Best ph pen >$200

jonnynobody said:

I just replaced 2 failed remote PH probes that were 2 years old. Both calibrated to 4.0 and 7.0 without issue. When taking an actual reading though both probes threw off wildly inaccurate results. Your point is moot. You readily admit you do not use a PH meter, and you have allowed your probe to dry out multiple times failing to even follow basic PH probe maintenance and care procedures. Why should anyone take advice from you regarding which PH meter is the best since you don't use one and don't care or properly maintain said equipment that you don't use?

Stop telling people to buy trash. If you have nothing good to contribute saying nothing is completely acceptable.

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I'll recommend Bluelab all day long. You're basically saying anyone with a Bluelab pH pen bought trash even though Most are completely satisfied with them. Are there better units to measure pH? Yes there are. That doesn't make Bluelab trash and I disagree with your characterization.

Damn cheap PH pens, they have screwed up two grows on me, sorry I will rephrase that I screwed up two grows by getting cheapi pens

xtsho said:

I'll recommend Bluelab all day long. You're basically saying anyone with a Bluelab pH pen bought trash even though Most are completely satisfied with them. Are there better units to measure pH? Yes there are. That doesn't make Bluelab trash and I disagree with your characterization.

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I'm saying the probe on a PH pen is not replaceable. For $103.99 it's a poor value when the MW102 is $122.99 with a replaceable remote probe. One is a throw away device. The other is a serviceable device that will last through many years of probe replacements. Something that cannot be achieved with a PH pen that isn't equipped with a replaceable probe. For $19 more the MW102 is infinitely a better value to the consumer.

jonnynobody said:

I'm saying the probe on a PH pen is not replaceable. For $103.99 it's a poor value when the MW102 is $122.99 with a replaceable remote probe. One is a throw away device. The other is a serviceable device that will last through many years of probe replacements. Something that cannot be achieved with a PH pen that isn't equipped with a replaceable probe. For $19 more the MW102 is infinitely a better value to the consumer.

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The MW102 has some bad reviews but yes most products do.

Hanna Instruments HI-98107

insomnia65 said:

The MW102 has some bad reviews but yes most products do.

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You're probably right. If I were you I'd buy a sweet new Blue Lab PH pen.

jonnynobody said:

You're probably right. If I were you I'd buy a sweet new Blue Lab PH pen.

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Thanks for your wonderful help.

xtsho said:

I'll recommend Bluelab all day long. You're basically saying anyone with a Bluelab pH pen bought trash even though Most are completely satisfied with them. Are there better units to measure pH? Yes there are. That doesn't make Bluelab trash and I disagree with your characterization.

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Most ph probes need to be replaced every 6-12 months; similar to the timing of HID bulb life. Ive had good with a bluelab combo for over 5 years; just replace ph probe on schedule

A e o n said:

Most ph probes need to be replaced every 6-12 months; similar to the timing of HID bulb life. Ive had good with a bluelab combo for over 5 years; just replace ph probe on schedule

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I love my blue lab PH meter with remote probe. Very reliable unit. Unfortunately they stopped selling them. They use to go for about $135 on amazon. After their leap probe came out they stopped producing the meter I have. Kind of a bummer because it's a solidly built case. I've dropped it on the floor a couple times having the battery pop out and everything. Pop it back in. No problems. Their combo meters were even $168 at one time on amazon. Now with the leap probe they want $300 for it. I hope the price comes down.

I had a blue lab combo meter for some years -- bought it in 2012 -- and it served me well. The ec probe cord broke -- it needs better strain relief -- after 5-6 years and I was using it as a ph meter for a while. When the probe died, I decided to switch to a new meter instead of buying a new probe.

When you look up the specs, the accuracy is meh (+ or - 0.1 pH accuracy with 0.1 pH resolution) for the price, and I was buying a new probe at least once every two years, so when you add in the probes the total cost of ownership goes up. Probes bluelab sells are sealed/non-refillable so they are considered disposables as eventually they will get contaminated. You would need to switch to refillable probes to avoid this but they come with their own issues (maintenance, proper usage, a little more fragile).

I switched to a lab grade portable meter -- a new old stock Denver Instruments portable meter UP-25 (+ or - 0.01 pH accuracy with 0.01 pH resolution. If I were going to buy a new one I'd get a hanna instruments, something under their professional line (up to 0.002 accuracy with 5 point calibration) or just get their Groline models (+ or - 0.02 pH accuracy and 0.01 pH resolution) given its better than bluelabs. The Groline probes cost a bit more to replace as they are combo probes -- something to keep in mind. Probe cost is why I'd rather pay more for a meter than takes different probes vs a meter that has a multiparameter probe but I do understand the convenience of one probe to maintain/replace vs multiple.

I consider Hanna to be on-par with Hach, YSI, Sartorius (these are the people that bought Denver Instruments, the company that makes the meter I use). Bluelab not so much.

