Dipstick
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A dipstick is one of several devices dipped into a liquid to perform some kind of test. This might be of quantity or of the chemical properties of the liquid:
Properties
This kind of dipstick is usually made of paper or cardboard and is impregnated with reagents whose colour changes indicate some feature of the liquid. For example, medical dipsticks are used to test urine samples for hemoglobin, nitrite (produced by bacteria in a urinary tract infection), protein, glucose and occasionally urobilinogen or ketones.
The ideal urine sample is fresh mid-stream urine; this has the least chance of being contaminated.
Quantity
Dipsticks can be used to meaure the quantity of liquid in an otherwise inaccessible space, by inserting and removing the stick and then checking the extent of it covered by the liquid. The most familiar example is the dipstick in an internal combustion engine, which is a metal strip or thin flexible coil used to measure the quantity of lubricating oil. Generally the procedure for reading the dipstick is to remove it, clean it with a rag or paper towel to provide a fresh surface for the oil to contact, then reinsert it. The stick is then removed once more and the oil level is compared to markings on the dipstick which indicate the required level.
A dipstick can also be used to check the amount of beer remaining in a real ale cask. The stick (generally stainless steel or brass) is made of thin square rod or flat strip, and is inserted through the small hole in the shive on the top of a horizontal cask. If double-decker racking is used a flexible strip may be useful, since casks on the lower rack might not have enough headroom for a rigid rod to be inserted.
Ale dipsticks can be bought or home-made. Because of the round shape of a cask, the intervals between marks vary along the length of the stick. A home-made dipstick for a standard firkin (9 gallons) can be made using the following measurements:
| Gallons | mm from bottom end |
|---|---|
| 1 | 69 |
| 2 | 116 |
| 3 | 140 |
| 4 | 170 |
| 5 | 204 |
| 6 | 235 |
| 7 | 266 |
| 8 | 301 |
| 9 | 355 |
In British Slang, the term 'Dipstick' is used to describe someone of inferior intellect. "That referee is a right dipstick".