Newbie looking to buy PH/TDS/PPM monitor, all in one or ph pen+truncheon?

The guy at the hydro store has bluelab, milwauke, and hannah.

He really recommended the bluelab truncheon and the blue lab PH pen.

Said he'd do 10% off if I went thru him for my meter and hes selling them at amazon pricing.

This is the PH pen he has in stock for 100.

http://www.amazon.com/Bluelab-BLU2210-pH-Pen/dp/B005HKRPZG/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1318768109&sr=8-9

This is the truncheon for 115 he has

http://www.amazon.com/Truncheon-EC-and-TDS-Meter/dp/B0032JYQYC/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1318768223&sr=1-2

215-10% off = 194 dollars...205 after tax....falls under my 230 dollar limit.

So what else do you RIU'ers recommend for my 230 dollar budget.

save the ph pen as long as you know that one cap full of vinegar brings the ph of water (my water) to 6.2. find someone with a ph meter and measure your water once.
PPM meter are different, I love my Hanna and wont go to anything different and I ue it every feeding, do not go cheap on this meter, Hanna, Mil. whoever you buy make sure it is good and sturdy.

I think the truncheon is a great buy and calibration is not required. Just remember it is only rated for i think 3 or 5 years then it is not reliable. Most guys i talk to love the trunheon. I personally use the Nutradrip continuous tri meter.

I don't know anyone with a ph meter. I have some general hydroponics ph test kit I had planned to use for soil.

firsttimeARE said:

The guy at the hydro store has bluelab, milwauke, and hannah.

He really recommended the bluelab truncheon and the blue lab PH pen.

Said he'd do 10% off if I went thru him for my meter and hes selling them at amazon pricing.

This is the PH pen he has in stock for 100.

http://www.amazon.com/Bluelab-BLU2210-pH-Pen/dp/B005HKRPZG/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1318768109&sr=8-9

This is the truncheon for 115 he has

http://www.amazon.com/Truncheon-EC-and-TDS-Meter/dp/B0032JYQYC/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1318768223&sr=1-2

215-10% off = 194 dollars...205 after tax....falls under my 230 dollar limit.

So what else do you RIU'ers recommend for my 230 dollar budget.

Click to expand...

Hello....This meter does everything pretty much....I forget what I paid for it some where around 200.00 USD

This meter seems to work pretty good...I have used this one for over a year and a half and so far no problems....

nitro harley said:

Hello....This meter does everything pretty much....I forget what I paid for it some where around 200.00 USD

This meter seems to work pretty good...I have used this one for over a year and a half and so far no problems....

Click to expand...

I tried to get this one today on amazon but they're sold out and I have to wait a month. Obviously that aint happening. The 9813-6N. Dunno how that differs from the 9813-6.

A point to consider is that pH probes age and should be replaced periodically, this is just something to think about when buying pH meters. Some pens dont allow the probe portion to be changed some do, I have changed my milwaukee's a couple times over the years for example. you can tell when the probe is aged when it becomes difficult to calibrate it or it is just plain off when comapred to another meter, I have had them last anywhere from 12-24 months and I tend to change them earlier then later.

Most handhelds and constant read meters use the standard BNC probes which can be had for as cheap as about 12 bucks if you dont mind waiting a few weeks for the slow boat or as much as a 100bucks for a lab grade probe. I usally get the standard pinpoint marine probes as a decent middle ground. If you are a pretty handy DIYer you can build your own pH meters for pretty cheap, depending on the components you use you can build a really reliable and accurate meter, a lot of reef tank guys are doing this and having good results. I have build several versions of your standard op-amp variant and a ph pen variant which uses the typical instrumentation amp IC. its kinda fun to watch something you made read input from the real world.

I prefer milwaukee.