Stay away from Hanna Testers

maps84

maps84

Well-Known Member
I just got my sixth pen in 2 years HI 98129 the better plastic resemblance of shit ever invented. And guess what!!! it doesn't work either. When I try to calibrate it it finishes the test at 7.01 and never let me use the 4.01 solution. Now not only the hardware is crap but also the software??? F$)@% 'em.
My plants are yellowing as we speak, I asume because acidic PH but then again how the heck would I know?. This company has taken a lot of cash and mental sanity from me, I called them and they told me I got DOA probe (breaking news) and "SUGGESTED" me to get a replacement, I told him I've got 3 more meters laying around which are crap too, he responded with an overwhelming, "yeahh.. I get you" like they know this is normal to happen and admitting their meters are crap.

Don't buy their PH Meters!!!! If you love yourself DO NOT BUY HANNA's PH Meters.

Please I need suggestions ASAP of a reliable meter that doesn't go over 200$
 
J

Jar Man

Active Member
I've never trusted the meters, Hanna or otherwise. It may seem like a hassle to go anything beyond having to just stick a probe in your res. mix and, "Voila!", but for years I've just used simple and cheap liquid ph (fish tank) testers avail. at pet stores or even swimming pool testers work fine. And once I've made up a few mixes, I've about got it down to where I don't really need to check the ph very often anyway. Eventually and observant grower learns what the girls look like when there's ph problems and gets a feel for how much baking soda or distilled venegar to add. May sound like primitive dark ages techniques and equipment to you, but it's inexpensive and works well enough. Just could never see the point of laying out some $200 for a meter.
 
Banditt

Banditt

Well-Known Member
I've had a couple hannas in the past. They were meh. They work alright but need to be calibrated quite often in my exp. Try bluelabs. I've had the bluelab combo for a little over a year now and I am more than happy with it. Very reliable and extremely accurate. really easy to use/calibrate etc as well.
 
maps84

maps84

Well-Known Member
Jar Man said:
I've never trusted the meters, Hanna or otherwise. It may seem like a hassle to go anything beyond having to just stick a probe in your res. mix and, "Voila!", but for years I've just used simple and cheap liquid ph (fish tank) testers avail. at pet stores or even swimming pool testers work fine. And once I've made up a few mixes, I've about got it down to where I don't really need to check the ph very often anyway. Eventually and observant grower learns what the girls look like when there's ph problems and gets a feel for how much baking soda or distilled venegar to add. May sound like primitive dark ages techniques and equipment to you, but it's inexpensive and works well enough. Just could never see the point of laying out some $200 for a meter.
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Thanks for your input, nevertheless I'm just dialing in this closet grow which is also led. I need to monitor every aspect as it's a test run important to me. I'm not against old school techniques but I can't afford that now with the money I have put in!
 
MrStickyScissors

MrStickyScissors

Well-Known Member
Jar Man said:
I've never trusted the meters, Hanna or otherwise. It may seem like a hassle to go anything beyond having to just stick a probe in your res. mix and, "Voila!", but for years I've just used simple and cheap liquid ph (fish tank) testers avail. at pet stores or even swimming pool testers work fine. And once I've made up a few mixes, I've about got it down to where I don't really need to check the ph very often anyway. Eventually and observant grower learns what the girls look like when there's ph problems and gets a feel for how much baking soda or distilled venegar to add. May sound like primitive dark ages techniques and equipment to you, but it's inexpensive and works well enough. Just could never see the point of laying out some $200 for a meter.
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yeah im with your on the juice and little plastic bottle for ph. never needs to be calibrated.
 
Banditt

Banditt

Well-Known Member
MrStickyScissors said:
yeah im with your on the juice and little plastic bottle for ph. never needs to be calibrated.
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Never has to be calibrated but unfortunately is kind of innacurate. And can be very hard to use if your nutes change the color of the water drastically. There is no replacement for a quality digital meter. I'm sure you could get by fine with the solution, but for someone like myself who is anal about ph/ppm/temp you need a nice digi.
 
MrStickyScissors

MrStickyScissors

Well-Known Member
IMO if your in a hydro system yeah your right get a top notch tri metter. if your in soil as long as its gud soil it has a buffer in it and wil adjust your ph just get it in the right ball park
 
horribleherk

horribleherk

Well-Known Member
Picture.jpgthe yellow meter is a hanna only lasted a couple of months the green one has almost 3 years on it & calibrates fine every time when it screws up ill buy a blu lab my friend is very happy with his at $70 the oakton eco-tester has been good to me the hanna is crap
 
P

ptg701

Well-Known Member
The lady at my grow shop says that of all the brands of pH and PPM meters that she carries, Hanna products get returned the most because of defects.
 
LSDreamer

LSDreamer

Active Member
I just purchased a blue lab tester for about 110 I think. I love it. Bought 2 sets of the calibration fluid for like 3$ in total. The pen works great, hold the cap attached to the string to dip it into my resevoir, gets an accurate reading within about 10 seconds. Really cant go wrong with it.
 
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