“Don’t be afraid to say I don’t know. – Will Ritter”
Corrosion is expensive, relentless, and easy to underestimate—until a “lasagna battery” turns aluminum foil green and reminds you what electrochemistry can do in the real world. This conversation reframes corrosion coupons as what they actually are: a repeatable field test that can sharpen your decisions—if you treat the process with consistency.
Respect the coupon, protect the data
Trace breaks down why coupons became non-negotiable in his systems: they turn guesswork into usable corrosion-rate intelligence. Will Ritter of MetaSpec (formerly Pacific Sensor) explains the fundamentals—pre-weighed coupons, exposure time, cleaning, and calculating corrosion rate in MPY (mils per year). The point isn’t that the coupon is your pipe; it’s that the coupon becomes a reliable, relative gauge over time when variables are controlled.
The “five things” that make results repeatable
Will outlines practical failure points that quietly ruin comparisons quarter to quarter: alloy selection (and staying consistent), surface area (and what happens when hardware covers the coupon), surface finish (including why scratches and pits matter), weight accuracy (and why kitchen/postage scales don’t belong in the workflow), and protective VCI packaging that prevents premature corrosion in storage and transit.
Brand building, trade shows, and getting comfortable saying “I don’t know”
Will shares his path from Pacific Sensor to MetaSpec and what it looks like to merge brands intentionally heading into 2026. The discussion also moves into trade show presence and digital marketing, plus a simple confidence framework: get comfortable saying “I don’t know, but I can find out,” and build communication reps—he points to Toastmasters as a low-stakes way to do that.
Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!
Timestamps
02:20 — Trace sets the stage: why corrosion coupons matter as diagnostic data
04:05 — What a coupon is (size, pre-weighed precision) and why tiny changes matter
06:14 — Trace’s “four things” water treaters manage (and what microbial control is not)
07:07 — The “lasagna battery”: anode/cathode/electrolyte/path in a real-life example
08:50 — Defining corrosion (ISO 8044 and NACE definitions referenced)
09:50 — Corrosion cost perspective: “2.5 trillion” and “3.5% of global GDP” (as cited)
10:53 – Words of Water with James
12:38 – Events for Water Professionals
14:56 — Will Ritter introduction and why the podcast helped him understand the industry
18:30 — How Will got into coupons: Pacific Sensor, mentors, and early AWT exposure
24:36 — Trade show mindset: don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”
27:50 — Toastmasters as a practical system for better speaking and confidence
31:25 — Pacific Sensor → MetaSpec; co-branding and planned transition “starting in 2026”
34:06 — Coupon basics and MPY explained in clear operational terms
36:51 — The big misunderstanding: coupons as a relative gauge (not “the pipe”)
40:06 — The “five key characteristics” behind usable coupon data
58:10 — Best-practice takeaway: treat coupons like a lab test brought into the field
01:06:35 — Close: why Trace “owes a lot” to that “little slip of metal”
Quotes
“Use the coupon as a relative gauge of the corrosivity of the system.” – Will Ritter
“Surface finish is critical… a change in surface finish is going to impact corrosion results.” – Will
“Treat your coupons… like you are taking a laboratory test and bringing it into the field.”
“It’s not a piece of metal. It’s very special. Treat it as such.”
“Digital marketing is free… small businesses need to take advantage of free resources.”
Connect with Will Ritter
Phone: (713) 882- 1427
Email: williamrritter@gmail.com
Website: Pacific Sensor – Buy Corrosion Coupons and Test Specimens
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamryanritter/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/pacific-sensor/about/
Guest Resources Mentioned
Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization by Ed Conway (Audiobook)
Steel Isn’t Hard (To Learn) by Shane Turcott (Paperback)
Pacific Sensor Corrosion Coupon Installation Guide
Water Treatment Flyer– Pacific Sensor
Metaspec Capabilities Presentation
ASTM-G1-25 Standard Practice for Preparing, Cleaning, and Evaluating Corrosion Test Specimens
TP25-18 The Impact of Metal Surface Roughness on Corrosion Monitoring Water Treatment
Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned
AWT (Association of Water Technologies)
Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses
304 Pinks and Blues: Corrosion Coupons
075 The One that’s All About Corrosion Coupons
AWT Guidelines on Corrosion Coupons
Corrosion cost perspective: “2.5 trillion” and “3.5% of global GDP”
Words of Water with James McDonald
Today’s definition is any of the elements found in Group VIIA, also known as Group 17, of the Periodic Table, including fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine, characterized by the ability to disinfect water.
2026 Events for Water Professionals
Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we’ve listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.
