are there any good pH meters out there?

[Lammy]

does anyone make a decent pH/EC meter? in the last 2 years I spent about 800 dollars on meters. not 1 of them has lasted more than 6 months. the latest is this Hanna combo meter and it didn't even last 5 minutes. it won't stay powered on and Hannah has no phone number for technical support. from reviews I've read elsewhere they will not honor their warranty and even if they did what's the point in spending 20-30 dollars to mail this thing back and forth. I need to buy a new meter so that I have 1 to use. the question is what should I buy? I started with a nutri dip tri meter. that thing worked for about 4-5 months and then because I'm the biggest idiot in the world I actually bought another 1 of those. if you've ever seen 1 in person you know what I mean it looks like some silly freakin toy that you just spend well over 100 dollars on. the second 1 lasted maybe 2 or 3 months. next I went with the MilWaukee 802 combo meter. coming from the Tri meter I thought this was the greatest meter in the world. the probe dried out on it and I had to spend 100 dollars to buy a new probe. 6 weeks after that the control unit got wet and so now that doesn't work. which is why I made sure to get a waterproof meter this time. the Hanna 98129. it sure looks like a nice meter but it didn't even last 5 minutes and now it won't stay powered on for more than a few seconds. I sure wish like hell I bought this thing some place that I could just walk into and get a new one. I'm sure that if Hannah or PLH replace is this thing it will not be for months. but I doubt they'll replace it at all from other reviews that I've read they do not support their products. I believe that after spending more money to mail this piece of crap back to them they will then later contact me and tell me that I must pay for them to repair it.

does anyone know of a decent meter? or better yet a place where I can buy a meter and then return it in person the same day for a replacement or a refund.

 

[Wonderon]

I have a Hanna that does work but I agree I've replaced it twice and they suck as far as accuracy and require constant recalibration. Bluelabs seems to be the way to go, they cost about $100 but have great reviews.

 

[noyd666]

lammy, glad i seen this, was about to order nutri tri meter, no good ya say. people all over seem to have nothing but bloody failures with these rip off items. might go bluelab ,about 400.00 here ,seen horti ones but cost 1 to 2 bloody grand.

 

[noyd666]

maybe we all could do with a list of good quality products , and black the rubbish that dont work .fukk em

 

[Lammy]

noyd666,
I'm glad I could help you out those tri meters are absolute garbage.

wonderon
I don't see a blue lab meter that does both pH and EC for anywhere near 100 dollars.
I'm starting to think that I should just get to separate meters 1 for the pH in 1 for the EC.
they seem to be cheaper and at least then I only have to replace 1 part at a time

 

[bushed]

I have been using a cheap ebay ph meter for more than 2 years now and have never had an issue. I calibrate about once a month but it has never slipped more than .1 out. Doesnt measure EC but this isn't a big deal for me, maybe you could get one as a stand in while you go through getting the expensive one repaired.

 

[Lammy]

bushed
I'd love to try that you have a name for those

 

[rives]

wonderon
I don't see a blue lab meter that does both pH and EC for anywhere near 100 dollars.
I'm starting to think that I should just get to separate meters 1 for the pH in 1 for the EC.
they seem to be cheaper and at least then I only have to replace 1 part at a time

This is what I've done with BlueLabs, and have been very happy with them.

 

[bushed]

bushed
I'd love to try that you have a name for those

Doesnt have a brand name that I know of, just search ph meter on your countries ebay, they sell for about $10 US. Im actually amazed how good the quality is when hearing about meters that cost 20 times the price having a short life span.

 

[the gnome]

bluelab, reliable and dependable
had mine for 2 years now, got it for $50 off the auction sites and an extra Ph pen for $20 brand new as a back up.

 

[Wonderon]

My bad, I didn't read it all. Bluelab ph is around $100. I'd rather seperate meters so in case it fucks up it won't be that drastic.

 

[Guest 349079]

i am using the new bluelab ph pen works a treat

 

[Greyskull]

whatever you do i reccommend spending the extra 5 and also getting some gh ph drops to double check manually...
batteries lose power calibration shifts....

drops to the rescue
not dead nuts accurate but if youre in range youre golden

by the way i have been using a bluelab combo meter w separate leads for ph & ec/ppm for about 2 years now.
AWESOME!!!!

 

[Puscifer]

I love my Bluelab ph pen so much that I went and bought their ppm pen as well

 

[Aquagold]

Best bet is Bluelab or try a YSI for water solutions.

 

[Lammy]

thanks a lot for the advice guys.
I am really undecided that's what I want to do.
part of me wants to get a nice blue labs meter that hopefully would last at least a couple months.
the other part of me is thinking about just getting cheap meters because even the really expensive ones are pieces of crap.
I just don't think I could take it if I paid all that money for the blue labs and it turned out to be as big a piece of crap as the Hanna.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

I've been using Oakton and Blue Lab testers with good success.

I always buy TRUSTWORTHY, ACCURATE TOOLS.
Nothing quite feels like the lights coming on to a room half full of FRIED plants with a bargain basement tester.

And get good calibration fluids all 3! 4,7, and 10. And the guy at the science store says the storage solution is important. I think he's paid on commision tho,,,,, lol.

Starting out,,, Get a good one, you need accurate info when something starts to go wrong. And it will.

Cheers and happy growing.

fwiw,,,, my garden made a vast improvement after I started pH-ing everything.

Meters (even the good ones) are "consumeable" - need to be replaced. If it wont calibrate, toss it and get a new one. Try the batteries, you might get lucky.

NEVER, EVER buy a used pH or ec tester. It may calibrate, but for how long??

 

[Vernal Equinox]

I have had a BlueLabs Truncheon meter for six years...the last five in storage (I even forgot to remove batteries). Popped it into RO water and BAM!...still working even on the old batteries! And yes, I verified the PPM of my tap water too, as the RO water gives no reading, lol. Zero calibration needed, ever. Best $125 I ever spent on kit.

I use RO water and bio-tubs (ala-NIMBY) running Lucas, so PH is NEVER an issue (I'll spot-check a few times, but ALWAYS, ALWAYS within range), nor are reservoir changes, although this run I might break down and change at the flip. We'll see.

If BlueLabs PH meters are near the same quality as their truncheons, I'd go for it without reservation. Good luck.

 

[farmdalefurr]

ive had a Milwuakee mw100 for almost 2 years now

gets calibrated maybe once a month, if that

has never, and i mean NEVER, been more than a point off

http://www.water-testers.com/contents/en-us/p4323_milwaukee_mw100.html

 

[Lammy]

does anyone have a compelling reason not to get the cheap pens?
I found those PH pens for $10 and there's plenty of other ones for 20 - 50.
I could get both a pH pen and a EC pen for 50 bucks.

I looked for the blue lab and to get the EC and pH pen separately it's gonna cost about 160 dollars plus shipping. which would be fine had I not just spent 135 dollars plus shipping 2 days ago.

how bad could the cheap ones be?