On a YSI ProDSS before a river run, I inspect O‑rings and clean the cell, rinse with DI, blot, soak 60 s in 1413 µS/cm, accept when stable within ±0.5 µS/cm, then do a second point at 12,880; I log pre/post readings, lot numbers, and ambient temp, and after site work I back‑check 1413 to quantify drift and decide whether to re-clean or flag data. Anyone getting better stability in 5–8°C water by lengthening the soak or starting with 1,000 µS/cm first?
I get tighter stability by matching the standard’s temp to the probe/ambient — if the 1413’s within about 0.2°C, my ProDSS locks in 10–15 s and the “back‑check 1413” usually sits within ±0.2 µS/cm; when I rush that, it wanders.
Quick tweak: after the DI rinse and blot, I pre‑rinse with the same 1413, then refill and “wick” the cell to pop microbubbles — my ProDSS settles faster than your 60 s. I also set temp comp to KCl for 1413/12,880 during cal, then switch to Natural Water in the field; otherwise my 1413 back‑check runs a shade high. @wilson_bak75’s temp match helps, but the pre‑rinse moved the needle more for me.