Bought a New Tester

[Ca++]

Sorry I should have been more specific I was referring to 9.0 PH, the PPM is 140 or so.

Your rain off a tiled roof?
140ppm seems high. A quick search suggests half of that more typical. Some say 170ppm is hard water. 140ppm seems unreasonable.

As he said, pH meters loose accuracy as EC drops. Rain should trouble them. Though yours isn't just rain it seems.

 

[Deleted member 534625]

Your rain off a tiled roof?
140ppm seems high. A quick search suggests half of that more typical. Some say 170ppm is hard water. 140ppm seems unreasonable.

As he said, pH meters loose accuracy as EC drops. Rain should trouble them. Though yours isn't just rain it seems.

Yea well. I may be misremembering, who remembers.

 

[Ca++]

Chinese new year. Lasts about 3 months, if you are waiting for something. Just 10 days, if you're not.

I feel wounded for you.

 

[smilley]

Aliexpress settled my dispute and is going to refund my C$0.69. I can get the same ph meter for C$12.99 with next day delivery from Amazon or try Aliexpress again for C$2.69 with 30 day delivery. It's just for back-up so I may cheap out again and try Ali again, I haven't decided yet.

 

[Ca++]

Aliexpress settled my dispute and is going to refund my C$0.69. I can get the same ph meter for C$12.99 with next day delivery from Amazon or try Aliexpress again for C$2.69 with 30 day delivery. It's just for back-up so I may cheap out again and try Ali again, I haven't decided yet.

$3 does sound like you might get it lol
Bang Good are a bit like Ali, with their consumer gadget lineup.
Ali tend to side with the consumer these days, and are quick to say keep it, when things are not as expected. They have had to, as Temu started doing it, and I think Sheen. The seller just has to put up with it. Even the main distributors for Temu are working below cost. They are stuffing everyone, growing massively, for the price of a future promise. I don't think Temu sell gadgets though.

China Post 7-30 days service, is 5cad for 100g. I'm not sure how an independent can sell you one for $3. The stuff Ali warehouse, all shares an Ali container. There freight forwarding specialists know all the best routes, and people compete to get Ali's custom. Then the government are known to subsidise them. It's hard to compete with such a well oiled machine. Amazon do the same, but the warehouse is in Canada, usually on your side of the customs boarder. So it's costs a little more, but not a lot more, and it's closer.
Ali wouldn't normally boat over something so small though. It's an envelope, on a plane. 7 day stuff. But $10cad. Chinese wages are not far off ours. It can't be massively cheaper. Though buying direct does cut out the Canadian stockist. The Harbourfreight man, or whoever. Amazon don't take on his role, as they are a warehousing and distribution company. We need these somewhere. It's just a case of where.

$3cad is just two quid. You are not getting them batteries

 

[smilley]

I git my refund from Ali and decided to try them again. Same tester for C$4.69 with delivery for March 7. Different vendor this time, I'll report back later...

 

[smilley]

It arrived today, more than 2 weeks early. It didn't come with the callibration powder but did come with batteries. I have my own callibration fluid so everything is good.

For C$4.64 I'm extremely pleased. I'll put it in stock until the old one fails.

 

[Ca++]

Nice. A disposable meter, at a disposable price.
That's $3.50US / E3.20 / £2.75
I would struggle to get batteries for £2.75

I wonder if the first seller has been removed from the platform now. There business model might of been finding people that will just let a dollar go, without chasing it.

Ali-bashing seems to be a thing of the past, and perhaps Canada don't make disposable pH meters anyway. I'm happy you stuck with it. While equally perplexed over how they get such good postage deals, when I can't

I would be tempted to try it, but you are right not to. They will store a couple of years before use, but once wet that changes.
Recent posts have suggest Amazon is a disposal site for old models, and short shelf life items. Removing that supply stage is probably useful.


Perhaps here back from you in a few months

 

[smilley]

So, I've been running a Fall crop. I checked the first tester after 3 months of non-use and being dry. It's working perfectly and didn't need any recalibration. It takes about 60 seconds to produce a true reading. All is good, and for a cheap tester I'm very satisfied.

 

[Ca++]

Following on from your purchase, I also picked up two pH and two EC. One of the EC is dodgy, which I didn't expect. The two pH have different ideas of what to say, based on EC. That raised an eyebrow, but I didn't re-calibrate either. Both are about the same stood in the solutions, but wider apart as the feed is increased. Still, It's just an observation, and not an actual problem.

I have always made things up around 5.4 and expected that to climb towards 6. Recent reading suggests 5.5 - 6 suits most hydro crops. Bugbee actually feel cannabis is different to all other plants, and 6 - 6.5 is his range. I have gone through the possibilities again since learning this, and still feel the old standard of 5.8 is perfectly workable, and wouldn't really care about missing that by a few points. Which is within the scope of these meters. Even though mine don't actually agree.

I think I will stick with these cheap things, heading forward. I do like the ownership value of more costly one's, but frankly, this is enough, and having two is even better.

Initially, I had two, as it was clean and dirty. Tank/runoff. Now I'm in recirculating, I just use two, to check one isn't broken.