Trouble calibrating my ph meter

DeadHeadX

DeadHeadX

Well-Known Member
I ordered an inexpensive ph meter from Amazon that only came with one set of calibrating powder. I was pretty precise with the water measurement, but the tool never got down to 4.0 or up to 9.18 For those calibrations. I ordered more powder to try to get a better calibration, but same thing. I did manage to calibrate at 6.86, and the device seems accurate within a couple tenths, but I’m still frustrated. Any suggestions? I used distilled water, but it has been sitting around a bit. The water may have also been on the cool side. Anyway, if anyone has tips, thanks in advance,
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
DeadHeadX said:
Honestly, I find the color matching to be an inexact science. My poorly calibrated meter is surely more accurate than my reading and matching of color strips. Maybe it’s my eyes…or I’m just too high and the colors keep subtly changing.
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Maybe there's some good ones available but in general the pH strips are not well suited for hydro ranges.
The GH pH drops pictured above are accurate to a tenth of a point, and it's easy to develop an eye for your pH target.
I have a nice pH meter, but use the drops 90% of the time.
 
Jjgrow420

Jjgrow420

Well-Known Member
Buy a Hanna or bluelab and forget the bullshit with cheap crap. For something as important as ph, I can't see how or why someone wouldnt fork out 100bucks for a good meter. Pays for itself the first time you don't fuck your grow up.
Or hey, buy a cheap one, then buy more calibration soultion, then fuck your grow up and end up buying another pen anyways. Just trying to save you some time, money and hassle
 
DeadHeadX

DeadHeadX

Well-Known Member
Jjgrow420 said:
Buy a Hanna or bluelab and forget the bullshit with cheap crap. For something as important as ph, I can't see how or why someone wouldnt fork out 100bucks for a good meter. Pays for itself the first time you don't fuck your grow up.
Or hey, buy a cheap one, then buy more calibration soultion, then fuck your grow up and end up buying another pen anyways. Just trying to save you some time, money and hassle
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Well, I heard the cheap ones were within a couple tenths at worst, so thought I would give it shot. Seems to be true, actually. Seeing if spending $14 can save me $100. Maybe not, but I don’t mind the experiment. I also have strips, and I’m pretty confident my faulty cheap ph meter is within a couple hundredths of being accurate, so probably not going to kill my crop and should suffice. I’ve been getting my water from a well known local spring. Just filled 10, one gallon jugs in the cold last night! My personal test and the many other people using the water have me feeling pretty good about it.
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
DeadHeadX said:
Well, I heard the cheap ones were within a couple tenths at worst, so thought I would give it shot. Seems to be true, actually. Seeing if spending $14 can save me $100. Maybe not, but I don’t mind the experiment. I also have strips, and I’m pretty confident my faulty cheap ph meter is within a couple hundredths of being accurate, so probably not going to kill my crop and should suffice. I’ve been getting my water from a well known local spring. Just filled 10, one gallon jugs in the cold last night! My personal test and the many other people using the water have me feeling pretty good about it.
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It's not

An Apera pH meter can be purchased starting at ~ $50
I can gurantee you that a $10 bottle of pH drops is more reliable and accurate than a $14 pH pen.
 
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