Hanna grow line ph meter

T

Toxic Deadite

Well-Known Member
Does any one have problems with unstable readings on a hanna ph meter? Meter is only about a month old and the readings are all over. It calibrates fine. When testing the same gallon of distilled water I get readings that off and not just a little.
 
Toxic Deadite said:
Does any one have problems with unstable readings on a hanna ph meter? Meter is only about a month old and the readings are all over. It calibrates fine. When testing the same gallon of distilled water I get readings that off and not just a little.
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I’ve got various Hanna growline stuff from basic meters to they’re 600 dollar ones all read perfect. you may have a lemon take it back and exchange it.
 
Toxic Deadite said:
..... When testing the same gallon of distilled water I get readings that off and not just a little.
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You can't test ph of distilled water, it's not the meter. You have to add something first!

"pH electrodes will NOT give accurate pH values in distilled or deionized water because distilled and deionized water do not have enough ions present for the electrode to function properly. The readings will drift and be essentially meaningless. If you want to test the accuracy of your pH electrodes, use pH buffers."

Why doesn't my pH Sensor read pH 7 in distilled or deionized water? - Technical Information Library

pH electrodes will NOT give accurate pH values in distilled or deionized water because distilled and deionized water do not have enough ions present for...
www.vernier.com www.vernier.com
 
DCcan said:
You can't test ph of distilled water, it's not the meter. You have to add something first!

"pH electrodes will NOT give accurate pH values in distilled or deionized water because distilled and deionized water do not have enough ions present for the electrode to function properly. The readings will drift and be essentially meaningless. If you want to test the accuracy of your pH electrodes, use pH buffers."

Why doesn't my pH Sensor read pH 7 in distilled or deionized water? - Technical Information Library

pH electrodes will NOT give accurate pH values in distilled or deionized water because distilled and deionized water do not have enough ions present for...
www.vernier.com www.vernier.com
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I did not know that. I do use distilled water. Now I'm confused lol. I was told to use distilled water and not tap water. So how do I go forward not knowing the ph of the water? Should I go back to tap water?
 
Thank you for the info. I learned something new and now know why my plants are so unhealthy. Now I have to figure out a solution.
 
So after adding nutes the ph will change. Will a ph meter be accurate on distilled water once nutes are added?
 

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Jjgrow420 said:
you will always have an issue with distilled or ro water. and it can damage the probe.
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Interesting.. My probe said to mix the calibration solution in distilled water and rinse with distilled. Wonder if that's what killed it but it was one of those cheap yellow ones so
 
Yea, always add something to distilled water. Just a bit of CalMag if nothing else.
People doing sterile reservoirs need it for a base, but mostly tap water is perfectly fine.

Pouring distilled water on plants is counter productive.
Essential soluble nutrients get stripped away, other excess nutrients replace them in the growing medium.
Now you have too many of one nutrient locked in, too little of another available since it can't be absorbed.
 
dragula420 said:
Interesting.. My probe said to mix the calibration solution in distilled water and rinse with distilled. Wonder if that's what killed it but it was one of those cheap yellow ones so
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The calibration solution is usually pre mixed, sounds like a sample packet you mix that comes with it.
The EC meter gets stored in distilled water, don't confuse the two.
You rinse with distilled to get the gunk off, but store it in storage solution, 4.o calibration solution, or tap water, or completely dry, in that order.
Never store in distilled water, it strips the ions right off the sensor.
Same reason you never water with distilled water.
 
DCcan said:
Yea, always add something to distilled water. Just a bit of CalMag if nothing else.
People doing sterile reservoirs need it for a base, but mostly tap water is perfectly fine.

Pouring distilled water on plants is counter productive.
Essential soluble nutrients get stripped away, other excess nutrients replace them in the growing medium.
Now you have too many of one nutrient locked in, too little of another available since it can't be absorbed.
Click to expand...
So adding any nute will allow the ph meter to read correctly?
 
I recently purchased a Bluelabs soil ph pen and this is one of the do nots:

DO NOT store, soak or rinse the pH probe in RO (Reverse Osmosis), Distilled or Deionized water. Pure water changes the chemistry in the reference, causing the probe to die.
 
DCcan said:
As soon as you add anything, it has a charge and the meter can read it.

Good meters measure temperature and automatically correct for it. Check your manual.
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Thanks! Yeah I dont see anything about temp in the manual. It's not a top of the line. Little under $100. I have 14 gallons still of distilled water I want to use and I'll go back to tap. Saves money also. Just was worried my tap water being hard water wasn't good.
 
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