Are these meters any good?

SmokeDoggy

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #1

Believe it or not, I found little to nothing using Search so I'm making a new post.

There's a lot of comments on this forum about GETTING a meter, but few about what kinds.

So I'm trying to figure out if the ones I have here will suffice or if I need more or different meters?!?



TDS - PPM/Water meter - http://cgi.ebay.com/HM-Digital-TDS-EZ-Meter%2fTester,-Water%2fppm%2fPurity%2fFilter_W0QQitemZ270411724544QQcmdZViewItem

pH/Moisture meter - http://cgi.ebay.com/Moisture-Light-...lyzer-NEW_W0QQitemZ120449522509QQcmdZViewItem

(I also will use my Pool's pH test strips/kit when needed)


What do you guys think???

I did notice some of the PPM/EC/TDS meters only go up to 999, which is really lame and likely a big area where folks get ripped off with a mostly unusable meter. The above one goes up to 10,000 but the 999+ is in increments of 10ppm not 1ppm like the 1-999 readings are. But hey, it should be good enough right?

Thanks!

 

cowboylogic

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #2

TDS meter is cheap enough. Why not for that price. As far as the probe type goes. I would not waste my money. You gonna be growing in soil or hydro?

 

aknight3

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #3

i have the same tds meter that i bought 7 years ago, same exact one still works, paid 8 dollars, who says you need fancy equipment, although now i do have a 200 dollar one, but ill tel you right now they give the same reading. i dont know about the other meter but the blue one is good

 

aknight3

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #4

and btw sry for double post but its easy, if ur ppm is 1000, itll say 100 and in the corner x10 and so on and so forth

 

kevin

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #5

that looks like the same meter i bought. it does a good job for me. just submerge the end of it in water, not the whole thing.
you should really check into one of these too. easier to read than the pool ph tester.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Waterproof-Digi...lies?hash=item4cea8d79ad&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
that ph/moistier meter you have there, is a good one for the moistier, but i like mixing my feed/water then ph it to what i'm looking for with the meter above.

 

tom__420

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #6

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TDS Range: 0 - 9990 ppm (mg/L)

That is copied right from the ebay site. It can go up to 9990 ppm not 999...
[/FONT]

 

SmokeDoggy

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #7

Sweet, good news, thanks guys. The pH is just because I thought it would be helpful to leave it in there constantly and watch the periodic change over minutes vs. using up lots test strips, etc..

I have pH strips and a pH test kit, plus my GH ph control kit also will have more pH test solution in it too so maybe I don't really need a meter?

tom__420 said:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]TDS Range: 0 - 9990 ppm (mg/L)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]That is copied right from the ebay site. It can go up to 9990 ppm not 999...[/FONT]

Click to expand...

Yeah, I know, I meant OTHER TDS meters didn't state they could go past 999 but this one does so it must be at least slightly better than those "others".


One more comment I'll add - I'm reading Roseman's new grow journal (it ROCKS thus far!) and I'm thinking I can do this w/out the TDS or pH meters. That may be so, esp. for pH, but I'm thinking for TDS I might as well get one for $16 shipped, right? It would be way worth the hassle and if nothing else would be a SAFE backup if/when needed (immediately), right??

Thanks!

 

tom__420

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #8

So do you guys think that this blue meter would work well? The price is sweet so maybe I will pick one up also as long as they work good

 

I

Illegal Smile

Guest

• Aug 16, 2009

• #9

Try this - damn good meter and great price:

http://www.amazon.com/COM100-WATERP...VEUI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1250441085&sr=8-5

 

grobofotwanky

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #10

It'll work just fine. Just be sure you keep the probe clean and calibrate it bout every 2 weeks, for maximum accuracy.

 

caddyluck

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #11

for sure grobofotwanky(whew), I have one of those and it's definitly worth getting some calibration solution and I calibrate my cheapo weekly

 

tom__420

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #12

I just placed an order for the blue one posted above so I guess I will be sure to pick up some calibration solution from my hydro store

 

SmokeDoggy

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #13

Calibrate a PPM meter? Is there such a thing?

I know you must calibrate the pH meters of course...

 

aknight3

Well-Known Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #14

yea there is 1342 cal soulution for tds meters i think that blue one is fine ive had mine for over 5 yrs

 

widow84

Member

• Aug 16, 2009

• #15

I got some cheap hanna ph and tds
paid for them 14 us$ on ebay each

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hanna-Primo-Con...in_0?hash=item4399998f41&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.com/HANNA-HI98103-p...286.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo=LVI&itu=UCI&otn=3&ps=5

have them for 3 years now

 

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society

• Aug 17, 2009

• #16

pH meters and ppm-EC meters should never be bought used. Consider WHY is it for sale? After a year or two of heavy use, the probes, the tips at the end, they go bad and need to be replaced.

Make sure your new meter is
1, water-proof
2, comes with batteries
3, comes with Calibration Solution or is available as an additional purchase.

And of course, Cheap is CHEAP and you get what you pay for.

You can't go wrong with amazon.com for price comparison.

 

SmokeDoggy

Well-Known Member

• Aug 17, 2009

• #17

Ok, good to know, I'm glad you replied here, thank you!!

Yes, I've bought 1/2 of my bubbleponics setup on Amazon and the other half on eBay.

 

grobofotwanky

Well-Known Member

• Aug 17, 2009

• #18

Great point Roseman. Waterproof is always worth the little extra cash.