{"id":2865,"date":"2012-12-12T23:38:45","date_gmt":"2012-12-13T07:38:45","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-07-25T10:30:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T17:30:36","slug":"2865","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/2865","title":{"rendered":"Ethanol Sensor Troubleshooting and FAQ"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"\/product\/ethanol-sensor\/\">Ethanol Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>ETH-BTA<\/nobr>)<\/h3>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"\/manuals\/ETH-BTA\">Specifications and User Guide<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/product.eth-bta._hero.001-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Primary Test: <\/strong>Place the sensor over a sample containing 1% ethanol. The readings will rise within a minute to near 1%.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secondary Test:<\/strong> Verify that the sensor reads 0.01% or less in air after warming up for 5 minutes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tertiary Test:<\/strong> Check the calibration screen to make sure the live voltage reading is stable and greater than 4.5V when not exposed to ethanol after warming up for 5 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tips<\/h3>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Did you allow the sensor to warm up? There is a 5 minute warm up period each time you plug the sensor in.<\/li>\n<li>Is your data collection time long enough? Diffusion of gases is a fairly slow process and there are delays in readings.<\/li>\n<li>Are you collecting in a controlled environment? Use the 250 mL Nalgene collection bottle and split stopper that is included with the sensor.<\/li>\n<li>Is your expected concentration of ethanol too high for the sensor? If you are testing something with an expected ethanol concentration above 3%, dilute the sample before collecting.<\/li>\n<li>The ethanol sensor cannot be used with <a href=\"\/product\/golink\/\">Go! Link<\/a> (<nobr>GO-LINK<\/nobr>) as the sensor draws too much current.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2858\/\">Do the ethanol sensors need to warm up?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2859\/\">Can Vernier ethanol sensors be used in liquid?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2860\/\">Ethanol Sensor never reads zero.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2861\/\">Do you have written instructions for experiments that use the Vernier ethanol sensors? <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2862\/\">How do I use the Ethanol sensor with a CO\u2082 Gas sensor to measure fermentation?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2864\/\">Do I need to calibrate Vernier ethanol sensors?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2854\/\">What is the range of the Vernier ethanol sensors?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2906\/\">Can I use Vernier ethanol sensors to measure the amount of ethanol produced from a fermentation?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/til\/2870\/\">Why does my software identify the Ethanol Sensor as an Oxygen Gas Sensor?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Specifications<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Range: 0% to 3%<\/li>\n<li>Response time 95% of full scale in 60 seconds (after initial warm up)<\/li>\n<li>Accuracy (factory calibration): \u00b11.5% at 3%<\/li>\n<li>Accuracy (custom calibration):<br \/>\u26ac 1-3%:&nbsp;\u00b10.5% at 3%<br \/>\u26ac 0.1-1%: \u00b10.3% at 1%<\/li>\n<li>Resolution (12-bit):<br \/>\u26ac 0.02% from 2-3%<br \/>\u26ac 0.01% from 1-2%<br \/>\u26ac 0.001% from 0-1%<\/li>\n<li>Default calibration: Y = C*X^p<br \/>\u26ac C: -2.995<br \/>\u26ac p: 0.9054<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Calibration<\/h3>\n<p>For experiments looking at rate of change, calibration is not necessary. For quantitative analysis, a two point calibration is recommended. For details on calibrating a sensor, see <a href=\"\/til\/4011\/\">How do I calibrate my sensor?<\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Related Products<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/ethanol-cap-assemblies-3\/\">Ethanol Cap Assemblies (3)<\/a> (<nobr>ETH-CAPS<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/6-stopper-for-ethanol-sensor\/\">#6 Stopper for Ethanol Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>ETH-STOP<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/tape-for-ethanol-sensor\/\">Tape for Ethanol Sensor<\/a> (<nobr>ETH-TAPE<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/250-ml-nalgene-bottle-w-lid\/\">250 mL Nalgene Bottle w\/Lid<\/a> (<nobr>CO2-BTL<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/biochamber-2000\/\">BioChamber 2000<\/a> (<nobr>BC-2000<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/product\/go-direct-ethanol-vapor\/\">Go Direct<sup>&reg;<\/sup> Ethanol Vapor<\/a> (<nobr>GDX-ETOH<\/nobr>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Specifications and User Guide Troubleshooting Tips Additional Troubleshooting Specifications Calibration For experiments looking at rate of change, calibration is not necessary. For quantitative analysis, a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4791,4790,4792,4773,4789,4788,720],"class_list":["post-2865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-alcohol","tag-eth-bta-eth-bta","tag-eth-btamain","tag-ethanol","tag-ethanolmain","tag-ethmain","tag-maintil"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2865\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vernier.com\/til\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}