Ph Pen suggestions needed

[Danks2005]

Years ago I bought a milwaukee ph pen. It was great, and lasted about 2years. Then I switched to organic soil and didnt use it for several years, so it was dried out and therefore ruined.

So I recently decided to go back to hydro. Because I was very happy with my previous Milwaukee ph pen, I bought the same again.

Well, it broke in less than a week. Took it back, it was replaced, and in less than a week the 2nd one broke.

At this point I am just dissapointed, and tired of dealing with what I feel is a poor product. I'm ready to chalk it up as an $80 loss, and buy a more reliable meter. I am also going to buy a liquid ph test kit or litmus paper for backup.

So, here is the question. What Ph meter would you guys recommend?

Also, what would you recommend for backup, liquid test kit or litmus paper?

 

[Hammerhead]

Blue lab combo PH,EC,TEMP.... No backup required

 

[shuswap]

i bought a blue lab that does temp and ph,personally i dont like it,first off the cap is a bitch cause it fits so damn tight,but the realproblem is its accuracy,il callibrate it in 7 and then 4 and then fresh water rinse inbetween and then fresh water rinse after,then back to the 7 solution and it will read 6.7 not seven and fresh water rinse and into 4 solution and its up around 4.4 im not happy with mine and am actually taking it back tomorrow,this is just my experience....

 

[Danks2005]

I am really starting to think about just using litmus soley. I am starting to think that having ph dead on at 5.8 is not that important. Keeping between 5.7 and 6.3 is completely fine for the plant, and I'm pretty sure I can keep it in this range using litmus, and never have to worry about a meter breaking.

Any of you guys using litmus only? If so, how is it working for you?

 

[walt cunningham]

i had the eco oakton, and wasn't too happy with it either. seemed to be like the blu lab, but but as bad, only by .2 or so. they do make one that does hundredths, so you would get a readout of 5.71, maybe that one is more reliable.

 

[conehead]

Any PH meter works well if calibrated on a weekly basis. There is no need to spend large amounts buy a cheapy & calibrate regular. Thats all.

 

[GOT DANK]

Extech Model PH100 sells for $115 from any Grainger Supply.

 

[spearzy]

i have used horticare ph pens for the past few years i have 2 of them and very rarely have to recalibrate them never had any problems whatsoever with them,in fact ive only recallibrated them routinely but never noticed them go out at all,they do a cheaper not waterproof version and a slightly more expensive waterproof version i got the slightly more expensive 1,also bluelab have just released a new ph pen and ec pen not sure how good they would be though ill stick with the horticare ph pen no problems to date also the horticare ec pens they are rubbish all over the place with readings but the ph pens brilliant.

spearzy

 

[BigDawg]

Extech Model PH100 sells for $115 from any Grainger Supply.

^ $90 on amazon - and free shipping

how did your Milwaukee pen "break"? With any meter you have to take care of it. Store it in proper solution and calibrate it.

Not sure which Milwaukee model you had but i've had the Milwaukee pH55 for over a year and it's been great for $50

Just make sure you take care of whatever you decide to get.​

 

[TREE KING]

if you wanna get a good cheap meter get the oakton EcoTestr http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=pz6qTpydJYj00gGF75TLDw&ved=0CIUBEPICMAU
ive had this one for a couple months and the people at the hydro store where i bought it say they have been using it for years and its the only one they use with no problems. even if i dont calibrate it for a month its only .1 off. once you start using it you can tell its a solid meter plus its water proof. i also got the same one for tds. no problems at all and it has 1 button push calibration. im still on the hunt for a good continuous meter cause i just found out that all bluelab tds meters read in increments of 50 only and not 10 like oakton. thats garbage! i wish oakton made a continuous meter so i could buy one

 

[Danks2005]

I condtioned the electrode. I store it propertly in 7.0 calibration solution, never let it dry out. I know how to care for a meter.

they "broke" in less than a week each. Both did the same thing, would not settle in on any #, and would not calibrate. Trying to calibrat to 7.0, it would go somthing like this 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, 6.0 while turning the screw in one direction. When I would stop turning it, it would just go all over the place from 4.0-16.0 (ph scale doesn't even go to 16 does it?) I can take it back and get a new one, but if I just keep getting a new piece of shit that is going to break in a week, I just don't want it.

