Ph meter recommendations?

[Organic_Auto_Canuck (OAC)]

Good day growers. Grateful to know if anyone has suggestions on ph meters? Thanks. I'm growing autos this year: frankie cbd...white rhino canuck
..Nl fast canuck...super lemon haze canuck...and barneys farm gelato glue

 

[31drew31]

I used a cheap $15 one for about a year until it broke then about 3 months ago bought a quality one. If you plan on growing for a bit, skip the cheapo and get a decent one. This is the kit I purchased and would recommend.

 

[nizmoKush]

I have a apera ph60 so far so good.. bluelab is good too

 

[GinFizzLuv]

I have a apera ph60 so far so good.. bluelab is good too

I’ve been using an apera ph60 for a couple months. I calibrate it every couple weeks but it never really needs it. It’s never been more than .1 off. Usually less than that.

 

[Phobos]

Hey man, I've used some of the cheap yellow ph pen, 4 of them. Like the guy at the hydro store told me, those are ok for 1 growth. After that they begin to fail. Now I use this one the HM digital ph200 and it's a killer.

 

[7.62]

Here's what I finally did. I purchased 2 of the cheap yellow ones and then I also purchased a variety of the different PH packets (on right side of yellow pen). Dissolve ph solution in water and stick both pens in at the same time and calibrate them together. These pens are not the greatest quality and from my experience they can lose calibration very easily sometimes so having two gives you pretty good accuracy and if they deviate too much, re-calibrate them. Do yourself a favor and find the PH calibration packets in various ph levels and have them on hand. I have only had re-calibrate mine a few times and I feel better having two readings to go by.

 

[Olderfart]

Apera for me, great so far. The cheapy lasted about a week. Luckily for me that was soon enough to send it back to Amazon for a full refund, which was promptly applied to the Apera.

One thing that I might add is that a standard design pen like the Apera pH60 does perfectly with water solutions, but soil is not so easy. If you got a model with a soil probe, I believe it will do both soil and solutions, so you would have both covered. The model of pH60 I have has a replaceable probe, and one probe model available is a soil probe. I have it in my Amazon cart, but haven't pulled the trigger yet. If I didn't have the standard Apera already, I would consider just getting the soil version and using it for everything. I would need to do a bit more homework just to confirm that the soil type probe was in fact fine measuring both liquid and soil. But if I get the replacement probe, I will have both...

Good luck with your decision, but here is one more vote for just gritting your teeth and getting a good one. If you aren't spending >~$100US, you can't expect much from pH meters. Unlike simple EC/PPM meters, pH meters are complicated, and the sensor involved is a whole different level of sophistication. You gotta pay if you want anything more than garbage.

 

[Death The Cultivator]

PH-80 – HM Digital

hmdigital.com

I have been using that one for eight months along with their EC meter. Had funds allowed I would have went with the Apera 5 in 1 meter.

 

[Bob's Auto's]

If you plan on growing for a bit, skip the cheapo and get a decent one. This is the kit I purchased and would recommend.

With all due respect I beg to differ. Ok, granted...the real cheap yellow ones are crap. They only measure to one decimal. But spending 40 - 60 or more dollars is way to much for what one needs to measure the pH of their nutrient sollution.
Take a look on Ali for this type of pH meter and use the remaining money to buy some beans
It has a replaceable probe end which you can buy separately. Also buy callibration liquid or those little bags of callibration powder (pH 4.01 & 6.86)
because a pH meter (yes also an expensive one) needs to be callibrated once a month when used every three days. If you use it more often then I suggest you callibrate more often. When using the powder to make your own only use distilled water and weigh it on a small scale in stead of using a measuring cup. 250ml pure water weighs exactly 250gr. Mass over Volume

Regards

 

[Organic_Auto_Canuck (OAC)]

Thanks for the input everyone. Helpful insights as usual