If you're willing to take the chance, a lot of the scientific meters pop up on eBay from time to time, most of which just require a new probe. Just keep in mind the connector format the meters use. I've noticed BNC losing popularity to proprietary connectors -- likely to force you to buy their probes instead of being able to shop around. The money is definitely in the probes.

Some people argue "you don't need all that accuracy!!!" w/e, I want it if I'm going to be in these price points... Not to mention I rather pay for a reliable, trustable tool. You drop $600 now and forget about it in some months but you'll appreciate having the nice meter every use.


TLDR; Hanna Instruments HI98191

jonnynobody said:

I'm saying the probe on a PH pen is not replaceable. For $103.99 it's a poor value when the MW102 is $122.99 with a replaceable remote probe. One is a throw away device. The other is a serviceable device that will last through many years of probe replacements. Something that cannot be achieved with a PH pen that isn't equipped with a replaceable probe. For $19 more the MW102 is infinitely a better value to the consumer.

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Im in the market for a meter with a probe so i can just dip it in my reservoirs and easily get a reading but im not seeing the value you speak of. I got an Apera PH60 pen for $80. It's operating perfect. Haven't had to calibrate it once.

You're telling me a $123 unit with a $75 replacement probe is a better deal?

I did the cheap ph pen on Amazon a few times. They would last a grow and then fuck up.

I bought the blue lab ph pen. Then their TDS meter. Been two years with both. No complaints.
i calibrate the ph pen when I remember. It’s never been out by more then .1. I also give the storage cap a splash of probe storage stuff when I remember.

Hot Diggity Sog said:

This is what I have and I love it.

Bluelab Guardian Monitor Wi-Fi

Always On. Being There Optional. Monitor your reservoir pH, Conductivity and Temperature with alerts on your phone when using the Wi-Fi capable Bluelab Guardian Monitor. Built-in Wi-Fi (with option to disable) High/low pH, temperature and conductivity alarms Non-volatile memory – keep settings...

bluelab.com

Seems to be unavailable right now for some reason. It's also a LOT more expensive than just 2 years ago.

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I need that but also with a ph minus and ph plus auto feed so i can actually sit back and watch them grow lol

Blazin Budz said:

Im in the market for a meter with a probe so i can just dip it in my reservoirs and easily get a reading but im not seeing the value you speak of. I got an Apera PH60 pen for $80. It's operating perfect. Haven't had to calibrate it once.

You're telling me a $123 unit with a $75 replacement probe is a better deal?

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PH pens are throw away devices with no serviceable parts. You'll most likely get about 6 months out of the unit before it begins to fail as is common with most PH pens. They are atrociously unreliable. I've dropped my MW102 on the ground numerous times. Pop the battery back in and good to go. That's a quality piece of equipment that no PH pen can match. My harvests are worth about $10k every 10 weeks. I need and use reliable equipment. I opted for high quality Neptune brand remote PH probes to replace the remote probes on my Milwaukee and Blue lab meters at the last service due to an unusually short lifespan on the last 2 blue lab replacement probes I purchased. When I'm servicing a flower room and 3 nurseries in a hydroponic medium reliability is paramount. $75 is a drop in the bucket once a year for ensuring my PH is accurate. There are value options out there from $25-$60 on average. Both of those numbers are cheaper than your $80 throw away Apera. However, even if you opted for a Neptune probe as I did you'd still be saving $5 per probe at your scheduled replacement intervals.

For what it's worth the Apera is equipped with a 2 year warranty and they do sell models with a replaceable probe. For the $40 price difference between the MW102 and the $80 model I looked at I would still recommend the MW102 for it's high quality, durability, and .00 resolution.

Apera PH60

Renfro said:

Apera PH60

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Hey @Renfro , which probe do you recommend for it? It comes with 3 options, flat, regular and spear? What's the difference?

Doug Dawson said:

Hey @Renfro , which probe do you recommend for it? It comes with 3 options, flat, regular and spear? What's the difference?

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The spear probe (PH60S) will allow you to test your soil / coco pH as well as measure liquids. That is the one I have but it's much more costly than the regular probe that is liquids only. Didn't even know they have a flat probe, wonder what the purpose of that is.

They use a Swiss Glass probe on the spear model and it's fragile so if you are using that to test compacted medium you should always pre-poke the hole with something.

Renfro said:

The spear probe (PH60S) will allow you to test your soil / coco pH as well as measure liquids. That is the one I have but it's much more costly than the regular probe that is liquids only. Didn't even know they have a flat probe, wonder what the purpose of that is.

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Thanks bud. I just looked and the flat probe is "FLAT sensor, Triple-Junction structure prevents clogging, designed for Skin, Fabrics, & Paper pH testing so not really the thing for our purposes here. I may just pick up the standard one, I have been using a Dr. Meter PH100-V which seems pretty good but was looking for one with replacement probes. I do store my in storage solution and always do a quick check with a simple drop kit to verify readings but the Apera looks like a nice unit to upgrade too.