I also agree with this 100%
Is there a brand you find doesn't require as much attention? I am always down for better pH meters.
I'm switching to Jack's and I saw your post about a mixing plate a 1/2 gallon jars. $35 for a plate and $10 for a 6pk of jars, was a no brainer, thanks for the tip.
Go figure today I needed to adjust my ph meter after over a month of sitting in the storage solution....... It needed to be adjusted 0.1 point lol
Checked my apera last night and it was off by .08... i'm heartbroken
i love this pen.Preach man, I have the hanna which is pretty much the same. its been going strong for years and the only thing that has saved my ass
Don't be overly concerned. You only need to replace the meter (I have been told) when you run out of calibration. My meters have not made it that far along (yet).Checked my apera last night and it was off by .08... i'm heartbroken
Was joking.. .08 is nothing and it recalibrated fine
I always have at least two functioning pH meters just because I never know when one is gonna fail. Unlike EC meters they are perishable (the probe is at least) so It's not if, but when it will fail.
For my EC meters I don't do anything like that. I just use and rise with rater. I have a truncheon and a cheapo sunleaves that is my go to as it's super accurate and has been reliable for the last 12 years. Mine is older and looks a little different than the new version, is tan/grey with a blue top. I have heard of cleaning with vinegar but I have never felt the need. I suppose if you have a continuous PPM monitor where the probe is constantly immersed that a good clean would be a good idea though. Just remember that you don't want to scrub the probe bits with anything.
when i first got my Milwaukee, i contacted them to ask about the best way to store the probe. tech support said rinse off in white vinegar and store in distilled. same probe from about 8 years ago. still accurate as hell.
Thats one thing I really like about the truncheon. It doesn't even have a calibration function, it doesn't need it. That said my old ass sunleaves meter is deadly accurate when I have stuck it in calibration solution it comes up within a few PPM, like 3 or 4 PPM max difference. Just have to wait for about 30 - 45 seconds for the ATC sensor to read the solution temperature.
I wonder why they say to do that. I have always been told store an EC meter with a clean, dry probe.
i was talking about my pH meter. my EC meter has never been cleaned: just shake it off and put the cap back on. it's about the same age 8+ years.
Generally pH meters need to be stored with KCl solution to preserve the probe. But hey, if it's still working after 8 years, thats gotta be a record for a pH probe, then you gotta be doing something right. I have been told by the Apera rep that distilled water is the worst to store their probes in as it leeches ions from the KCl from the probe or some shit. lol
Yeah, don't do that... lol I pull a sample and test in a cup. Actually I have found that some pH pens will get a wack reading if I don't pull a sample from a res that has air stones going or a water pump running. Cheap pH pens piss me off anyway because an inaccurate pH reading can cause more harm than just not knowing the pH. Once I bought several different cheap pH pens to see if any of them were good. It was hilarious. Some wouldn't even calibrate brand new. They rarely ever agreed on anything and I ended up just tossing them. Now I keep the Bluelab Soil/Liquid pen and an Apera PH60S (spear probe) and I also have a bluelab liquid only pH pen. I just wanted one in each room for convenience but in the end I find myself going to get the Apera or just keep it in my pocket because it gets a stable reading faster and has the extra decimal of precision.
