Best ph pen >$200

Looking to get a decent ph pen after dealing with the cheap shit from Amazon... What would you buy Apera, Blue Labs, Milwaukee, Hanna etc? Also which model?

Prefer replaceable probe, currently considering Apera Ph60...

I have the ph60

Love it

Blue lab pen

milwaukee mw101

This is what I have and I love it.

Seems to be unavailable right now for some reason. It's also a LOT more expensive than just 2 years ago.

Oxyrhina said:

Looking to get a decent ph pen after dealing with the cheap shit from Amazon... What would you buy Apera, Blue Labs, Milwaukee, Hanna etc? Also which model?

Prefer replaceable probe, currently considering Apera Ph60...

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EDITED: I corrected the link to the Blue Lab PH pen. I mistakenly linked to their conductivity pen. The price is actually even higher for their shitty PH pen @$102.81. With sales tax a cool $110 for a fucking PH pen. Really? Ayekarumba!

PH pens are all varying degrees of trash. Just save your time and pass on the trash. Buy quality equipment.
Milwaukee MW102 with replaceable probe for $118.99 on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-MW102-PH-Temperature-Meter/dp/B001DTNDME/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=milwaukee+mw102&qid=1603979771&sr=8-1
I have both a Milwaukee MW102 and a Blue Lab PH meter (not the combo meter) with remote replaceable probe. Blue Lab to my knowledge no longer sells their PH meter with replaceable probe. They want you to shell out $200+ for their overpriced combo meter. Take a pass and snag the MW102. It's a great unit with a resolution of .01 so you can observe which direction the PH is drifting in your mixture. Up? Down? You'll never know with a Blue Lab meter that only has a resolution of .1 until it rounds up or down to the next digit. The MW102 provides more detailed information and is a work horse.

I have been replacing my PH probes with these once every 2 years for $75. I recently bought 2 and they are phenomenal. Much more rapid response versus Blue Lab and even MW102 supplied replacement probes. This is a lab grade double junction probe for longevity and accuracy:
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/lab-grade-double-junction-ph-probe-neptune-systems.html?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Shopping>Neptune>Brand+(MAP)&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=7373341438&hsa_cam=870139873&hsa_grp=42661203326&hsa_ad=204146470016&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=pla-329902536453&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=CjwKCAjw0On8BRAgEiwAincsHOJYTTbrOQyokm6eZHNXWuqW0cATq34N7ucJVk-vHjU1QH60vumrfRoC1ZUQAvD_BwE

I can't emphasize this enough: PH pens are trash. Avoid them at all costs. When the probe fails you have a new $110 paper weight. Never had one last longer than 8 months. My replaceable probes on my MW102 and Blue Lab PH meter last about 2 years worth of trouble free reliable functionality before requiring replacement. Best of luck dude!

Hot Diggity Sog said:

This is what I have and I love it.

Bluelab Guardian Monitor Wi-Fi

Always On. Being There Optional. Monitor your reservoir pH, Conductivity and Temperature with alerts on your phone when using the Wi-Fi capable Bluelab Guardian Monitor. Built-in Wi-Fi (with option to disable) High/low pH, temperature and conductivity alarms Non-volatile memory – keep settings...

bluelab.com

Seems to be unavailable right now for some reason. It's also a LOT more expensive than just 2 years ago.

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EDITED: I corrected the link to the Blue Lab PH pen. I mistakenly linked to their conductivity pen. The price is actually even higher for their shitty PH pen @$102.81. With sales tax a cool $110 for a fucking PH pen. Really? Ayekarumba!

Only skeezy hydro companies are pulling that shit. Buy equipment from reputable vendors. MW102 $118.99. Grab a Blue Lab Truncheon for $135 (price slightly inflated due to skeezy Blue Lab fucking people in a pandemic) and you're good to go. No need to buy an overpriced Gaurdian for almost $400 with sales tax when the same goal can be accomplished for about $250 with a much higher degree of mobility when checking multiple reservoirs. I sure as hell wouldn't want to haul that bulky guardian around to my 2 separate reservoirs in 2 different areas of my basement. Blue Lab's solution? $800 for 2 guardians? Yeah, no. MW102 & a Truncheon. Light years better value to the consumer than a guardian.

