This is a model example at 22 °C, calculated for the equilibrium hydrogen couple against an Ag/AgCl reference. The values are not measured parameters of specific devices. We use a top-of-the-range Greisinger 3551 meter with a GR105-BNC probe.
In this example, the alkaline water has a more negative ORP even though it contains eight times less hydrogen.
The reason is its higher pH, which strongly affects the potential of the hydrogen redox couple.
So a more negative ORP does not automatically mean more hydrogen.
Alkalinity and the amount of molecular hydrogen are two different properties. Even alkaline water with a pH of 10 can have a positive ORP if it does not contain enough reducing substances.
TIRTAN makes it possible to infuse a drink with molecular hydrogen without having to raise its original pH.

5. Why do we still recommend measuring ORP?
Although ORP is not a direct measure of H₂ concentration, we consider ORP meters a very useful tool for everyday users of hydrogen water.
And that is exactly why we offer them too.
Simple and affordable measurement
A good ORP meter lets you repeatedly track changes in a drink’s electrochemical properties without using up chemical reagents with every measurement.
All you need to do is use, clean and regularly check the measuring electrode correctly.
An indicative check that infusion is working
If the starting water has an ORP of, say, +280 mV and shows −600 mV after hydrogen infusion, that is a significant change in its electrochemical properties.
Provided that only H₂ is added during infusion and other conditions remain similar, such a drop is a strong indirect indicator of the presence of molecular hydrogen.
An ORP meter can therefore be used as an indicative check that infusion has proceeded as usual.
However, it cannot reliably tell whether a drink contains, for example, 0.8 or 1.6 ppm H₂. Our experience with TIRTAN shows that infusion typically reaches around 1.3 ppm or more.
Tracking results over time
A major advantage of an ORP meter is the ability to take repeated measurements.
If you use the same water, the same procedure and a similar temperature, you can compare whether infusion gives the usual response.
You can also track how ORP develops after infusion has finished.
However, it is important to wait for the measuring electrode to stabilise and to keep in mind that a stable ORP does not automatically mean a stable H₂ concentration.
Measuring different drinks
TIRTAN can also enrich other suitable drinks with hydrogen.
An ORP meter can be used in many of these drinks too, which is a significant practical advantage – the H₂Blue chemical drop test, for example, does not work reliably with coloured drinks.
Each drink, however, has a different pH and chemical composition. Coffee, tea or juice contain substances that can themselves affect ORP.
That is why we recommend measuring each drink before and after infusion and tracking the change under similar conditions.
For example, an ORP of −400 mV in coffee and −600 mV in water does not mean that the coffee contains less H₂.
The point is mainly to track changes and the repeatability of results for individual drinks, not to compare their hydrogen concentrations directly on the basis of ORP alone.
An ORP meter is therefore a very good indicative control instrument, as long as we know what it actually measures and how to interpret its results. This assumes that pH does not change during infusion, which TIRTAN ensures.
ORP, too, “sees” only freely dissolved hydrogen, not hydrogen enclosed in nanobubbles – we explain this below in connection with the H₂Blue chemical test, which has a similar limitation.

6. Why not rely solely on H₂Blue chemical tests, even though they make sense as proof of dissolved hydrogen content?
One option for a more direct determination of dissolved hydrogen is the H₂Blue chemical test.
It uses the reaction of molecular hydrogen with methylene blue in the presence of a platinum catalyst.
During the reaction, the reagent loses its colour. From the number of drops used, the approximate H₂ concentration in ppm can be determined, provided the prescribed procedure is followed.
For everyday users, however, this method has several drawbacks.
Higher running costs. One bottle of reagent can cost around 45 euros, and part of it is used up with each measurement.
Limited availability. The reagent is not always easy to obtain and its shelf life is limited.
More laborious procedure. You need to keep to an exact sample volume, dose the drops correctly and watch the colour reaction.
Consumption of a chemical reagent. Among other things, the test uses a platinum catalyst. The used solution is therefore chemical waste that must be handled according to the manufacturer’s instructions and local regulations.
Given the value of platinum and our aim to limit unnecessary use of chemicals, we consider a reusable ORP meter a more practical tool for everyday indicative checks.
Chemical tests and selective hydrogen sensors do, however, have their place wherever we need to determine the actual concentration of dissolved H₂, not just the electrochemical response of the drink.
H₂Blue may not capture all the hydrogen present in the water. And the same applies to ORP meters.
Another important limitation of the H₂Blue test is the way it determines the concentration of molecular hydrogen.
The test is designed primarily to measure hydrogen dissolved in water. However, hydrogen can also be present in a drink as gas enclosed in microscopic and nanoscale bubbles.
With coloured drinks, this method can no longer be used reliably, which is why we only discuss measurements in infused water here.
This hydrogen is not directly part of the dissolved phase. To react with the H₂Blue reagent, it must first be released from the bubbles into the surrounding water.
This may partly happen during the test, but there is no guarantee that all the hydrogen contained in the bubbles will be captured this way.
The H₂Blue result therefore cannot automatically be taken as a measurement of the total amount of hydrogen in the water if it also contains dispersed gas bubbles.
To determine the total H₂ content – dissolved hydrogen as well as hydrogen enclosed in bubbles – it is better to use an analytical method with controlled gas release and verified capture efficiency.
This is particularly important in research on TIRTAN’s vortex technology, where we are interested not only in the concentration of already dissolved H₂ but also in the possible amount of hydrogen present in the finely dispersed gas phase.
And this is the subject of intensive research in collaboration with the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava.
7. So how should hydrogen water be properly evaluated?

A responsible evaluation needs to distinguish between three different things:
Dissolved H₂ concentration (ppm)
Indicates the amount of molecular hydrogen actually dissolved in the liquid.
Hydrogen in dispersed bubbles
Represents a separate gas phase, the amount of which may not be fully captured by standard methods for measuring dissolved H₂.
Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP)
Provides useful information about the electrochemical properties of the drink and how they change, but does not by itself determine the hydrogen concentration.
For accurate laboratory measurements, selective methods such as gas chromatography or appropriate H₂ sensors should be used. If we also want to determine the hydrogen contained in nanobubbles, a suitable and validated method for releasing and quantifying it is essential.
For everyday home use, however, an ORP meter can serve very well as a simple and repeatable indicative guide to how infusion is going.

When developing TIRTAN, we did not focus on achieving the most negative ORP value possible or on artificially raising the pH of water, but on the actual total hydrogen content, whether freely dissolved or “hidden” in nanobubbles.
Our goal is the efficient transfer of externally produced molecular hydrogen into the drink using patented vortex technology.
At the same time, we are studying the physical mechanisms behind the formation and stability of very small hydrogen nanobubbles and how to measure them correctly.
That is why we distinguish between what can easily be tracked indicatively with ORP and what needs to be proven with precise analytical methods.
Because the true quality of a hydrogen drink cannot be expressed by a single negative number on a display.