PH Tester?

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X6xsilverx6X

Well-Known Member
So i had one of those cheapo $20 PH pens from amazon worked good for 12 weeks now it died, soo i am looking for something that will last over a year if not longer with a replacement probe, if im spending a couple hundred i want it to last atleast a year and need a probe replacement, so i am looking for recommendations, i hear that hanna makes great meters, and blue lab too, which ones worth it i currently have in my cart the apera PC60 and a extra replacement probe, but if for $80-100$ more i can get something better i would do that....
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
How did you care for your cheapo pH pen?

Any pH probe needs the same care and maintenance to last for a few years. A strong spray of clean water after use and kept soaking in storage sol'n between uses can keep one going for years.

I have one made by Oakton/Eutech that is at least 6 years old and works fine. The Eco Testr pH1. Cost me $69 at a gardening center where I also picked up fresh jugs of calibration sol'n. It has a clear cap that I keep some storage sol'n in so it's always kept at it's peak. I wasn't going to use it for a while so allowed it to dry out and then then soaked and calibrated it as if it were new when I used it again a couple years ago.

When new they should be soaked in storage sol'n for at least 24 hours then calibrated with pH 4 and 7 before first use. Never allow them to sit in RO or distilled water both of which do not need testing before adding nutrients as they are devoid of minerals and can ruin the permeable glass probe by leaching the mineral salts out of it.

Best to buy the pre-made calibration sol'ns as the powdered stuff that comes with the cheaper pens can be influenced by the water used to dilute them and you can be using a pen that never reads correctly from the get go.

Buy a decent pen and treat it right and it should last for years. Should be detailed care instructions at the manufacturer's website tho they all need the same treatment so just do a search for pH pen care and any will do really.
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I have a bluelab and am happy with it. It cost more than others and the one I have doesn't have a replaceable probe which would be nice. But I keep it stored properly so it should last me for years.
 
Chip Green

Chip Green

Well-Known Member
Best tool I've ever invested in, Bluelab makes a universal probe that works in grow media of all types, and liquids. The

Leap pH probe. Fits any Bluelab handheld meter. Not cheap, but it's been a game changer for me.
 
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Bookush34

Well-Known Member
I had cheap ph and ppm meters.
They failed lots and reading ms were inconsistent

Bought blue lab pens. Been very happy.
Had the ph pen for over a year.
Ppm pen for 6 months.

Keep them clean and use storage solutions. You will be good to go.
 
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X6xsilverx6X

Well-Known Member
Care for it like it said, wash after every use in distilled water, and calibrated it to 7.6 every use to be careful I used it every other day, it wasn’t the highest quality but it worked, and I feel like it gave a good idea, on 4.0 and 7.0 blue lab calibration solution it showed about .3 off but worked ok.

OldMedUser said:
How did you care for your cheapo pH pen?

Any pH probe needs the same care and maintenance to last for a few years. A strong spray of clean water after use and kept soaking in storage sol'n between uses can keep one going for years.

I have one made by Oakton/Eutech that is at least 6 years old and works fine. The Eco Testr pH1. Cost me $69 at a gardening center where I also picked up fresh jugs of calibration sol'n. It has a clear cap that I keep some storage sol'n in so it's always kept at it's peak. I wasn't going to use it for a while so allowed it to dry out and then then soaked and calibrated it as if it were new when I used it again a couple years ago.

When new they should be soaked in storage sol'n for at least 24 hours then calibrated with pH 4 and 7 before first use. Never allow them to sit in RO or distilled water both of which do not need testing before adding nutrients as they are devoid of minerals and can ruin the permeable glass probe by leaching the mineral salts out of it.

Best to buy the pre-made calibration sol'ns as the powdered stuff that comes with the cheaper pens can be influenced by the water used to dilute them and you can be using a pen that never reads correctly from the get go.

Buy a decent pen and treat it right and it should last for years. Should be detailed care instructions at the manufacturer's website tho they all need the same treatment so just do a search for pH pen care and any will do really.
Click to expand...
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
X6xsilverx6X said:
Care for it like it said, wash after every use in distilled water, and calibrated it to 7.6 every use to be careful I used it every other day, it wasn’t the highest quality but it worked, and I feel like it gave a good idea, on 4.0 and 7.0 blue lab calibration solution it showed about .3 off but worked ok.
Click to expand...
Should be dead on after calibration but as long as it's consistent you can still use it fine. It's when they wander that it becomes a problem. Sometimes it's just older batteries that cause fluctuations in readings even if the low battery icon doesn't show up.

I use the pH Perfect nutes and RO water only so don't bother checking pH unless I'm using potassium silica then I want to bring the pH down a bit before adding nutes. The cheaper stuff raises the pH almost to 10 and that could cause nutrients to drop out of sol'n. Much less rise using the Rhino Skin that's designed to work with the rest of the nutes.
 
X

X6xsilverx6X

Well-Known Member
I have been using megacrop and my local tap water, and something in the tap causes the megacrop to have some fluctuation in my PH or this meter sucks really bad an I needed to spend some real money on a real meter...
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
X6xsilverx6X said:
I have been using megacrop and my local tap water, and something in the tap causes the megacrop to have some fluctuation in my PH or this meter sucks really bad an I needed to spend some real money on a real meter...
Click to expand...
Contact your water supplier for a copy of their water analysis. Should be free and they can probably email you a copy like I got here when I lived in town. Tap water can have all sorts of things in it that can interfere with plant's growth and still be potable.

