Comparing TDS meters; looking for prior expirience

Evening all!

I'm shopping around for a TDS meter right now. There's two very similar meters that confuse me:

First is this nice blue Nutradip one (I've seen this one work and it's excellent):
http://cgi.ebay.ca/Tri-Meter-pH-TDS-Temp-Nutradip-Trimeter-Hydroponics-/350395390362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519531599a

and its virtually identical half-price cousin:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-PH-PPM-TEMP-TDS-EC-CF-METER-WATER-HYDROPONIC-TESTER-/160501424974?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255ea1634e

Has anyone seen both of these in action? Why the huge price gap? Are there any other good quality meters that give PPM, PH and temp all in one?

if you are gonna drop that kind of cash on a combo meter go with the Hanna Grow Check I have this one and a lot of grow shops use it its pretty kick ass it's about 230 bones out the door at hydro shops but a little cheaper online and in stores in Cali.

That sucker seems to be not too commonly availible. Can't find it on ebay at all. My local hydro store doesnt stock one....I'm in Canada though....

The cheaper one is a pile of shit. The ph meter needs constant calibrating. I now use seperate hand held oakton ph and ppm meters. Not as slick but one less thing hanging on the wall.

legallyflying said:

The cheaper one is a pile of shit. The ph meter needs constant calibrating. I now use seperate hand held oakton ph and ppm meters. Not as slick but one less thing hanging on the wall.

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That's precisely what I was afraid of. Oh well; going for the $200 one then

BeaverHuntr said:

if you are gonna drop that kind of cash on a combo meter go with the Hanna Grow Check I have this one and a lot of grow shops use it its pretty kick ass it's about 230 bones out the door at hydro shops but a little cheaper online and in stores in Cali.

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oh NVM I found this Hanna one....does it need frequent recalibrating?

aleksandr2010 said:

oh NVM I found this Hanna one....does it need frequent recalibrating?

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Calibrate once a month or if you are really anal about it you can do it every time you check. If you buy it brand new it will come calibrated with a certificate and calibration solution if you are growing chronic always use the 7.0 PH and 1500 PPM calibrating solution its pretty cheap. make sure you keep the probe in a small glass of water or that green gel will dry out and you will have to spend 100 bones to buy a new one.