Cheap But Reliable pH Meter

ChiefRunningPhist

Well-Known Member
That is just cray-cray.

Cough up a few dollars and buy some real calibration sol'n. Unless you grow your plants at pH 2.4 then carry on bro.
Lol to each his own. If you notice, I said it's what I used to use. No need getting huffy over pH calibration solution. The fact that someone calibrated at all should be an applaud not a pick on how he does it.. And it doesn't make it any less accurate either lol
 

mordynyc

Well-Known Member
I've tried those flat tampon meters they are good as you say but average lasting 6 months until they complete get stuck no mater how much you clean or calibrate or change the battery.
I was wondering if anyone has tried these with the replaceable probes?
amazon probe
there was 1 bad review/10 but it seemed like a derp who thought it was water proof lol.
now who can find the probes haha
 

mordynyc

Well-Known Member
thought i'd check ali...of course the flat tampon ones shipped from US even for under 9 bux lol.
So it seems the round one direct from china is only a few bux cheaper so the amazon deal is good. But the probes are on aliexpress for about $11 shipped from china.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
I've tried those flat tampon meters they are good as you say but average lasting 6 months until they complete get stuck no mater how much you clean or calibrate or change the battery.
I was wondering if anyone has tried these with the replaceable probes?
amazon probe
there was 1 bad review/10 but it seemed like a derp who thought it was water proof lol.
now who can find the probes haha
I have not tried that exact one. I have tried over the years a very many cheaper pH pens. There was a yellow one with black cap, generic, that was good for 6 - 10 months then it would shit the bed but for like 20 bucks it's was ok. Still when it shits the bed you are scrambling if you don't have other meters. Honestly the cheap ones are hit and miss. You may get one that will be reliable for up to a year but 90% of the ones I have tried were shit from the get go. No stable reading, couldn't calibrate, stuff like that. Whats weird is back in the day I had Hanna HI98120 combo pens, they were bad ass, they worked for 3 to 4 years with no probe replacement. Had one in my truck so I always had one with me, that one got hot and cold, would sit for weeks without use but storage solution in the cap and it was rarely off when calibrated. Had two others at different grows, both champs. As I remember the meter was about $120 and a replacement probe about $70. Even had the probes dry out and just soaked them in tap water would bring them back most of the time. Used those meters for about 8 years then they went to shit and the probe wouldn't last for a minute, probably old stock, so I moved away from them.
 

mordynyc

Well-Known Member
I have not tried that exact one. I have tried over the years a very many cheaper pH pens. There was a yellow one with black cap, generic, that was good for 6 - 10 months then it would shit the bed but for like 20 bucks it's was ok. Still when it shits the bed you are scrambling if you don't have other meters. Honestly the cheap ones are hit and miss. You may get one that will be reliable for up to a year but 90% of the ones I have tried were shit from the get go. No stable reading, couldn't calibrate, stuff like that. Whats weird is back in the day I had Hanna HI98120 combo pens, they were bad ass, they worked for 3 to 4 years with no probe replacement. Had one in my truck so I always had one with me, that one got hot and cold, would sit for weeks without use but storage solution in the cap and it was rarely off when calibrated. Had two others at different grows, both champs. As I remember the meter was about $120 and a replacement probe about $70. Even had the probes dry out and just soaked them in tap water would bring them back most of the time. Used those meters for about 8 years then they went to shit and the probe wouldn't last for a minute, probably old stock, so I moved away from them.
So comparatively if these work for 6-10 months if you take care of it, and it's 30 bux total for one+an extra probe...if each probe lasts 6 months it's way worth it since these dont need storage in a solution either i believe.
 