 

[walindour]

I condtioned the electrode. I store it propertly in 7.0 calibration solution, never let it dry out. I know how to care for a meter.

they "broke" in less than a week each. Both did the same thing, would not settle in on any #, and would not calibrate. Trying to calibrat to 7.0, it would go somthing like this 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, 6.0 while turning the screw in one direction. When I would stop turning it, it would just go all over the place from 4.0-16.0 (ph scale doesn't even go to 16 does it?) I can take it back and get a new one, but if I just keep getting a new piece of shit that is going to break in a week, I just don't want it.

Same thing happened to my Milwaukee pen - kind of lost it's mind after a while and wouldn't "stick" on a number. Constantly drifting up and down while trying to calibrate.

 

[GP73LPC]

i have a cheap hanna ph pen... used it for about 4 years, then it was stored for 6 years.

i pulled it out and it fired right up, a little calibration and it's now almost 11 years old.

granted, it only got a hard workout after several moves when i had new water to deal with and for the last year with a family members pool, but its still ticking. not bad for $20....

YMMV...

just sayin

 

[thinkin]

same thing happened to me- go with a Meter, not Pen

same thing happened to me- go with a Meter, not Pen

This year, Had to return an old Milwaukee (aka old reliable) ph pen to friend.

I bought/returned 2-3 new ~$40 Milwaukee PH pens before giving up with pens. Would not calibrate correctly. Calibrate to High ph, low ph reading was WAY off. (tested against old pen and paper strips)

Likely new manufacturing processing is F'd.

You should bite the bullet and get a quality ph/ec/ppm meter.
Like you, I was not willing (or able) to pay for a high priced meter. Picked up a used (10 yr old) SM-802 Milwaukee. All dried out, not used in years. Stuck it in some hydro, PH and Ec/PPM were calibrated PERFECTLY. I don't even keep the meter in storage solution (bought wrong fluid oops! fuckin stoner!). Its still reading perfectly. One of Best gardening purchases I have ever made! Invest in good equipment, save yourself the troubles.

I'd go with a quality Blue lab meter. Definitely, no pens. I haven't read about any problems with the new high end Milwaukees. They might be good too. Old Milwaukees seem to be rock solid reliable.

 

[Ultra Current]

I have a lot of experience with many company's pH and TDS / PPM meters. When you buy one of these devices from a grow shop it usually means that you did not buy an expensive lab grade model and the result is that your device is made with cheaper components. I understand that most growers don't have thousands of dollars to buy a lab grade meter and this is ok but there are some things that you must know. With my testing with Hanna, Nutradip and Blue Lab I see similar problems in them that can give you a false reading.

Just because you might have a top of the line pH meter (pH meter is a necessity in hydroponics) doesn’t mean that the reading that it is giving you is correct. There are a few factors that will give you a false reading. Here is a list:

1. Your calibration solution is comtaminated, old or was stored in high temperatures or exposed to light for too long.

2. There is a build up of gunk on the pH probe. Solution: Gently clean the probe with a soft brush and recalibrate.

3. pH probe is broken or it’s beyond it’s life span. Buying pH meters at grow shops is an ecconomcal way of aquiring a meter but it is not lab grade and cheaper components are used in the process. pH probes can damage very easily and are also sensitive. When the pH probe is not being used, it is very important to keep it in 7.0 calibration solution. When you open the box for the first time from buying the meter, there is not always solution attached to the bottom of the probe but it is dipped in some sort of salt so don’t be confused by this and think that you can store your probe without solution. Your probe will eventually dry up and brake if you were to dry it out. It is very simple to know if you have a damaged probe. This process will require 2 different calibration solutions (pH 4, pH 7 or pH 10). Most meters that I’ve seen in the US use pH 4 and pH 7. Your owners manual will tell you if you have to use the 7 or the 4 first. It is important to listen to what the company of the specific meter that you have tells you. If your meter does not contain a computerized calibration method then you will see that you calibrate it with a screw driver or there are knobs that you turn or you may have to digitally punch in numbers to a screen on your device. If your meter calibrates to a screw driver or some sort of knob that you turn then it is important for you to know that when you pH the 4 first and finish, you then clean the probe and insert it into the pH 7 calibration solution. If you insert the probe into the 7 and it doesn’t read pH 6.8, 6.9, 7.0 or 7.1, 7.2 (normally I wouldn’t insert the 6.8 or 7.2 in here but the meters at grow shops are not lab grade and have a 10 percent margin of error), then your probe has gunk on it or is broken and needs to be replaced. You can try to recalibrate it but it will not work because it will move the pH 4 somewhere else and you’ll keep going back and forth just waisting time. You will usually have to do some tweaking going back and forth between the pH 4 and 7 solution because there is a lot of little spaces between 4.0 - 4.1 and 3.9 - 4.0 as well as 6.9 – 7.0 and 7.0 – 7.1. Once you get the meter to read 4.0 and 7.0, then your meter will be accurate for at least that usage but you should calibrate your meter once a week to be safe. Your meter is a computer and you can’t just trust the numbers that it is spiting out at you. Always question the reading that you are getting and compare it to what your plants are telling you. The first signs that you will usually see first, if your probe goes out of alignment, is yellowing of the edges of fan leaves (Magnesium Lockout) or brown / black spots on leaves (Calcium Lockout). If you have the solution up to the required PPM and you see these signs on the leaves, then that should be a big read flag and will require you to calibrate your probe or check if it is broken and get a working one. You will notice within a period of time, the pH of your solution will fluctuate. Depending on what different things that you add to your Rez can make the fluctuation different so if your solution normally rises and then you add something else to the mix and then it does the opposite then it’s good to keep this in mind. If you know that your solution rises, then set your solution to 5.8 and let it climb to 6.2 and then pH it down, if your solution falls, then set it to 6.2 and let it fall down to 5.8 and pH it back up. This fluctuation should not peak within a 24 hour period with most nutrients so if you see this happen you most likely have root problems (root rot / pythium) or some sort of pathogen, fungus or algae. We will cover this in another chapter.

4. RF interference from your digital/electronic ballast. RF interference has a major affect on many pH / TDS / PPM meters that are sold at grow shops. It is important that your ballasts and any equipment that gives off RF is turned off before calibrating and using your meter. I have spent countless hours on the phone with the owners of these company's complaining about how the RF interference from my ballasts are affecting my reading and they would send me brand new meters that would have the exact same problem. Make sure all your equipment is turned off when using your meters.

ATTN: The information in this post has a copyright and is from a chapter in the book that I've been writing on hydroponics.

 

[growshopfrank]

regardless of what brand of pen waterproof is a worthwhile option

also when taking measurements keep the electrode from touching the bottom or sides of the container for the most accurate readings

 

[boroboro]

I just ran into a similar problem. I've had an Oakton Eco 1 Ph pen for 2-3 years. $70 or so new. I keep it in 7.0 solution, and for years it's auto-calibrated back to 7.0 without trouble. I might see a drift of 0.1 to 0.2 max before re-calibrating.

Recently it's settled in at a reading of 7.2 in 7.0 solution. Calibrating it sends it to 8.3 Ph instead of 7.0. It seems close to a 0.2 shift across the board -- A 6.0 reading is closer to 5.8 actual, according to my other meter.

I've replaced batteries, but the problem remains.

RF interference? Never heard of or thought about that. I do use it about 4 feet from a bunch of ballasts, so I'll try to take a reading outside and update if that improves things.

 

[supermanlives]

i had oaktons not the cheapest ones. ditched em for a cms meter systen for fishtanks i believe. worth the hassle/ the meter had ph,ppm,temp all lit screen. probes stayed in res. no issues for like 5 years. dont know what happened to unit. but if i ever go back to hydro i would go the same route

 

[ThePizzaMan]

The SM-802 is def on my X-mas wishlist. I have had some decent luck with a cheap Milwaukee ph pen(m600?)...it is decent...I calibrate it once a week or so...

It likes to drift a bit.but for $30...

who gives a fuck!

TPM

 

[wang]

So I just picked up the Milwaukee 802 and love it so far, but am looking to pick up a quality thermometer as well, suggestions? I'm running DWC with only 4 sites.