The pH pen I had before this one cost me $150 and when the probe finally died a new probe was $75 plus shipping so when I found this last one for $69 in a store I grabbed it up. About $8 each for the calibration sol'ns and I already had the storage sol'n. The cap dries out so every once in a while I just add a little RO water to top it up. The salts are left behind when it goes low so I'm just diluting it back to the original strength. Seems to work as when I check calibration it's always right on.
 
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Beachwalker

Well-Known Member
EL Connoisseur said:
For a small personal home operation there is no better option from this::cool:

https://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-HydroTester-Resolution-Accuracy/dp/B0096N8OWI

A very good product and a very good price..

I personally use this and proportional EC meter of this company and i am pretty happy with the results..
Doest lose the calibration and the accurasy is totally right!


Cheers!
bongsmiliebongsmilie
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I have one of those in my junk drawer of old meters LOL it worked well but it only lasted about a year and then the bulb became inaccurate and wasn't replaceable
 
EL Connoisseur

EL Connoisseur

Well-Known Member
Beachwalker said:
I have one of those in my junk drawer of old meters LOL it worked well but it only lasted about a year and then the bulb became inaccurate and wasn't replaceable
Click to expand...
I have it now 4 months..i dont know what will happen in the future..also from where i got it i have 1 year warranty, and i dont need to ship it anywhere..
Maybe you inappropriate used it after a while when u used to use it..or indeed will have problem by the manufacturers..
Time will show..!
However, thank you for sharing your experience man!
 
Timezone

Timezone

Well-Known Member
I relied on a Milwaukee Martini PH55 for many years when I was growing hydroponically and never had any problems with it. The biggest complaint I had was that there is no way to stand the thing on it's cap to keep the storage solution in. I had to make a stand to keep the meter in an upright position. Seems like for the kind of money they cost, the cap should have a flat spot or base built into the cap or at least an o-ring seal so that the solution wouldn't spill out.

As a side note: I'm currently looking at an Atlas Scientific Industrial PH Probe to incorporate into a control system I'm working on that has an advertised re-calibration period of one year and can be fully submerged in fresh or salt water indefinitely. It's the first one I've found that meets these requirements.
 
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Beachwalker

Well-Known Member
EL Connoisseur said:
I have it now 4 months..i dont know what will happen in the future..also from where i got it i have 1 year warranty, and i dont need to ship it anywhere..
Maybe you inappropriate used it after a while when u used to use it..or indeed will have problem by the manufacturers..
Time will show..!
However, thank you for sharing your experience man!
Click to expand...
Didn't have time to finish why I don't like the HM80 meter, but it had issues with the storage sponge in the cap, in the hot weather it got green alge.

Not long after that the sponge completely fell apart and fell out. I suspected alge may have rotted it.

shortly after that and for a long time it was giving me erroneous readings, however when I put it in the calibration solution it would read accurately?!

so it was throwing my pH off for quite some time without me knowing. That's the reason I wouldn't recommend the HM80 meter.

For approximately the same price as the HM80, the Apera 20 meter, the lowest price Apera Model without a replaceable bulb is still a far superior meter to the HM80 in every way, & that's what I was trying to explain above, good luck!
 
EL Connoisseur

EL Connoisseur

Well-Known Member
Beachwalker said:
Didn't have time to finish why I don't like the HM80 meter, but it had issues with the storage sponge in the cap, in the hot weather it got green alge.

Not long after that the sponge completely fell apart and fell out. I suspected alge may have rotted it.

shortly after that and for a long time it was giving me erroneous readings, however when I put it in the calibration solution it would read accurately?!

so it was throwing my pH off for quite some time without me knowing. That's the reason I wouldn't recommend the HM80 meter.

For approximately the same price as the HM80, the Apera 20 meter, the lowest price Apera Model without a replaceable bulb is still a far superior meter to the HM80 in every way, & that's what I was trying to explain above, good luck!
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Well man , i dont use this sponge..i dont trust it..
I usually have it rinsed for 1.5 inch in a glass of DISTILLED water! And i have another glass of disttiled water to rinse it into for clearing everytime i use it..
With this way i have it always calibrated..maybe once per month i check it and i dont have any issues..TILL NOW atleast!
 
B

Beachwalker

Well-Known Member
EL Connoisseur said:
Well man , i dont use this sponge..i dont trust it..
I usually have it rinsed for 1.5 inch in a glass of DISTILLED water! And i have another glass of disttiled water to rinse it into for clearing everytime i use it..
With this way i have it always calibrated..maybe once per month i check it and i dont have any issues..TILL NOW atleast!
Click to expand...
You're not supposed to store it in distilled water! You need the proper electrode storage solution my friend

Here's a link to the HM80 meter we are talking about and the storage chemical you should be using which is sold with it, using distilled water will kill the meter

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-COM-80-PH-STO-PH-BUF-Solution/dp/B01A85J12O/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?keywords=hm+80+ph&qid=1552848331&s=gateway&sr=8-5

Distilled water has nothing to do with the calibration of the meter, and the pH of distilled water cannot accurately be read without a specialty meter. If you're only checking it once a month, I'd rethink that and quick, hope this helps!
 
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