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Looking To Buy Ph Tester

drtarzanmd

By drtarzanmd
in Dirt Growing

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drtarzanmd Advanced Member

drtarzanmd

Posted
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I want to buy myself a Good Ph Tester ,

 

So i can start testing my well water for feeding and flushing ...

 

I 've never , ever tested my Ph and was told

i would see a major difference ...

 

I would like to get one that is NOT GARBAGE ....

 

I don't want to have to calibrate it everday ...

 

I don't want something that is hard to use and

needs a college education to operate ... :thumbsu:

 

Can you please tell me what is a Good Ph Tester

and where i could get it ...

 

Thanks in Advance ....

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drtarzanmd Advanced Member

drtarzanmd

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Well i can tell you my exp IMO that i have brought lots of them buy a cheep one and trow it out about once a year the ones that cost more money are not worth it now if you have about 250$ now thats a great one and you can change the tips

 

 

If thats what i got to do , Thats what i got to do ...

 

Thanks ' bobandtorey ' , Thats all Im looking for is your Experiences ...

 

and if i need to spend $250 , then thats what i gotta do ... :thumbsu:

 

I just don't want to make any mistakes in wasting any money ...

 

I just want to buy it right the First time and be done w/ it ...

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drtarzanmd Advanced Member

drtarzanmd

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Tzan my first was a Milwaukee. It didn't last a year, was on warranty and Replaced.

 

I upgraded to a Hanna with pH and eC / ppm.

 

Over a year no Problems. Replacable electrode. Works Great.

 

Highly Recommended by me ! Right around $200, I think ...

 

Thanks 'solabeirtan'

 

Could you please Provide Model Number ...

 

Maybe a Site w/ it on there ?

 

I would really Appreciate the effort ...

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bobandtorey Advanced Member

bobandtorey

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Tzan my first was a Milwaukee. It didn't last a year, was on warrantie and Replaced.

 

I upgraded to a Hanna with pH and eC / ppm.

 

Over a year no Problems. Replaceable electrode. Works Great.

 

Highly Recommended by me ! Right around $200, I think ...

 

Yep the Replaceable electrode. one is the best

for dirt growing i just use the drops $7.95 per bottle works for me Hydro you need to be right one with your Numbers

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solabeirtan Advanced Member

solabeirtan

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Thanks 'solabeirtan'

 

Could you please Provide Model Number ...

 

Maybe a Site w/ it on there ?

 

I would really Appreciate the effort ...

No Problem bro, here's My Meter .... click on "Add to cart" brings up three other choices.

 

Very similar, same functions, removable probe, Hanna. I'd say they are similar Hanna quality. I'd also suggest buy local, confirm Warranty at Store.

 

See they have Special one now, with a dirt probe, though tooo much $$$

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Shredder Advanced Member

Shredder

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Hey jungle brother! I got a Hanna duel, so it does ph and ppm/ec it cost me 138 I don't remember where, just on the net. Never had to repair it like hydro jack did, but I like it so far. But I would get another duel meter of whatever brand, because both ppm and ph is important to your plants even in dirt.......shredder

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shishka Advanced Member

shishka

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Hey jungle brother! I got a Hanna duel, so it does ph and ppm/ec it cost me 138 I don't remember where, just on the net. Never had to repair it like hydro jack did, but I like it so far. But I would get another duel meter of whatever brand, because both ppm and ph is important to your plants even in dirt.......shredder

 

I agree with shredder, get a dual meter. My well water has an ec of 1.00 or,700 ppm. Good info to have.

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Royal Smoke Advanced Member

Royal Smoke

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Hey jungle brother! I got a Hanna duel, so it does ph and ppm/ec it cost me 138 I don't remember where, just on the net. Never had to repair it like hydro jack did, but I like it so far. But I would get another duel meter of whatever brand, because both ppm and ph is important to your plants even in dirt.......shredder

 

Agreed.

 

You said you were checking your well water, right Tarzan?

 

Unless you've already got a ppm meter, I would get the dual meter like Shredder suggested.

 

ppm's are important. I hear they are especially important if using well water...

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drtarzanmd Advanced Member

drtarzanmd

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Yes ....

 

I have a Brand New 50 foot Well put in this last Summer ,

 

I have Never Checked my water ...

 

I've been growing some of the Best Meds I've ever Tasted ...

 

Those that have tried them have said the same thing ...

 

Only thing i can think of is that the Good Lord has

been by my side through this entire Experience ... :thumbsu:

 

One thing that i find really Strange is that non of those

So-Called-Master Growers have shared what they use on this Site ?

 

I was suppost to have a Friend stop by and help me test my water

and show me what i need to do to keep testing it ,

But has not happened yet ...

 

Ive learn alot from many on this Site , Im not one for reading books ,

I probly should see if there are any Youtube Videos whenever i get some spare time ...

 

Anyways ... Thank You to those of you that have shared w/ me and

I just wanted You to know i appreciate your post ... :thumbsu:

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kruztydj Advanced Member

kruztydj

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Been runnin a hanna tri meter for some time without any issues. Dead on and no hassles. Maybe pricey put will pay for itself in short order if your not checking ph. Keeping your ph right will make a huge diffrents in your garden to say the least. Plants cant uptake food if the ph is off, period,,,,, so if you been runnin without checking ph then your in for a shock my friend. A huge shock to say the least.... You'll see.

