Apera PH meters- AVOID

Renfro said:

Please keep us updated on the products performance in your grow. We are curious.

I think that one should always have at least 2 reliable pH meters, and I personally wanna have at least two of the soil pens as well. If one goes down or you are trying to confirm a really odd reading then it's invaluable.

Click to expand...

I am never without GH pH drop test kit. That's what I tell most beginners, always have drops, to compare when something doesn't seem right on your meter.
I'm drifting further and further away from devices that just monitor, towards devices that monitor and control now - in my searches I mean.

This atlas scientific company seems very cool. Quality probes/gear, good "philosophy" - they're open source for the most part I think, and they support the "diy" type of community. I like it.
I'm legitimately trying to figure out if I can learn arduino etc. in a reasonable amount of time now. Hahaha.

Edit: @Renfro https://www.whiteboxes.ch/shop/i2c-soil-moisture-sensor/ One of these per plant container? Haha.

2com said:

Edit: @Renfro https://www.whiteboxes.ch/shop/i2c-soil-moisture-sensor/ One of these per plant container? Haha.

Click to expand...

That looks like the ticket.

Just some things I have learned about the PH60 / PH60S

1. Turn off the meter.
2. Long Hold the power button (more than 2 seconds) to make it turn on into the Settings Menu which will show USA, P1.
3. From there we go to page 7 for factory reset. Change pages with Mode button
4. On P7 it will show the word "no"
5. Tap Cal/Enter to get it blinking
6. Tap Mode to change no to Yes
7. Tape Cal/Enter again to select Yes, the display will stop blinking and the device shall be reset
8. Long Hold the power button to exit to measuring mode, what you regularly see on screen.

Something seems wrong and you want to see if the pen itself is working eliminating a faulty probe being the cause:

1. Turn off the meter.
2. Remove the probe so the meter is connected to nothing
3. Turn the meter on.
4. Typically with no probe attached to the meter, the screen should show -2.00ph as a default.

My apera ph meter got moist inside after over one year use, 14-15 months, amazon asked if I want refund or replacement. Got a refund in couple of days.

Martin1980 said:

My apera ph meter got moist inside after over one year use, 14-15 months, amazon asked if I want refund or replacement. Got a refund in couple of days.

Click to expand...

I doubt it was Amazon offering a refund. They dont accept returns past 30 days. Even if they did, they would want it returned for something this expensive.

If you got a refund, Im pretty sure it would have been from the seller - which was almost certainly Apera. Ive never seen anyone selling Apera products on Amazon other than Apera.

Since their warrany is only one year, that was pretty decent of them to honer it past that date.

Which by the way has been my experience. They have treated me very well the two times Ive needed service.

got a bluelab contph controller and a portable bluelab pen. the readings are like .2-.3 higher on the pen compared to the controller. idk if its the portable pen thats off or the contph controller.

I recently calibrated both 1-2 weeks ago. im tired of calibrating these ph tools every damn week or two. i want one that just stays for at least a month or two.

any other reliable ph meters besides bluelab? or is that bluelab combo meter viable? reliable combo meters?

maybe this pens taking a shit. or its the controller wall unit. bluelabs are only accurate to one another right after calibrating them. whos got the patience to calibrate every week or two

Just ordered an apera 60s today based on your review of it in your other thread. It was a good price though hopefully it works for a while and will just go with a blue lab when it quits working.

I do like my Apera pen (PH60S) but I wasn't pleased with their support. And don't buy their products off Amazon, old stock.

newbplantgrower420 said:

got a bluelab contph controller and a portable bluelab pen. the readings are like .2-.3 higher on the pen compared to the controller. idk if its the portable pen thats off or the contph controller.

Click to expand...

Calibrate them. Any pH probe that isn't stored in KCL solution will have a swing and the probe life is limited. So having a probe sit in solution constantly is going to require weekly calibration.

Renfro said:

I do like my Apera pen (PH60S) but I wasn't pleased with their support. And don't buy their products off Amazon, old stock.

Click to expand...

Picked it up from here for 129 remembered you said not to get em from amazon hopefully it's good to go for a while.

Clinton213 said:

Picked it up from here for 129 remembered you said not to get em from amazon hopefully it's good to go for a while.

Apera PH60S Premium Spear pH Pocket Tester for Solid / Semi-Solid Sample Testing (Cheese, Meat, Sushi Rice, Soil...)

Apera PH60S Premium Spear pH Pocket Tester for Solid / Semi-Solid Sample Testing (Cheese, Meat, Sushi Rice, Soil...) - PH60S Premium Spear pH Pocket Tester for Solid/Semi-Solid Sample Testing (Cheese, ...

www.jjstech.com

Click to expand...

Did you pick up the tool to poke the hole? You don't want to use your probe to poke a hole in the soil as the tip is very fragile.

Renfro said:

Did you pick up the tool to poke the hole? You don't want to use your probe to poke a hole in the soil as the tip is very fragile.

Click to expand...

No I didn't but will be sure to keep it in mind.