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I like the Hannah combo meter for hydro. It measures pH, EC/PPM & temp. It's also waterproof and it floats if you accidentally drop it into the nute solution. It's kind of expensive ($179) and I hated shelling out that money when I was setting up my system a few months ago, but it is well worth it IMO.
It's not. PPM CANNOT be measured with a pen or meter. PPM requires a chemical analysis pens and meters CANNOT provide. All pens and meters, regardless of the label, measure EC and EC alone. The difference between a pen marked EC and those marked "PPM" or "TDS" is: EC models display EC, "PPM" and "TDS" meters hide EC and display babel.
There is no excuse for "PPM" or "TDS". Do us and the hobby a favor and stick with EC.
I use the Truncheon from Blue Labs. It works great and is easy to use. I'm going to have to agree with freezerboy in that EC is the measure to go with because of the inaccuracies in the conversion factors to convert EC to PPM or TDS.
Plants are illiterate, they don't care. If you can see numbers go up and down, you can run a grow but, "PPM" and "TDS" remain inexcusable nonsense the hobby is better off without.
I have nothing against the display, The trouble is what the display says. If the display says PPM or TDS you know for a fact that it's wrong. Guaranteed.
PPM says 500 PPM and 784 PPM both equal 1.0 EC. Therefore, 500 PPM and 784 PPM are equal values. How bout I give you $500 and you give me $784 and we call it even? Didn't think you'd fall for that.
PPM says 550 is a stronger solution than 750. How bout I give you $550 and you give me $750 and you'll have more money than I do. Didn't think you'd fall for that either.
If you wont fall for that nonsense with a $ sign, why fall for it with a PPM sign? Odd is putting faith in equipment proven to be incapable of it's advertised function.
Why handle it all? Use EC and no conversions are needed and you're understood everywhere you go. Use PPM and you have, at BEST an 11% chance of being understood. That's an 89% possibility of being misunderstood. Why do you recommend an 89% failure rate over 100% success?
I can drive a nail with a monkey wrench. People use sub standard equipment all the time. Doesn't make it advisable.
So far, the totality of your defense of PPM is:
Wrong answer guaranteed.
Much more work.
Nobody understands you.
I'm not paying money for that.
Show me a meter that will display accurately with no effort and is universally understood and I'll buy it. Oh, wait, I did. It's called an EC meter.
Yes you can run a grow with bargain basement equipment. But, if you're meter free, go EC. It's no more money, saves time and effort, provides honest accurate readings understood the world over and, most importantly, does the hobby a great service.
No pen provides PPM values. That takes chemical analysis. When 500=784 but 550 is more than 750, that's the definition of inaccurate. The only thing you can count on with a "PPM" reading is you know it's wrong. Every time. Guaranteed.