Digital pH meters - Recommendations?

Does anyone have a recommendation for an easy to use digital pH meter I can get online? I'll use it to measure the pH of runoff from soil, as well as to test the water I use before I feed.

Thanks much!

bluelab or hannah. I run a bluelab now and it's definitely my fav.



The combo does PPM/EC/TEMP readings as well as PH.

Thanks Banditt. I should have specified, but I was hoping to find something a bit cheaper.... is there anything reliable under $50?

Ok so this one is a bit above your target amount, but I have used one of these for 3 years now with 0 problems.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HM-Digital-pH200-Waterproof-ph-Temperature-Meter-Pen-/300516355108?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f82bac24

GreatwhiteNorth said:

Ok so this one is a bit above your target amount, but I have used one of these for 3 years now with 0 problems.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HM-Digital-pH200-Waterproof-ph-Temperature-Meter-Pen-/300516355108?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f82bac24

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I had one of these for a while and it worked great until I broke the probe . Was my own fault, just be careful with it as it's very fragile.

Forgot what mines called. Its like an green black box. PH pen. Cost me 60 at hydro shop. Works good so far. Comes calibrated and everything.

Then I got one those 25 dollar HM TDS pens. Works great also. Jus gotta multiply by 10 if u go over 1000ppm.

Saved me 50 bucks instead of buying a combo one.

Keep in mind that when buying a PH tester, buy the appropriate storing solution to keep it in. I use a milwaukee pen tester. (yellow). It's very simple to use and I've had no problems with it over the last 6 months. Prior to that I had a hanna multi-pen but the PH probe needs to be replaced, it still however works to test PPM.

Anything by Hanna. I have the cheap one at home and it works great. We also have a more expensive waterproof one at work that kicks ass.

stay away from the crappy hanna ph meters.....my second meter is no longer working so im forced to work with the liquid tester
my hanna meter reads the calibration solution perfectly, but for some strange reason wont read anything else properly.....when testing nutrient solution or even plain water the numbers slowly keep going up by one digit until i get fed up and just give up with the meter all together.....the first meter i had did the exact same thing after just a short while
on a side note i do have a hanna ppm meter that has been working great for over a year now.......go figure
so if i were you i would spend a few extra bucks and get a good one

i paid 70 for this also blue lab very easy to use, one screen, three buttons on/of, calibrate, units very simple

Samwell Seed Well said:

i paid 70 for this also blue lab very easy to use, one screen, three buttons on/of, calibrate, units very simple

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Where did you buy that one from? It isn't on getbluelab.com.

Banditt said:

http://www.hpsgrowlightstore.com/hps1510/bluelab-ph-pen.html?___store=default

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Thanks. Going to order one now.

Spend the money now, and buy the bluelab. Or, go super cheap and buy the .50 cent ones in bulk and use them as disposeables.

I have been through 3 or 4 ($50 each)pen type meters, and they never stayed calibrated for long and always took a long time to get a reading.
Ive had my Bluelab (~$200) for almost 6 months now and have never had to calibrate it and it gets readings within probably 5 secs.

my local supply store

IMHO i have gone through Milwaukee, gro stick and nutri dip meters... hands down spend it wisely.. if your ph is off its off.. get a good meter buy a quality product calibrate it often clean it well... i have had my Hanna meter for over 2 years and with proper maintenance it will last a lifetime..
I mention the Hanna because the batteries are easy to change easy to find, probes are replaceable, its water proof, easy to calibrate everything you could want...

pr0fesseur said:

IMHO i have gone through Milwaukee, gro stick and nutri dip meters... hands down spend it wisely.. if your ph is off its off.. get a good meter buy a quality product calibrate it often clean it well...

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Couldn't agree more with this statement. Don't buy a meter just because it was the cheapest one at the hydro shop. Buy something reliable. Having shitty meter is as good as not having one at all. If your ph is off, and your meter is not showing you that, you're really gonna be scratching your head when all kinds of ph related issues start popping up. And storing/calibrating the meter correctly is extremely important, make sure you are following the manufacturers directions. Not storing the meter correctly will destroy the diode, and not calibrating regularly, even when using a quality meter will result in inaccurate readings.