Accurate pH 8: Proper Preparation and Storage?

[BII]

I purchased an Accurate 8, and lost whatever instructions came with it after only glancing at them. I recall it saying to "polish" the metal before use.

Some questions:
1) How should it be polished before use?
Use kitchen silver/copper cleaner? Presuming the polishing is to get rid of surface metal oxidation(?), how about first washing the probe with mild dish detergent, 'polishing' it using silver/copper cleaner, wiping it dry, then using it? Or by polishing, do they mean actually abrading away metal, such as using very fine abrasive cloth/sand paper or polishing grit?

2) How should it be stored? I presume nothing special needs to be done.

3) How can the meter be tested? Is there any way to test its accuracy, against a known standard? For example, it there any way to prepare coco/perllte-filled pots to have a set internal pH?

4) Any special instructions for actually using it? Any best position in the pot to test?

 

[Rev. Green Genes]

I purchased an Accurate 8, and lost whatever instructions came with it after only glancing at them. I recall it saying to "polish" the metal before use.

Some questions:
1) How should it be polished before use?
Use kitchen silver/copper cleaner? Presuming the polishing is to get rid of surface metal oxidation(?), how about first washing the probe with mild dish detergent, 'polishing' it using silver/copper cleaner, wiping it dry, then using it? Or by polishing, do they mean actually abrading away metal, such as using very fine abrasive cloth/sand paper or polishing grit?

2) How should it be stored? I presume nothing special needs to be done.

3) How can the meter be tested? Is there any way to test its accuracy, against a known standard? For example, it there any way to prepare coco/perllte-filled pots to have a set internal pH?

4) Any special instructions for actually using it? Any best position in the pot to test?

Howdy, I'll do my best,

1. It should be wiped clean with water or soap water on paper towel.

2. I am not positive if it requires wet storage or not, I would say not but it would be beneficial.

3. Distilled water is pretty reliably close to 7 pH, you can test that way, or you can use calibration fluids or a liquid pH meter. The best way is to compare readings with another meter like a blue labs or apera. There is no way to test measurements in soil, it is not stable enough.

4. Try to get the probe as close into the root zone as you can to get the most accurate measurement at the root zone. Not sure if it's better to measure wet or dry soil.

 

[BII]

Howdy, I'll do my best,

1. It should be wiped clean with water or soap water on paper towel.

2. I am not positive if it requires wet storage or not, I would say not but it would be beneficial.

3. Distilled water is pretty reliably close to 7 pH, you can test that way, or you can use calibration fluids or a liquid pH meter. The best way is to compare readings with another meter like a blue labs or apera. There is no way to test measurements in soil, it is not stable enough.

4. Try to get the probe as close into the root zone as you can to get the most accurate measurement at the root zone. Not sure if it's better to measure wet or dry soil.

So 'polishing' the metal does not involve any actual polishing, just cleaning and wiping it down?

I would think with it not prudent to store wet. That would further increase corrosion/oxidation of the metal surfaces, which is what I presume the recommended 'polishing' is supposed to remove (and make the metal shinier) before use.

 

[Rev. Green Genes]

It most certainly does not mean abrasive polishing. Here is a quote from the manual, link below.

"4. After each use wipe the meter down with a clean cloth to remove dirt, oil and moisture. Clean and store the meter in a low humidity environment. Gently remove all oxidization and oils from the electrode before your next test."

https://hydroponics.net/slcf/716578_Instructions.pdf

Basically, a damp rag to clean it before and after use. It is stored dry. Another portion states to use "scouring powder" if the probe becomes scaly or overtly oxidized. This will never happen if you keep it clean each use. It also mentions a void warranty if you were to use abrasives.

Also, I noticed in there, that it does say to water the soil 30 minutes before testing. But then says not too much or too little.

 

[Waira]

did you get that little scrub pad to use for buffing? It's a mild grade scrubby pad, so as to not damage the soft metals the tip is made of,...
... my previous grow client stored his poorly (in an outside plastic storage cabinet with other chemicals, big tempurature flux'es), and it went tits-up after only one year.... mine is 4+, and still works great!
I did in fact do a slurry test comparison (testing the fluid drained off with a pH meter), with two different soils.... all readings were within 0.2 of each other which is acceptable margin of error (same as the A8 itself).....
--- personal tips:
... never test after feeding, the solution will skew results; give it a day to equalize
... soil should be pretty moist, but not saturated/freshly watered, nor any kind of dry,...
... let it sit a minute or so to stabilize, but don't let it sit in there for long periods of time....
... wipe clean after each use with a damp paper towel or something; store fully dry, someplace inside is best, in a baggie or something.... buff before each use after storing....

:smoking: Rev' - thank you mate for helping out in here again!