PH pens & TDS pens......

[southpaw76]

Hello fellow growers/smokers ,
I'm on my second grow now all from clones of my first grow. This time around I've invested a little more money and have been getting better results thus far. However, on the subject of PH and TDS, I've been using the typical General Hydroponics PH tester (the liquid dropper with the vials etc..etc..). I want to invest in a good PH pen and a good TDS pen. I grow in soil and I know I don't have to have them but I would like to invest in them for my own piece of mind.

What can you guys recommend as far as an accurate PH and TDS pen??? I know that most of them are anywhere between $20.00 to over $100.00 for each, not including the calibration solution and I know that you usually get what you pay for. I guess what I'm looking for is something that is easy to use, reliable and accurate. Any suggestions, thanks....

 

[cheeseduck20]

I bought a tds ez for like 15 bucks off the net, maybe ebay if i remember right. Works just fine for me, though it is all i have ever known. I also an oakton ultra basic that has been good to me too..like 79 bucks. Pretty easy to calibrate but again, its the only one I've used. So all in 100 bucks and I can get some pretty good measurements. Hope this helps.

 

[southpaw76]

Thanks cheese, yeah I've read and heard a lot of good things about Oakton and Hanna as PH pen. I also heard a lot of good things about this other one, it's a TDS pen only that doesn't need calibration ever. I forgot the name but it's white and blue and it's about 10 to 12 inches in length... Anybody know which one I'm talking about????

 

[rafe]

ph pens

ph pens

On the ph pens for sale on the net some say 6ph, 7ph, 8ph, How do I know which one to get??

 

[Pseudo]

wel my ideal ph is 5.5-6.5 so i would get one that could at least go to 7 or 8

 

[Pseudo]

i buy the cheapos off ebay and toss them when the malfunction

 

[rafe]

PH

PH

Thanks a lot!! Just brought a plant in from outside to put under 12/12 and she has already started!! Problem is my stickers fells off in a thunderstorm and with my short term memory loss I have no idea what it is. Just know it is a mainly indica plant.

 

[FreezerBoy]

pH pens are a crapshoot. In my own informal pen survey, Oakton came in least crappy followed by Milwaukee with Hanna being the bottom of the barrel. I stuck with my $5 test drop kit.

Question: Is 100º below freezing, body temp, boiling or a geometric angle? Answer: yes. There's no such thing as a TDS pen. There are pens that display EC and pens that do not. Those that do not (so called PPM or TDS pens) hide EC by degrading the number into nonsense by one of at least 5 different conversion factors. Your garden doesn't care, it's illiterate. Conversations however, go better with EC. PPM and TDS are the equal of saying 100º. They're numbers everyone disagrees about. EC is EC the world over.

I forgot the name but it's white and blue and it's about 10 to 12 inches in length... Anybody know which one I'm talking about????

I suspect you're talking about the BlueLab EC Truncheon. I love mine but, in all honesty, now that I have it, I wonder if the $5 test drop kit wasn't enough.

 

[rafe]

PH pen has been bought!

PH pen has been bought!

I just bought a Milwaukee pen off ebay. If it screws up they are affordable. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[inflorescence]

In my own informal pen survey, Oakton came in least crappy followed by Milwaukee with Hanna being the bottom of the barrel.

That's pretty much how I rate pH meters also, (not which one is the best, because they all suck) but which one sucks the least.

 

[Cannabean]

I have a Milwaukee PH51 Waterproof Sharp pH Meter and very much dislike it. it takes forever to get a reading and the cap, which is supposed to hold the storage solution does not make a liquidtight seal. I have to make it stand on its end or it will all leak out...and its not made to stand on end so i have to prop it up or it will fall over. piece of sh1t.
I also have a Hanna 98300 ppm meter which works flawlessly everytime.

 

[chubbynugs]

This hanna meter straight kicks ass. very accurate and easy calibration for ppm and ph. Hanna also has a great reputation with the hydro store near the house. If i have any problems with no questions asked they will swap me a new meter forever. So basically i will never have to buy a meter again. Some companies have better warranties which is something you should look into. Those truncheon wands dont have the same track record at my local dro store.

 

[southpaw76]

Hey chubby, is that the combo one that tests PH, EC and PPM???

 

[chubbynugs]

Hey chubby, is that the combo one that tests PH, EC and PPM???

Not sure if it has an ec reading but it does have ppms and ph on it. There is another mode that has numbers but have no idea what that is.