Best PH EC tester?

PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
You can also make your own storage solution for super cheap. You just need the right kind of water softener salts. I forget which ones and the dilution right now, but @Renfro has a thread on it here somewhere. But really the storage solution is so cheap. It's like $10 for a tiny bottle, but you only use a few drops each time you put the pen away. It lasts a long time.

I'm using just a cheap Vivosun all-in-one ph/ec/ppm tester, mainly because they gave it to me free, but it's honestly been working quite good. The main thing is to calibrate regularly and always use storage solution.
 
DCcan

DCcan

Well-Known Member
Some of the off brand $17 ones have good probes, they just don't compensate for temperature, need mechanical calibration with jewelers screwdriver, and you can only get the bottom 2" wet because no waterproofing.

Overall, thats just a huge pain in the ass for stoners to remember all those things.
At least for me. I must have flushed one 6x with distilled water after getting it wet...worked great afterward.
Still have it for a backup :)
 
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Cigarz

Cigarz

Active Member
1212ham said:
One Amazon buyer says the storage cap doesn't seal and there's talk of issues. On the other hand, my MW102 has been flawless but there are plenty of bad reviews on amason, but many of those people are clueless.

Anyway, I think the Apera PH60 is worth a look, it's been out longer and people here are happy with it.
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I think im gonna penny up and go with the Milwaukee MW102
 
J

jonnynobody

Well-Known Member
1212ham said:
One Amazon buyer says the storage cap doesn't seal and there's talk of issues. On the other hand, my MW102 has been flawless but there are plenty of bad reviews on amason, but many of those people are clueless.

Anyway, I think the Apera PH60 is worth a look, it's been out longer and people here are happy with it.
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Most bad reviews on good products are just idiots that blame the equipment because they don't know how to use it properly. I just ordered a battery transfer pump on amazon that had lower reviews than almost every other unit. I knew this unit to be a good unit though, and ignored the asinine reviews. It's the best dam battery powered transfer pump I've ever owned, and it had lower reviews than almost every other option. Amazon reviews are so manipulated and untrustworthy I rarely put any stock in them regarding a product's quality. Half the time they'll knock the product for shipping errors or something completely unrelated to the product. Or sometimes just plain old fashioned operator error.
 
J

jonnynobody

Well-Known Member
PJ Diaz said:
That's surprising, and contrary to everything I've read.

This is what Apera suggests..

View attachment 4883461
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Me thinks he was given bad advice. Storing a PH probe in distilled or RO water will cause problems with the reference solution stored within the unit used to provide an accurate reading. Always store your probe in probe storage solution to prolong the life of the unit. It slowly draws ions out of the reference solution rendering the unit unreliable when stored in water. I believe it's an osmotic effect. Storing in reference solution prevents the damaging osmotic effect from occurring preserving your precious reference solution within the probe.
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
i just looked up my receipt: mw101 purchased 11/4/2014

still same probe. it pays to listen to the manufacturer re: probe storage. maybe all probes aren't requiring a KCl storage solution?
if you'd like to speak with him, he was an older gentleman in their Las Vegas facility. lol. his name eludes me.
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
jonnynobody said:
Me thinks he was given bad advice. Storing a PH probe in distilled or RO water will cause problems with the reference solution stored within the unit used to provide an accurate reading. Always store your probe in probe storage solution to prolong the life of the unit. It slowly draws ions out of the reference solution rendering the unit unreliable when stored in water. I believe it's an osmotic effect. Storing in reference solution prevents the damaging osmotic effect from occurring preserving your precious reference solution within the probe.
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1212ham said:
That rep should be fired.
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rkymtnman said:
i just looked up my receipt: mw101 purchased 11/4/2014

still same probe. it pays to listen to the manufacturer re: probe storage. maybe all probes aren't requiring a KCl storage solution?
if you'd like to speak with him, he was an older gentleman in their Las Vegas facility. lol. his name eludes me.
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This is from the MW101 user manual:
Screenshot - 2021-04-20T153632.296.png
/snip
Screenshot - 2021-04-20T153618.863.png
 
J

jonnynobody

Well-Known Member
rkymtnman said:
i just looked up my receipt: mw101 purchased 11/4/2014

still same probe. it pays to listen to the manufacturer re: probe storage. maybe all probes aren't requiring a KCl storage solution?
if you'd like to speak with him, he was an older gentleman in their Las Vegas facility. lol. his name eludes me.
Click to expand...
Fella was probably doing the best he could with the knowledge he had, but he mistakenly misinformed you. It's the nature of how these devices work that they must be stored in KCI. I'm impressed you're still using it :)

BTW, I use to do the same until I was corrected by another grower.
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
jonnynobody said:
Fella was probably doing the best he could with the knowledge he had, but he mistakenly misinformed you. It's the nature of how these devices work that they must be stored in KCI. I'm impressed you're still using it :)

BTW, I use to do the same until I was corrected by another grower.
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I used to store mine in ph7.0 solution. It took me a while to figure out why they were always dying so quick.
 
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