The Truncheon is really the only unique item Blue Lab sells that I would recommend. Everything else is fucked up overpriced for what it is and both better quality and prices can be had by purchasing the equipment from a non-skeezy-hydroponic-marijuana associated company.
$97 on Amazon for a Blue Lab PH pen with no replaceable probe. For another $20 you get a high quality MW102 with replaceable probe. Need I say more?

jonnynobody said:

Only skeezy hydro companies are pulling that shit. Buy equipment from reputable vendors. MW102 $118.99. Grab a Blue Lab Truncheon for $135 (price slightly inflated due to skeezy Blue Lab fucking people in a pandemic) and you're good to go. No need to buy an overpriced Gaurdian for almost $400 with sales tax when the same goal can be accomplished for about $250 with a much higher degree of mobility when checking multiple reservoirs. I sure as hell wouldn't want to haul that bulky guardian around to my 2 separate reservoirs in 2 different areas of my basement. Blue Lab's solution? $800 for 2 guardians? Yeah, no. MW102 & a Truncheon. Light years better value to the consumer than a guardian.

The Truncheon is really the only unique item Blue Lab sells that I would recommend. Everything else is fucked up overpriced for what it is and both better quality and prices can be had by purchasing the equipment from a non-skeezy-hydroponic-marijuana associated company.
$97 on Amazon for a Blue Lab PH pen with no replaceable probe. For another $20 you get a high quality MW102 with replaceable probe. Need I say more?

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That product looks solid and a hell of a lot cheaper too. Thank you for posting that.

Hot Diggity Sog said:

That product looks solid and a hell of a lot cheaper too. Thank you for posting that.

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There's a lot of money presently being made by screwing new gardeners with inflated prices for questionable shoddy equipment. The industry made boat loads of money off of me and people like me 10 years ago when this industry was in it's infancy. Now with legalization they're screwing a whole new generation of growers. I have a feeling they aren't going to get anyone who reads this thread though. Congratulations! You're ahead of the pack

BTW, I've dropped my MW102 on the ground at least 4 or 5 times. Battery popped out and everything. Still works like the day I got it. Quality equipment.

Oxyrhina said:

Looking to get a decent ph pen after dealing with the cheap shit from Amazon... What would you buy Apera, Blue Labs, Milwaukee, Hanna etc? Also which model?

Prefer replaceable probe, currently considering Apera Ph60...

Click to expand...

Do yourself a favor get the blue labs combo meter. It’s about 250 but well worth it. Had my last one for 10 years just bought a new one couple weeks back. I was shopping around fir cheap alternatives and my wife, who always nags me about my grow expenditures Implored next to get the combo meter.

@jonnynobody dude thanks for all the kickass info!! So here's the deal... I shouldn't of said pen as I've been planning on a meter actually. I keep hearing the same thing you said about pens, sadly most all suck! I checked out the mw102 and the neptune probe, I like that setup and it's within budget. Also, I've started ordering parts to build a raseberry pi monitor and controller using atlas scientific probes inline but I want a solid meter I can trust! Just to make sure the monitor stays in line until I hopefully get a feel for it... What would you use for ec/tds? I really don't like the idea of an all in one but was looking at the mw802? At least the probe is replaceable but I'm still not really keen on the idea... So any advice there would be greatly appreciated also! Again, thank you for taking the time to spread the knowledge! I'm starting to quickly realize to avoid anything specifically marketed towards the industry.... Unfortunately it's typically either garbage, severely overinflated or overinflated garbage! Lame as hell... /rant

Oxyrhina said:

@jonnynobody dude thanks for all the kickass info!! So here's the deal... I shouldn't of said pen as I've been planning on a meter actually. I keep hearing the same thing you said about pens, sadly most all suck! I checked out the mw102 and the neptune probe, I like that setup and it's within budget. Also, I've started ordering parts to build a raseberry pi monitor and controller using atlas scientific probes inline but I want a solid meter I can trust! Just to make sure the monitor stays in line until I hopefully get a feel for it... What would you use for ec/tds? I really don't like the idea of an all in one but was looking at the mw802? At least the probe is replaceable but I'm still not really keen on the idea... So any advice there would be greatly appreciated also! Again, thank you for taking the time to spread the knowledge! I'm starting to quickly realize to avoid anything specifically marketed towards the industry.... Unfortunately it's typically either garbage, severely overinflated or overinflated garbage! Lame as hell... /rant

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For TDS I prefer a separate meter. I recommend the Blue Lab Truncheon. It is water proof and doubles as a reservoir stir stick. It's the most reliable TDS meter in the industry. It carries a 5 year manufacturer warranty.
https://www.amazon.com/Bluelab-Truncheon-Nutrient-Meter-Germination/dp/B00348PV6S/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=bluelab+truncheon&qid=1603980349&sr=8-1

I paid $80 for my Bluelab pen about 3 years ago. It's still working fine and when I've checked it with 7.0 solution it's always right on. But I rarely use it as I know what my pH is after mixing nutrient solution for my coco plants and just add a measured amount of pH down. For soil plants I don't bother to pH. I've been mixing the same nutrients for years and they mix to a specific pH and it takes a specific amount of pH down to get it where I want it. So I just mix the same amounts each time and they come out right at 6.0 pH which is what I run with coco. I don't bother checking each time and I never check runoff. I also haven't used my TDS meter in over a year as the nutrients mix to the same EC. I just measure, mix, and go. My meters stay in the cupboard and my plants grow healthy without any issues. I grow on autopilot. A few measuring spoons is all I really need.

xtsho said:

I paid $80 for my Bluelab pen about 3 years ago. It's still working fine and when I've checked it with 7.0 solution it's always right on. But I rarely use it as I know what my pH is after mixing nutrient solution for my coco plants and just add a measured amount of pH down. For soil plants I don't bother to pH. I've been mixing the same nutrients for years and they mix to a specific pH and it takes a specific amount of pH down to get it where I want it. So I just mix the same amounts each time and they come out right at 6.0 pH which is what I run with coco. I don't bother checking each time and I never check runoff. I also haven't used my TDS meter in over a year as the nutrients mix to the same EC. I just measure, mix, and go. My meters stay in the cupboard and my plants grow healthy without any issues. I grow on autopilot. A few measuring spoons is all I really need.

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It's still working because you don't use it. Shocking, right? PH pens are junk. Why? They are throw away devices that do not have replaceable probes. A Blue Lab PH pen is presently $102 and some change on Amazon. The Milwaukee MW102 is $122.99 with a remote replaceable probe. Throw away PH pens never have been and never will be a good value to the consumer due to the nature of their throw away trash design. Obtaining an accurate PH when growing hydroponically is a necessity, not an option. I'm glad to hear you've got your grow dialed in. Feels good, right? My 30 gallon reservoirs take 3ML of PH up every time I water. I still check my PH because I grow hydroponically, and accuracy is very important.

jonnynobody said:

It's still working because you don't use it. Shocking, right? PH pens are junk. Why? They are throw away devices that do not have replaceable probes. A Blue Lab PH pen is presently $102 and some change on Amazon. The Milwaukee MW102 is $122.99 with a remote replaceable probe. Throw away PH pens never have been and never will be a good value to the consumer due to the nature of their throw away trash design. Obtaining an accurate PH when growing hydroponically is a necessity, not an option. I'm glad to hear you've got your grow dialed in. Feels good, right? My 30 gallon reservoirs take 3ML of PH up every time I water. I still check my PH because I grow hydroponically, and accuracy is very important.

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Well I might not use it often but it's dried out numerous times and after an overnight soaking it was still reading 7.0 solution at 7.0. After 3 years and being dried out numerous times it still works. Can't be that much of a piece of junk to be neglected for so long and still working.

