the drained Lithium batteries back to Amazon through the USPS, as for the potential to create a fire with defective lithium batteries being transported.I am ashamed to say, that as an owner of Amazon stock, I am more than upset with this company for which I am a miniscule part owner. AMAZON AND THE EXTECH COMPANY, REALLY DROPPED THE BALL ON THIS ORDER, they both share the blame!NOTE: I resorted to taking the water sample to a reputable lab, and for 1/5 the cost of the meter, I received valuable documentation of the Fluoride concentration of the tap water I was exposing my granddaughter to, and I made the necessary adjustments to insure she was drinking the recommended concentration of Fluoride that the American Dental Association and the American Association of Pediatric Dentists recommends.I strongly suggest getting LEGAL documentation of the actual Fluoride concentration from reputable laboratories that supplies water value concentrations of all that make up your tap water (organic and inorganic) to state, local governments and hospitals. You must not compromise the health of your family.

I rarely write reviews but here goes....hopefullh it will help someon. The only reason this gets even 2 stars is due to cust. svc at the mfr at least trying to be helpful. They even went so far as to send me a replacement unit for free after emailing back and forth for 6 weeks in an effort to resolve the problem. In the end, the problem was not solved and I am convinced the product design is flawed. I have private well water which is naturally high in fluoride (5ppm). I installed a pretty elaborate filtering system for the fluoride (among other things in the water) and bought this FL700 to monitor the health of the filter over time so I know when to change the media. Anyway.....the calibration is a bit confusing but I figured it out. I even bought 1ppm and 10ppm standards for calibration along with post calibration checks. Once calibrated, the meter would (reasonably) accurately measure both standards, a test of distilled water and a sample from my undersink R.O. system. However, when I test my prefiltered, raw well water, the meter kept detecting/measuring levels above the limit of its range which is 10ppm (meter would read "OL"). I have a written analysis from an independent lab saying the raw well water is 5.3 ppm, well within the range of the FL700. Since both meters I received did the exact same thing, I'm forced conclude that there is some othe "contaminant" in my water that is affecting the measurement. To help prove this, I even spent additional money on a fluoride tester from a competitor which uses a different method for the test (colorimeter vs. ion level measurement) and those results fell right in with what I already either knew or expected.This thing may be fine for testing city water where levels of all contaminents are controlled but I'm not even sure I would trust it then.

I've tested various brands of bottled water with this as well as my city's tap water and it seems to function properly. For instance, it gives a reading of 0.0 ppm for Glaceau's Smart Water brand, which is distilled water. My city's water report gives a measurement of 0.73 ppm of fluoride for the local tap water, and I got a reading of 0.7 ppm with this product while measuring the tap water, so that checked out. I've also tested water purified via reverse osmosis and this meter consistently gave a reading of 0.0 to 0.1 ppm.It's important to recalibrate the meter often though, as well as adding TISAB solution to the water that you're assessing for accurate results.

This tester works perfectly and is identical to other instruments costing $100 more. It comes with reagent tabs, but eventually you will have to purchase more tabs. Owning a tester allows you to monitor the viability of your fluoride filter and to make educated choices regarding various bottled drinks and your municipal water supply. Bone char or high quality reverse osmosis are the best filter options, but eventually the bone char gets saturated and the membrane breaks down in the reverse osmosis filter, so it pays to test every few months. If you are reading this, you understand that fluoride is a toxin, not a nutrient. I originally rated this meter 5 stars but I have had two of these meters in the past few years, both of which stopped working after a couple of years. At least it works for a while.

The media could not be loaded.

It was leaking fluid out of the box unopened