GBAUTO

Well-Known Member
I've tried those flat tampon meters they are good as you say but average lasting 6 months until they complete get stuck no mater how much you clean or calibrate or change the battery.
I was wondering if anyone has tried these with the replaceable probes?
amazon probe
there was 1 bad review/10 but it seemed like a derp who thought it was water proof lol.
now who can find the probes haha
I'll let you know in about a week. Ordered one of these to use this season.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
I've tried those flat tampon meters they are good as you say but average lasting 6 months until they complete get stuck no mater how much you clean or calibrate or change the battery.
I was wondering if anyone has tried these with the replaceable probes?
amazon probe
there was 1 bad review/10 but it seemed like a derp who thought it was water proof lol.
now who can find the probes haha
For $20 bucks on sale I will try one.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
So I got the "tampon meters" lol On first note they seem pretty cheap in construction, as one would expect. Also the instructions are difficult to decipher, as one would expect. I am not fond of the compressed font on the LCD either but it's serviceable. Comes with the pH buffer powders (lame) 6.86 (lame). But fortunately I have a bottle of the 6.86. I don't like it when they get away from the pH 7 buffer because they just want you to buy their special shit.

I will attempt to calibrate them later and see how they do. First I will compare readings out of the box to my bluelab that is calibrated and reliable. Just to see how close they are out the box.

I did change the temperature units from C to F so I can comprehend the readings lol.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
So i stuck them all in some nutes, close and consistent out the box.

20191110_182059.jpg

Stuck them in 7.0 cal solution i had used to make sure the blue lab was on point and they read 6.80 and 6.84.

20191110_182406.jpg20191110_182433.jpg

Next to dig up my bottle of 6.86 buffer and calibrate these and see how they do in service.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Nice gj. Ill be getting one too then next time.
We will see how they do over time. How long they stay calibrated, how long they last. So far they perform very well, fast readings, faster than my blue lab that is old reliable. Hadn't calibrated it in a couple weeks, dropped it in the 7.0 and it read 7.0. Can't beat that for a meter thats about a year old.
 

2com

Well-Known Member
Yeah I don't expect much longevity out of a 13 dollar meter lol If it works for 6 months it's still a good deal, just have a new one waiting in the wings.
Good share.

What are the "new ones" (that would be in your inventory) stored in? I.e.: what/how do they ship? Are they in a storage solution?

The thing that's annoying is what brand is that pen? There are 40 "yellow"/"red" ph pens on amazon/ebay and most of them are probably the exact same one, but it's hard to know what one you're getting. Then when they sell them all, they'r gone forever because the seller "just had a pallet of them" or something? Haha.

I'd pay good money for an improvement on the bluelabs I normally see/use. Like lab quality pH meter, within reasonable price I mean. Something I can trust, otherwise it's just an addition to pH drops. Lol!
 

2com

Well-Known Member
Sounds like the BlueLab needs a proper cleaning.

My pH pen, EcoTestr by Eutech/Oakton was really slow to stabilize so I used a 2-part cleaning sol'n on it and now it's really fast in comparison.

I rarely use my pH pen and it had sat on the shelf bone dry for about 3 years. It's at least 7 years old now and after soaking in storage sol'n for a couple days before using again has worked fine.

I buy the pre-made liquid calibration sol'ns in 4 and 7. Same for the ppm pen tho 1000ppm.

I also keep the pH pen on the same spot on the top shelf in the grow room so I never have to go looking for it. ;)

:peace:
What is the two part cleaning solution, do you know?
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
I'd pay good money for an improvement on the bluelabs I normally see/use. Like lab quality pH meter, within reasonable price I mean. Something I can trust, otherwise it's just an addition to pH drops. Lol!
I would recommend Apera if they didn't screw me on a warranty issue.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Good share.

What are the "new ones" (that would be in your inventory) stored in? I.e.: what/how do they ship? Are they in a storage solution?

The thing that's annoying is what brand is that pen? There are 40 "yellow"/"red" ph pens on amazon/ebay and most of them are probably the exact same one, but it's hard to know what one you're getting. Then when they sell them all, they'r gone forever because the seller "just had a pallet of them" or something? Haha.

I'd pay good money for an improvement on the bluelabs I normally see/use. Like lab quality pH meter, within reasonable price I mean. Something I can trust, otherwise it's just an addition to pH drops. Lol!
Stored in Bluelab KCl solution. Shipped like they may have been wet and it dried out leaving a salty residue.
 
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