Spend the bucks for the good meter and dont even look at those cheap pen styles. You'll just be buying another one so save yourself the hassle and just buy the real ones.I'd be looking into a good r/o unit for that well water too as your ppms will be out of wack. Best to know what they get fed and the only way to do that is with r/o( zero ppm) water. You'll see a HUGE diff with that too.......

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MasterKush Advanced Member

MasterKush

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I have had great results using the Sunleaves Ph Expert plus http://www.4hydroponics.com/growroom/pH2.asp?ItemNo=sunleavesPHexpert

 

I have been using this pen for 4 or 5 months and it has worked great for me...It tells Ph to the hundreths and also reads and adjusts for solution temps. The single point digital calibration is an awesome feature to have. I always check my calibration atleast once a week to be safe but I have only had to adjust calibration once. I have tried a couple different Digital Ph meters and I like this one best by far. My previous rig was a Milwaukee Ph 51 that I couldnt stand. I had to replace the probe after 3 months and was always having to adjust calibration. If you are looking for a high quality rig for a decent price I would suggest looking into the Sunleaves. I paid about $80 after medical discount.

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boroboro Advanced Member

boroboro

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I have the Oakton PH pen, the same one Royal Smoke linked to earlier.  Cheap, accurate, reliable, and much more trustworthy than the PH drops I used for years.  Before I got the meter I was using the cheap PH drops to get to about 6.0 ph, but the meter showed me how inaccurate I had been:med_gallery_4966_86_41637.jpg

 

 

 

It does need to be calibrated periodically.  I store mine in the PH 7.0 calibration solution (get it with the PH pen, maybe $8 a pint, one bottle will last a long time).  Every few weeks I put in about an ounce of fresh storage solution, then push one button to re-calibrate it to 7.0 PH.  Easy-Peasy.

 

For ppm meters:  my well water has been very stable as far as the ppm content goes for years.  I bought a  Bluelab truncheon for ppm measurement ($100 or so, but it's an excellent tool).  I use it to dial in new nutrient mixtures.  I usually feed the same mixture, though, so this ppm meter usually only gets used periodically for spot checks.

 

Oh, another note on well water ppm up here in northern Michigan:  One of my wells produces water at 200-250 ppm (a bit high, causes problems with some strains), while the other well produces water under 50 ppm.  The higher ppm well is an old hand-drilled well, probably pretty shallow.  The low-ppm well is newer and deeper.

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Guest OxXGarfieldXxO

Guest OxXGarfieldXxO

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This is the one I use T. It's kinda middle of the road at $150.00. though I test the calibration every month I've yet to see it that far off. Used it over a year now and no problems. Just want to be conscientious and buy the electrode storage solution and cleaner as well as bottles of the low and high calibration solution....but those bottles seem to last forever.

 

http://secure.sciencecompany.com/Hanna-COMBO-Tester-Low-HI98129-HI-98129-P6517.aspx

 

Not saying buy it there....just the info.

 

Best

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Honeyoil Advanced Member

Honeyoil

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Hi Dr T,

 

Greetings from a new member! I have enjoyed many of your posts.

 

I also recommend getting a multi-meter.

 

Things I look for:


  •  
  • replaceable probes.
  • ability to calibrate.
  • remote head with display and wires to probes (so the display can be mounted conveniently over the reservoir).
  • ability to immerse probes continually and display constant readout of ph, ec/ppm and temp.
  • ph and ec calculations must be automatically temperature compensated by meter.
     

nice to have:


  •  
  • hi/low memory/alarm for ph, ec & temp.
  • display shows ph, ec and temp at the same time.
  • auto calibration
     

You should know how your meter calculates ppm (parts per million). ppm is calculated from ec (electrical conductivity). Some meters use a conversion factor of .05 and some use .07. If you publish your data, you can represent your measurement without confusion.

You do want to buy calibration solution. It will last for years.

 

You can find this type of meter ranging from $180 to over $400.

 

Here are a couple of examples of this type of meter:

This is not a recommendation of these meters or the websites.

 

There are portable combo meters available also for around $150. These are basically disposable after a year or two, since you can't replace the probes.

 

Hope this helps!

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Shredder Advanced Member

Shredder

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http://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Instruments-98129-Conductivity-Tester/dp/B002ZG8L58/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1297017877&sr=8-3

 

This is the one I bought, so far over the last 4-5 months it has worked well. I actually bought two, one was for a friend. As noted you will need calibration solution as well. I bought ph 4,and7 , storage solution and cleaning solution. It calibrates easy, and seems to work well. Much better than those darn drops that you are never quite sure of.....shredder

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knottwhole Advanced Member

knottwhole

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Thank - you for sharing ...

 

Little late to the game dr, but just had to put my useless two cents in.

Whatever you buy, please invest in calibration fluid.

Many people put money into the tester,

but forget that they do need to check calibration periodically.

If you calibrate at the beginning of each grow,

you're on your way.

 

Peace, and good luck on your purchase.

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