jonnynobody
Well-Known Member
I'm tired of going through cheap pens like clockwork and am seeking something more reliable with a replaceable probe. I just ordered the 2 following meters off of amazon and am awaiting a Christmas Eve delivery.
Blue Lab PH Meter
Milwaukee MW602
Both meters have replaceable probes. The MW 102 has a 2 year warranty on the unit and Blue Lab has a 5 year warranty on the unit. Both companies warranty the probe for 6 months. The Blue Lab only has a PH resolution of .1 whereas the MW102 has a resolution of .01 which is more preferable in my opinion, because with a .01 resolution you can tell when the meter reading is beginning to drift. With a .1 resolution the unit will always be rounding up or down which is still plenty functional, but it is a downgrade in my opinion. Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but this is a pricey purchase and nitpick I will do.
Blue Lab meters seem to only be popular within the growing community and nowhere else and my personal feeling is that they are overpriced for the technology they actually bring to the table after looking at the specs compared to PH meters in the same price range from competitors. Also, compare Blue Lab's price on their website of $299.99 for the combo meter versus $177.00 on Amazon and ebay (or any local grow shop for that matter). That's not confidence inspiring to me. That doesn't make the meter junk, but that definitely doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy inside about Blue Lab as a company and how they market their product. Anyhow, I digress.
Every grower I've asked that I know has suggested Blue Lab which is why I reluctantly ordered it. The Milwaukee MW102 is apparently big in the home brewing community and I personally like the specs better than Blue Lab's. I tried a $100.00 Hanna meter recently with a .01 resolution and immediately after calibration I watched the reading drift +.06 as the probe was still sitting in the 4.0 cal solution. Promptly returned and unimpressed with Hannah aside from their great customer service.
What do you guys use? I've even tossed around the idea of narrow range PH strips, but it just seems like it would be tedious and cumbersome in the end.
Blue Lab PH Meter
Milwaukee MW602
Both meters have replaceable probes. The MW 102 has a 2 year warranty on the unit and Blue Lab has a 5 year warranty on the unit. Both companies warranty the probe for 6 months. The Blue Lab only has a PH resolution of .1 whereas the MW102 has a resolution of .01 which is more preferable in my opinion, because with a .01 resolution you can tell when the meter reading is beginning to drift. With a .1 resolution the unit will always be rounding up or down which is still plenty functional, but it is a downgrade in my opinion. Maybe I'm just nitpicking, but this is a pricey purchase and nitpick I will do.
Blue Lab meters seem to only be popular within the growing community and nowhere else and my personal feeling is that they are overpriced for the technology they actually bring to the table after looking at the specs compared to PH meters in the same price range from competitors. Also, compare Blue Lab's price on their website of $299.99 for the combo meter versus $177.00 on Amazon and ebay (or any local grow shop for that matter). That's not confidence inspiring to me. That doesn't make the meter junk, but that definitely doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy inside about Blue Lab as a company and how they market their product. Anyhow, I digress.
Every grower I've asked that I know has suggested Blue Lab which is why I reluctantly ordered it. The Milwaukee MW102 is apparently big in the home brewing community and I personally like the specs better than Blue Lab's. I tried a $100.00 Hanna meter recently with a .01 resolution and immediately after calibration I watched the reading drift +.06 as the probe was still sitting in the 4.0 cal solution. Promptly returned and unimpressed with Hannah aside from their great customer service.
What do you guys use? I've even tossed around the idea of narrow range PH strips, but it just seems like it would be tedious and cumbersome in the end.
