In this video we'll guide you through using the Low Flow Calculator in the SampleServe Mobile Field App.
If your project manager has indicated low flow sampling for your particular project and sample location, the low flow equipment setup and low flow data collection calculator will automatically appear for that sample location on the mobile device. The sampling technique indicated for that sample location will be displayed right below the sample ID at the top left corner of the screen.
Your low-flow sampling set-up starts on the equipment setup page. On this page, you will see numerous data entry cells asking about your low-flow equipment including the type of pump, the water quality meter, and flow cell volume you are using, including the length and diameter of tubing, among other questions. It is also going to ask you your estimated flow rate for this particular sample location and then calculate your minimum sample reading interval based on pumping one volume of your sample system between each reading. You can manually adjust this time interval according to your unique sampling preferences.
Once all the equipment set up information has been entered and your pump intake placement and flow-through cell and meter has been established, start pumping at your target flow rate and click the continue button on the bottom right and this will take you to the low-flow calculator page.
When the flow through cell has been filled with water to the point that your water quality sensors are completely submerged, hit the take another reading button on the bottom right-hand corner. This will start the next reading countdown clock on the bottom left side according to the time interval set on the previous page. You can then enter the readings for each of the parameters indicated on the top line of this display.
Depth to water and flow rate will repeat automatically with the previous entry repeated however this information is intended to be edited as needed at any time. It's simply meant as a data entry convenience and not as a target or official data unless left unedited. Total purged running volume will be calculated automatically based on the indicated pumping rate and time interval. This however can also be edited as needed.
When the next reading countdown clock reaches 0, the take another reading button becomes active and when ready you can click the take another reading and it will add a new row for data entry. You simply fill out the parameters of interest with the readings posted on your water quality meter. If there is a parameter that you are not collecting data for, simply leave that column blank and it will not be included in your stability calculations. When a particular parameter has reached the stability value, as indicated based on the prescribed US EPA methodology, after one reading the number will be highlighted with a green background. After two consecutive readings of stability, the number will also be bolded indicating that that value has now reached stability. You will note that there will be a “field parameters are not yet stable” warning in red on the bottom left side of the page until all field parameters being collected have reached stability. In addition, the collect samples button on the bottom right will remain inactive until stability has been achieved. Once all parameters being collected have achieved stability, the warning on the bottom left will turn green indicating your parameters are stable and the collect samples button will become active allowing you to move to the sample label printing screen.
If needed, for whatever reason, you can bypass the stability calculations data entry screen and make the collect samples button active by simply checking the “bypass stability calculations” radio button on the bottom right-hand side. This will allow you to stop the stability calculations data collection and move into the sample label printing page.
To aid in your sample collection efficiency, you can turn on an audible alarm to indicate when sample interval time has expired, and when stability is achieved. This alarm sound can be customized and turned on at the bottom of the settings page under Notification Sound.
That is the basics of using the SampleServe Low Flow Calculator.
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