Any suggestions on ph meters for soil? Something not cheap junk...

Was searching around and currently torn between grabbing one of those cheap $15 or so items from the hardware story - but they are cheap junk I presume? Reliable/accurate at all? I'm getting mixed stories from searching forums and websites.

Currently I see 3 contenders .. this XLUX T20B Professional Soil pH Meter for $40 bucks or the XLUX T20B Professional Soil pH Meter coming in at $57. Then there's what seems to be a true commercial/pro offering called the Kelway PHD Soil PH meter for $90.

Then there's just get a Bluelab ph Probe - I have a combo meter. Also could look for generic probe compatible with my existing meter. My current liquid ph probe is dried out so probably dead/unrecoverable.

I was hoping to find a meter that isn't like the bluelab probes where they expire/age. Looking for something that lasts and is low maintenance so I'm keen to go with one of the 3 probes listed above.

Any personal experiences with those products? Recommendations?

Bluelab or Hanna. With the Bluelab meter being water resistant. The Hanna meter supposedly has a tiny air hole in the rear of the meter.

I've been there. Buy cheap and find out its junk. Only to end up buying the expensive which is really expensive. Because I wasted money on the cheaper stuff first. If you're hardcore serious about checking the PH. Go serious with the tools. Avoid the doubt in tool performance.

'Kelway' makes mid level meters. Golf course grass maintenance stuff. You might consider those.

I thought one bonus of soil was not checking PH?

It's been over 7 years since I bought my Milwaukee SM-101, but a few things from back then.

A decent entry level meter is going to run ~$100. Cheaper ones are usually in the "junk" catagory. The very accurate one we use at the shop was a bit over $650 Nice, but that level of accuracy just isn't needed for our purposes.

Get one where the probe is separate. Much cheaper to replace a $25 +/- probe than having to buy a whole new meter. The Milwaukee has this feature.

Uses common batteries. Trying to find particular hearing aid batteries, besides the cost, is a real PITA. The Milwaukee uses a standard 9v battery.

Able to calibrate meter AND calibration solutions. I only use my meter once or twice/year and having known pH solutions to check the meter against and adjust if necessary removes any guessing about the meter.

Take your time and do plenty of comparison shopping. There are plenty of decent meters out there. There is also plenty of junk. It seems that the flashier the Ad copy, or deals/specials, the higher the junk ratio.

Buy the best tools you can afford.

Thai_Lights said:

I thought one bonus of soil was not checking PH?

Click to expand...

You may not need to check pH very often, but you most certainly need to buffer the soil when making a fresh mix and checking pH after a few runs and reamending.

The calcium carbonate does get depleted over time and pH will drop, especially in peat based mixes. The plants themselves consume a good chunk of Ca.

Yeah, I'm hoping to not need to monitor ph as one of the 'perks' of going this route; But I did want to check the initial ph to make sure it wasn't out whack given the re-use and re-amending and not knowing if the initial batch was in the right range to begin with.

As far as meters, I've got a BlueLab - one of my earliest purchases - but it's probe is dead and I'm looking for soil this time around. I've been eyeballing the soil ph probe though. Not much more than the other mid-range options that aren't a gel-based pen that gets depleted/aged. I'm still thinking I'll get either the 40 or 60 option (I see my copy/past mistake above - the 2nd one was the 'Gain Express' model).

After my solution sat overnight with drops in it, I'm thinking the color is near 7. Just hard to eyeball given the original murky color.

Are you sure that probe is dead?

Mine was locked in a safe for over 2 years and totally dried out. I thought it was totally dead, but let it sit overnight in some distilled water. When checked against calibration solutions (7.1 and 4.5 IIRC), it needed slight calibration, but otherwise was spot on. Really surprised me.

I may have to try and see if it can be resurrected; I've been seeing mixed reports so when in dount - just try it out...

Found a good price on the Kelway model - cheaper than Amazon even with shipping.

http://cspforestry.com/products/kelway-soil-phd-home-and-garden-soil-ph-tester-sph.html

That's the better model at the same price and the other 2 I was considering. Just ph only, no moisture reading...

BUT... I discovered that there is a Kelway model with both which I haven't seen before on any searching (Amazon, hydrop store sites, etc)...

http://cspforestry.com/products/kelway-soil-acidity-ph-moisture-meter-hb-2.html

So anyone else looking or stumbling across this later, there's the best price I've found so far for the best model (it appears)...