If I ever changed nutrients I'd likely check them a few times but since I use dry nutrients that haven't changed in years I don't see the point in checking as the same measurements give the same pH and EC. I will check the pH of my tap water from time to time as they sometimes tap into the ground wells instead of using just the Bull Run water supply and the pH does change when that happens. But even when I was doing flood and drain and DWC I wouldn't always check when mixing fresh nutrients but I always tested and adjusted when topping off. Now if I was using a bunch of products the need to test would be more critical but I just use a dry micronutrient blend, calcium nitrate, and MKP and none of those have changed in the years I've been using them. Many nutrient companies change their formulas which can effect pH and EC. I keep it simple and don't use products that are not needed which simplifies things significantly.

jonnynobody said:

It's still working because you don't use it. Shocking, right? PH pens are junk. Why? They are throw away devices that do not have replaceable probes. A Blue Lab PH pen is presently $102 and some change on Amazon. The Milwaukee MW102 is $122.99 with a remote replaceable probe. Throw away PH pens never have been and never will be a good value to the consumer due to the nature of their throw away trash design. Obtaining an accurate PH when growing hydroponically is a necessity, not an option. I'm glad to hear you've got your grow dialed in. Feels good, right? My 30 gallon reservoirs take 3ML of PH up every time I water. I still check my PH because I grow hydroponically, and accuracy is very important.

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I'll have to remember that MW102 next time im in the market for a ph meter. The last Bluelab Pen I bought lasted 8 months even though I babied it and then it took over a month to replace it under warranty.

I've used an Apera 20 for a couple of years....with no issues , simple and less than $50....re-cal every now and then, keep cal liquids fresh and it's all good.
Sure, there's better and more expensive but won't check any better than a properly calibrated cheap one.

xtsho said:

Well I might not use it often but it's dried out numerous times and after an overnight soaking it was still reading 7.0 solution at 7.0. After 3 years and being dried out numerous times it still works. Can't be that much of a piece of junk to be neglected for so long and still working.

If I ever changed nutrients I'd likely check them a few times but since I use dry nutrients that haven't changed in years I don't see the point in checking as the same measurements give the same pH and EC. I will check the pH of my tap water from time to time as they sometimes tap into the ground wells instead of using just the Bull Run water supply and the pH does change when that happens. But even when I was doing flood and drain and DWC I wouldn't always check when mixing fresh nutrients but I always tested and adjusted when topping off. Now if I was using a bunch of products the need to test would be more critical but I just use a dry micronutrient blend, calcium nitrate, and MKP and none of those have changed in the years I've been using them. Many nutrient companies change their formulas which can effect pH and EC. I keep it simple and don't use products that are not needed which simplifies things significantly.

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I just replaced 2 failed remote PH probes that were 2 years old. Both calibrated to 4.0 and 7.0 without issue. When taking an actual reading though both probes threw off wildly inaccurate results. Your point is moot. You readily admit you do not use a PH meter, and you have allowed your probe to dry out multiple times failing to even follow basic PH probe maintenance and care procedures. Why should anyone take advice from you regarding which PH meter is the best since you don't use one and don't care or properly maintain said equipment that you don't use?

Stop telling people to buy trash. If you have nothing good to contribute saying nothing is completely acceptable.

gr865 said:

Just bought a Milwaukee Instruments MW102 PH and Temperature Meter. So far I like it, have been running Extech pH meters for years now and wanted something different.

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You'll get many years of service out of it. It took about 2 years for my probe to fail which is much longer than any Blue Lab probe has ever made it. The most I've ever gotten out of my last 3 BL probes was 1 year. The other 2 I got 6 months and 3 months which is what prompted me to shop around for replaceable probes. When it comes time to replace your probe you can use any probe that has that screw on connector which is very nice. The cap that keeps the probe wet is a lovely touch of refinement I've not seen on any other unit. As a matter of fact I use the Milwaukee MW102 PH cap on my new Neptune probe instead of the one that came with the Neptune, because it's so gosh darn user friendly and easy to put on and take off. Enjoy your sweet new PH meter dude!