After a few weeks of waiting for this unit to be in stock, I finally recieved it last week. Spectrapure's LiterMeter3 is a terrific unit.
If you're accustomed to the original LiterMeter, there is a host of improvements in the new version that warrants attention. The unit itself is smaller then it's predecessor, if only by a few centimeters each way. The peristaltic pump is now also located on the left of the unit instead of the top. I found this to make little diffence in my implementation of the unit in my setup, but some people may prefer the old top orientation.
Another immediately noticable difference is the new LCD display and controls. There are no more analog thumbwheels to cycle through, replaced by big buttons that proved simple and responsive. The large display shows which pump is currently active, the calibration rate (which, btw, is easier to perform now compared to the Litermeter), the total daily flow volume, and the status of the pump (on, off, run). Navigation is striaght foward. All in all, the interface is simplier to use.
Although the pump mechanisms looks the same, it is surprisely more quiet then the original LiterMeter .... so much so that I can't tell it's on when I have it placed in my cabinet.
If you don't own a dosing pump, I highly recommend this unit. If you already own an old LiterMeter, this one is unlikely worth the upgrade. But if you've got money to burn, you won't be disappointed by the improvements. I'd like to try a Vario as a comparision someday, but I might not ever get around to it since the LiterMeter 3 is all the dosing pump I could ask for.
One final recommendation is for Litermeter users to plug the unit into surge protectors. My previous Litermeter (the original) apparently suffered a capacitor brown-out after a surge that rendered the timing sporadic.
I kinda wonder what happened to the LiterMeter 2 that never materialized.
If you're accustomed to the original LiterMeter, there is a host of improvements in the new version that warrants attention. The unit itself is smaller then it's predecessor, if only by a few centimeters each way. The peristaltic pump is now also located on the left of the unit instead of the top. I found this to make little diffence in my implementation of the unit in my setup, but some people may prefer the old top orientation.
Another immediately noticable difference is the new LCD display and controls. There are no more analog thumbwheels to cycle through, replaced by big buttons that proved simple and responsive. The large display shows which pump is currently active, the calibration rate (which, btw, is easier to perform now compared to the Litermeter), the total daily flow volume, and the status of the pump (on, off, run). Navigation is striaght foward. All in all, the interface is simplier to use.
Although the pump mechanisms looks the same, it is surprisely more quiet then the original LiterMeter .... so much so that I can't tell it's on when I have it placed in my cabinet.
If you don't own a dosing pump, I highly recommend this unit. If you already own an old LiterMeter, this one is unlikely worth the upgrade. But if you've got money to burn, you won't be disappointed by the improvements. I'd like to try a Vario as a comparision someday, but I might not ever get around to it since the LiterMeter 3 is all the dosing pump I could ask for.
One final recommendation is for Litermeter users to plug the unit into surge protectors. My previous Litermeter (the original) apparently suffered a capacitor brown-out after a surge that rendered the timing sporadic.
I kinda wonder what happened to the LiterMeter 2 that never materialized.
