PH test drops vs. cheap milwaukee ph600

I used the PH600 to test my water, I calibrated to the 7.0 solution but didnt have the 4.0, stored in 7.0. The thing took a couple minutes to stabilize. once i tried testing the distilled water I used that read 7.3ish with the PH600 i tried it with the drops and I got an orange color, somewhere between 4.0 and 5.5.

So what should I trust? The PH600 always dialed into the 7.0 solution accurately, so i assumed it was calibrated, but the drops are a simple chem reaction and the color they produced showed that there was no fukin way the water was anywhere NEAR 7.3


wtf happened?

I tried a PH600 a couple months ago and couldn't get reliable readings from it. When I put it in the 7 solution it was dead accurate. I couldn't figure it out and I couldn't trust it and ended up still using drops and taking twice as long to check ph. The meter would read over 6 and the drops said it was 4. I never saw my drops turn red before this! It's a good thing I double checked before using it. The package said "satisfaction guaranteed" so back it went. I'm back to the drops for now and it is pretty quick and easy after all.