"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)

The Goal: 40th Anniversary Edition: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M Goldratt (Author), Jeff Cox (Author)

Toastmasters International

Pacific Sensor Corrosion Coupon Installation Guide

Water Treatment Flyer- Pacific Sensor

Metaspec Capabilities Presentation

NACE SP0775-2023 Preparation, Installation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Corrosion Coupons in Hydrocarbon Operations

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)

Submit a Show Idea

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses

The Rising Tide Mastermind

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.

464 Corrosion Coupons, Brand Building, and Having Fun at Trade Shows with Will Ritter