O
ogatec
wowser thats high! they usuaslly run btw 80-100. thats still expensive but 140 is a ripoff. i would shop somewhere else.
EVERY GOOD GROWER has a pH / ppm meter
- Thread starter KUSHT4TUS
- Start date
wowser thats high! they usuaslly run btw 80-100. thats still expensive but 140 is a ripoff. i would shop somewhere else.
Tools of the trade!
0'dweeds
Member
I have one of these too. How were you able to tell if the probe needed to be replaced?
Vincent Vega
Member
From what I've heard from a friend that owns a shop is that Trimeters used to be good, then quality went down the drain and they stopped stocking them due to high returns.
Apparently things are on the up and up now and there have only been a couple returns in the last few months...so who knows.
Personally I have been verry happy with trimieters and know many that feel the same.
Apparently things are on the up and up now and there have only been a couple returns in the last few months...so who knows.
Personally I have been verry happy with trimieters and know many that feel the same.
its got to be the bluelab its reliable,tough,and factory calibrated.... had it for four years ... it's bang on everytime 
As I say, after flushing $300 down the drain, I did serious research on this. Nothing was regarded higher than the Truncheon. I'll never buy a Hanna product.
Hardly. Pens are toys and a crapshoot at best. Armed with my Truncheon, I stuck with pH test drops. Accurate to 0.1, instant results, no batteries, no calibration, no maintenance.
CaptainTrips
Active member
I agree about the ppm tester, but as far as pH, my test indicator solution never gives a wrong reading. The batteries still havent gone dead!
I agree with that, ph meters are finicky/fragile, need to be calibrated, unreliable, expensive, etc... drops work fine. I'd love a Truncheon EC meter though. Currently get by with a cheap HM digital TDS meter.
N
narutonut
I don't know if I should call myself a good grower. I know enough that the mystery's gone. I know what kind of yields to expect, have my nutes dialed in, etc. Room for improvement? Definitely.
Thing about pH pens is, I have one, and I don't USE the damn thing. My water comes out of the tap at around 7.2 pH and 250 PPMs. By the time I've added nutes it's down to 6.5, maybe a little more, and my girls don't complain.
My point is, once you've got a handle on your source water, there's a chance you'll be happy with it without pH adjustment, which for me is way more of a PITA than it's worth. So your pH pen might end up collecting dust.
I use my TDS pen every couple days though, that I couldn't do without.
I think a lot of people read that 5.7 pH is "ideal" and then they waste a lot of time chasing that magic number. This is just IMO, and I don't know for sure, but I'd bet that in reality 5.7 is the center of an ideal RANGE for pH, and anything from (just pulling numbers) 5.3 to 6.1 is still within that range.
wickedpete66
Active member
I have been using milwaukees ph53 waterproof pen. i also use their ec66 pen. What i like about Milwaukee is when they die, I call up their customer service and they send me a new one. Their cust service is outstanding.
H
Hazyfontazy
When you don't want to fuck around with cheap toys.
i use the truncheon and bluelabs ph metre ,bought seperates just in case of failure
Hannah Grochecks are crap. I bought 2, both were dead and or useless within a week.
I'm just using a cheap dual tds meter made for testing reverse osmosis filters, cost 30 bucks on amazon and I can continually monitor 2 dwc buckets.
I have a pen ph meter, maybe 40 bucks off amazon.
Also have some ph test strips just in case anything breaks.
I've been looking for a good continuous combo meter for a while - those expensive blue ones seem to be the best so far, they are just too spendy for my first time steez. Maybe once I get a couple grows in I'll spring for a couple.
I'm just using a cheap dual tds meter made for testing reverse osmosis filters, cost 30 bucks on amazon and I can continually monitor 2 dwc buckets.
I have a pen ph meter, maybe 40 bucks off amazon.
Also have some ph test strips just in case anything breaks.
I've been looking for a good continuous combo meter for a while - those expensive blue ones seem to be the best so far, they are just too spendy for my first time steez. Maybe once I get a couple grows in I'll spring for a couple.
Metalhead419
Member
Hanna is cheap garbage at best. Went through 2 different types of hanna, first one never really read right, sometimes it would, sometimes it would read 1.5 high on the ph, causing me to set my ph to 4. The other one, the one that costs 200 dollers with a 140 doller replacement probe, WTF is that? The probe broke in the first 3 months of use. Piece of shit.
Hanna Combo pH & EC
Model: HI 98129
They work very well but are slow..... you need to wait for the ph to settle. I have had the same one with the old probe for over 4 years and it still works flawless. I calibrate it ever month and only need to adjust it every 6 months to a year.
Dont get me wrong I love my Truncheon but the ppm reading on my hanna is the same..
I use to have a Truncheon style ph tester but they were recalled and they haven't made a new one... if they did those 2 would be a SICK combo.
Model: HI 98129
They work very well but are slow..... you need to wait for the ph to settle. I have had the same one with the old probe for over 4 years and it still works flawless. I calibrate it ever month and only need to adjust it every 6 months to a year.
Dont get me wrong I love my Truncheon but the ppm reading on my hanna is the same..
I use to have a Truncheon style ph tester but they were recalled and they haven't made a new one... if they did those 2 would be a SICK combo.
C
cyberwax
You need both the drops AND the meter for accurate measures.(if your a ninja, like im trying to be)
But if you just want it to work; go with drops, they never fail, meters do and thats reason enough.
But if you just want it to work; go with drops, they never fail, meters do and thats reason enough.
D'oh! Shame on me. Forgot to mention the abysmal marks the ph Truncheon received. Established owners loved their old models but, I guess they changed something that screwed the newcomers.
cygnus
Member
I am surprised so many people having trouble with Hanna. I have a 5 yeasr old 20 dollar ebay PPM pen that is still on the stock batteries. It never goes more than about 50-75 PPM's out of cal. ever. I calibrate it twice a year. I did buy a ph pen that is hit or miss. So I use the drops. I might try one of the bluelab ones though because you never know when those damn batteries will die.
Absolutely.
It makes no sense to me for people to store ph pens dirty. These things are not cheap.
It only take a second to wash them.
Hell, I just watched my friend the other day leave his pen uncapped and sitting on the table, and he wonders why he has problems.
I've been using the same hanna pen for YEARS, it calibrates every time.
