pandorasboxg
Active Member
whats the best ppm or tds meter for the buck???? it must have a calibration feature. if you have a link where to buy it that would be great too
best tds for the $?
- Thread starter pandorasboxg
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whats the best ppm or tds meter for the buck???? it must have a calibration feature. if you have a link where to buy it that would be great too
pandorasboxg
Active Member
so many choices on ebay. saw the blue lab stuff that might be a little out of my budget. i was think about a model like this. http://www.ebay.com/itm/pH-TDS-Temperature-Monitor-PPH-EC-CF-Water-Meter-Hydro-Pool-Lab-Tester-/280923287592?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4168553028 but maybe not this exact one but that type of style. as i dont have a digital ph meter either and last time the drops were a pain in the ass. at grow stores this equipment seems way over priced. i love to shop locally but i don't like being raped on the price in return.
dbkick
Well-Known Member
the trick is to buy at one place and get to know the people, I've found this much easier at a mom and pop shop, I've always gotten a 10-20 % discount on items they have in stock and they get fairly competitive with online prices when I go in and order things.
dbkick
Well-Known Member
for quality and a 3 year warranty Bluelab. I bought one guardian and found I needed another continuous meter about a year later. I too was concerned with price but went with another guardian having been impressed with the first one. I had one segment of the display go dim on one. all my hydro shop had to do was send a photo and get an ok to give me a replacement, I had a new guardian the next day.
They have top notch customer service. My meter screen went dim like yours. I sent them a pic and they sent me a brand new meter no questions asked.
pandorasboxg
Active Member
anybody else have any recommendations?
I agree. Get to know the folks at your hydro store. I always get a 15% discount because I'm a good customer. That puts their prices about the same as what I see online. If I take into account shipping as well, it pretty much a wash. The other advantage of buying at the shop is you get to touch the merchandise and you get it NOW. No waiting for the UPS truck. You also get to benefit of being able to ask them questions. The guys at my shop all grow too, so they do know what they are talking about. I've been to grow shops that either don't want to discuss it, since they know it's MJ, or because they are only in the retail business, and don't grow themselves.
I bought the Nutradip Tr-Meter. I like it, but it is susceptible to EM interference from some digital ballasts. The good thing is, only the ppm measurement is affected. I had the problem with mine, but it seems to have went away. My current theory is the brand new ballasts needed to break in a little and no longer put out as much interference. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
The way I dealt with the interference was to only mix nutes with the lights off. I only had to deal with it for one res change as the meter appears to be fine for the last week or so.
Themistic
Member
go with hannah they got very good meters i bought a ph and tds off the internet they sucked didnt wana stay set, so i bought the hannahs and man 6 years and they still work and looks like they will be good for a decade more, 76 bux , blue lab is a little more expensive but i hear they are great as well
just dont go cheap cuz you get what you pay for...
just dont go cheap cuz you get what you pay for...
pandorasboxg
Active Member
bought a hanna primo....the guy at eco grow was very knowledgeable. they price matched. 29.95. also recommended a storage solution to extend life. thank you everyone for your input. now i just need a ph meter and im all good. probably do the same thing but have not made up my mind yet