Any suggestions on what my overall metering needs are for soil or soiless soil grows? I'm determined to pick up a ph meter as correct ph seems to be essential. But is there a meter that serves more than one purpose, for instance measures particles or soil temperature as well? While we're at it, on this issue, I notice the most common way to measure ph is measuring the runoff ph. Wouldn't a reading of soil ph get right to the heart of the matter, measuring right where the nutrient intake happens?
New Grower a little guidance on buying a ph meter(not exciting but don't want to waste $)
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I use a Hanna Combo for liquids and a Control Wizard Accurate 8 for soil. The Hanna runs $130 and will measure pH, TDS, and ppm. While you can get away with a less expensive one that will only measure pH, having the ability to check ppm can be very useful to determine the starting ppm of your water (an absolute must if you're planning on using AN pH Perfect nutrients) and the strength of your feeds. It can also be used to measure run off, which isn't as accurate as a soil probe but close enough for most applications. The Accurate 8 can be found for about $50. It measures soil pH and moisture content.
Depends on your budget. I find HM to be of very good quality at a decent price. You can find them on Ebay for $49. My second choice for a budget meter is the HANNA INSTRUMENTS HI 99104 EDUCATIONAL pH TESTER. I got mine for $35. If i had money to spare, I'd say a meter from Blue Labs would be a top choice
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All about blue lab, and right now there is a limited edition combo pack floating around on the internet. A quick google shopping search will pull it up. I advise getting a separate ph and ppm pen but I'm sure combo pens work fine for people too
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Don't forget calibration fluids, maybe even storage fluid. If you want to trust the readings, accurate calibration is very important regardless of the meter. Keeping mine in the storage fluid makes for quicker readings and more time between calibration.
I bought this "Best Deal USA PH-009" pen for $10 and have been extremely happy with it. I bought a second for when this eventually fails.
I bought this HM TDS-EZ pen for $15. Works great.
Eventually I'd like to sink $100 into a BlueLabs PH Pen. But, as a new grower I just wanted something to get me through 1-2 grows to see if I could even do this.
The PH-009 has been so reliable and held calibration so well that I might continue to use this instead.
I first bought a Milwaukee PH600 pen for $15. The screw adjustment is too sensitive, making it hard to calibrate. Just a tiny movement changes it from 6.0 to 7.0. The PH-009 pen has a very insensitive adjustment. You have to turn the screw about 1/2 turn to get that much change. The Milwaukee doesn't hold its calibration as long, seems to bounce around a lot. Doesn't reach its final reading for 30 seconds (while the ph-009 hits it in 5 seconds).
That's the reason I bought the ph-009. I wasn't happy with the Milwaukee and thought I'd use two cheap pens to get an average reading. They both read about the same, it's just that the ph-009 is more stable, easier to use, etc. Much better IMO.
The one thing you don't want to cut corners on is storage, calibration and cleaning solutions. You really need the first two. Without the first one, your pen will become unreliable pretty quickly. (In fairness, I might have caused my Milwaukee to be as flakey as it is because I went a month without storage solution, just letting it sit in water.).
I bought this HM TDS-EZ pen for $15. Works great.
Eventually I'd like to sink $100 into a BlueLabs PH Pen. But, as a new grower I just wanted something to get me through 1-2 grows to see if I could even do this.
The PH-009 has been so reliable and held calibration so well that I might continue to use this instead.I first bought a Milwaukee PH600 pen for $15. The screw adjustment is too sensitive, making it hard to calibrate. Just a tiny movement changes it from 6.0 to 7.0. The PH-009 pen has a very insensitive adjustment. You have to turn the screw about 1/2 turn to get that much change. The Milwaukee doesn't hold its calibration as long, seems to bounce around a lot. Doesn't reach its final reading for 30 seconds (while the ph-009 hits it in 5 seconds).
That's the reason I bought the ph-009. I wasn't happy with the Milwaukee and thought I'd use two cheap pens to get an average reading. They both read about the same, it's just that the ph-009 is more stable, easier to use, etc. Much better IMO.
The one thing you don't want to cut corners on is storage, calibration and cleaning solutions. You really need the first two. Without the first one, your pen will become unreliable pretty quickly. (In fairness, I might have caused my Milwaukee to be as flakey as it is because I went a month without storage solution, just letting it sit in water.).
The Milwaukee is just one of those crappy Chinese pens with their label on it, complete junk! I got my HM TDS-3 for $39 on ebay. I've seen that TDS Easy but I've learned my lesson on cheap meter! I really didn't have the money to spare, but I had to replace one of the 'yellow" Chinese ph meters. I got that Hanna so that $34.50 is really $44.50 when you add the useless junker cost.........shoulda bought a $49 HM in the first place. sometims we just have to lrean the hard way though lol.
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