Ph meter suggestions

[Formernuke]

I have an old electronic and the drop version girl measuring. I don't like the drops and my old electronic will not even calibrate.

Any ideas for a good electric ph meter. I don't want fancy just accurate and long lasting.

Thanks

[Zativa]

Don't think you will find much difference among the el-cheapo models. pH meters have always been delicate -- the glass sensor in the bottom has to be only a couple thousandths of an inch thick, and lots of things can contaminate them. If you look at the listings on Amazon, assume that all of the brands which look identical ARE identical, made in the same factory with lots of different labels. You may be able to keep them going longer by washing them with RO or distilled water after each use, or buying some pH electrode storage solution. Letting them dry out really shortens their useful lives. But about all you can accomplish is keep them working long enough to get your money's worth. Drops and test strips have other problems. Things like fertilizer can color your sample water enough to change the colors.

[9fingerleafs]

I agree with all that. If you have the drops you can use them to "calibrate" your meter regularly so I think buying a cheap one and correlating once a week so it never goes out of range is the smart move.

[OzBud]

I like the Blue Lab pH pens

[oldjarhead100]

the Blue lab have a good Reputaion, and zativa added the rest . I had a Hanna PH meter that went haywire and Im still trying to nurse some plants back to health. so checking the calibration with drops is a good Idea

[D.A.A.S.69]

BlueLabs work for me.

[Tika]

I love my BlueLab pH pen. Always reliable. Calibrate it maybe 1 x a month. It tells you when to do it. Keep it hydrated in the solution always.

[Sonnyhad]

I got this one, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and found that the previous 2 cheap ones were off by up to a whole point. I can see the difference!

[Zativa]

That one looks like a whole different class of instrument, so I'm not surprised it works better. At the price, they can afford to use a higher-grade sensor and that makes a huge difference. The electronics part is not really all that expensive, but a good sensor is delicate, and expensive. Think when my el-cheapo dies I will spring for something of that grade. But still remember to rinse it with RO water after you use it to keep it really clean.

[Sonnyhad]

Good tip, thank you.

[OzBud]

I don't know about that pen but the BlueLab isn't supposed to be rinsed with RO water.

"DO NOT soak or rinse the pH probe in RO (Reverse Osmosis), Distilled or De-ionized water. Pure water changes the chemistry in the reference, causing the probe to die."

[Beach_Town_Brit]

I've been pretty happy with the cheaper, "student" Hanna PH tester. Good customer support too, and a warranty you can actually use unlike the generic meters.

[Capncanna]

Agree blue labs plus a cheap For backup plus 4 7 10 solutions to calibrate. Mine stay fine for about 3 weeks the I tweak em.

[Burny]

Get a waterproof Hanna instruments meter. Can't beat it for the price that being said all ph meters need to be stored in the correct storage solution and calibrated with clean buffer solutions regularly to maintain accurate readings.