Renau Awarded United States Patent 4,849,098 for Continuous Water Quality Monitor

Renau has been awarded United States Patent # 4,849,098. The patent is for an automatic monitor for potable water quality which monitors total dissolved solids (TDS) in drinking water. Built into a faucet base are a pair of indicators in the form of one green and one red LED. A sensor in the form of a pair of spaced electrodes extends into the supply conduit for the faucet and measures the electrical resistances of the water in the conduit. A pulse power source powered by a battery supplies power to automatically periodically power the sensor and illuminate the green LED as long as the TDS level is below a preselected value. If the level exceeds the preselected value, the red LED is periodically illuminated. The duty cycle for operation and illuminating the LEDs is approximately 0.5% whereby battery drain is sufficiently low that months of continuous monitoring is possible using 4 AA batteries. No ON-OFF switch is needed. If neither LED illuminates once every two minutes, the batteries need replacement.