how should i rinse P.H. probe? Correctly

mattisreal420

mattisreal420

Well-Known Member
I have a blue lab ph pen, and use it everyday; hand watering my DTW coco crop. My last blue lab ph pen failed on me in like 4-5 months from brand new. I took very good care of it; storage and cleaned it regularly and everything . It was giving me inaccurate readings and would not calibrate.it was under warranty and I got a new one.
The guys at bluelab told me it likely failed because when I would rinse the probe after every use (as recommended) I should NOT be using r.o. water, distilled, or filtered. He basically told me it was for sure this.
Instead he said rinse it with city tap water or water with cal mag added, not water that didn't have any minerals in it.
What do you guys do for rinsing probe? Is it really nesseccary to rinse every use?
For my plants I use an organic cap mag, Humboldt nutrients equilibrium. I'm thinking about mixing a small in a water bottom w/ my well water, it is pretty much r/o with an ec of 0. And just rinse probe with that. Or maybe just rinse with my regular nuts mix?(H&G line)
What do you guys recommended?
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
Rinse in distilled or deionized water. Ask him to explain the benefit of leaving mineral deposits on a glass probe that relies on it being clean. I use Hanna - every bit as serviceable as Blue - and here are the instructions from them.

"Maintenance and Cleaning:

  • Rinse the electrode with clean water after use before putting it away and store it wet (see above).
  • Periodically clean the electrode thoroughly, by leaving it soaking for 10 to 15 minutes in a cleaning solution (for General Purpose use HI 7061M, for oily samples HI 7077M, for Inorganic samples HI 7074M and for protein etc. use HI 7073M cleaning solution).
  • Inspect the electrode for any scratches or cracks on the bulb or stem. If any are present, replace the electrode"
http://www.hannainst.com/usa/electrode_care.cfm
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
And for those who are educated by sound bites or super quick reads

"Measurement:

  • Rinse the electrode tip with distilled or deionized water.
  • Immerse the tip in the sample, stir gently and wait for the reading to stabilize. For a faster response and to avoid cross contamination, rinse the tip with a few drops of the solution to be tested, before taking measurements."
The key is to leave the probe wet on storage.
 
mattisreal420

mattisreal420

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
Rinse in distilled or deionized water. Ask him to explain the benefit of leaving mineral deposits on a glass probe that relies on it being clean. I use Hanna - every bit as serviceable as Blue - and here are the instructions from them.

"Maintenance and Cleaning:

  • Rinse the electrode with clean water after use before putting it away and store it wet (see above).
  • Periodically clean the electrode thoroughly, by leaving it soaking for 10 to 15 minutes in a cleaning solution (for General Purpose use HI 7061M, for oily samples HI 7077M, for Inorganic samples HI 7074M and for protein etc. use HI 7073M cleaning solution).
  • Inspect the electrode for any scratches or cracks on the bulb or stem. If any are present, replace the electrode"
http://www.hannainst.com/usa/electrode_care.cfm
Click to expand...
I dont remember why exactly he said not to use plain water but he was very adamant that it was the cause of the pen failure. I take very good care of my pen too, store it in KCI solution, refill cap every week, clean probe with a kit every month, calibrate every month, everything.

So you just rinse yours with distilled water?
I'm thinking about buying some distilled water and just rinsing with that and see what happens. I just want my pen to last at least a year, you know. My last crop when my pen failed it really fucked me cause I didn't have another oh pen, and was using the ph chemical test. Whitch was very inaccurate and my plants noticed
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
mattisreal420 said:
I dont remember why exactly he said not to use plain water but he was very adamant that it was the cause of the pen failure. I take very good care of my pen too, store it in KCI solution, refill cap every week, clean probe with a kit every month, calibrate every month, everything.

So you just rinse yours with distilled water?
I'm thinking about buying some distilled water and just rinsing with that and see what happens. I just want my pen to last at least a year, you know. My last crop when my pen failed it really fucked me cause I didn't have another oh pen, and was using the ph chemical test. Whitch was very inaccurate and my plants noticed
Click to expand...
Old man here so ignore a lot of my ramblings but I strongly suggest buying the replacement probe for your pen now! Live and learn and did I learn. In the dead of winter in Alaska well before it was legal. Mail order everything.
 
mattisreal420

mattisreal420

Well-Known Member
hotrodharley said:
Old man here so ignore a lot of my ramblings but I strongly suggest buying the replacement probe for your pen now! Live and learn and did I learn. In the dead of winter in Alaska well before it was legal. Mail order everything.
Click to expand...
Thanks for advice its greatly appreciated.I was planning on buying a replacement probe, forgot though..lol thanks for the reminder!
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
Double Check your pen either with another,

or use those ph pool strips

but many screw up by getting a cheap shitty ph pen

and its always sometime before they realize this

at the cost of many a fine plant

dip in fresh ph'd water and allow to air dry
 
K

KryptoBud

Well-Known Member
I have a hanna pen also and it says to rinse it with water to minimize contamination. Doesn't say anything about ro/distilled water, then in bold letters it says do not use distilled or deionized water for storage purposes, maybe that's what he meant the difference in rinsing and storing it.
 
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