justiceman
- 2,718
- 263
Hey everyone So I have been growing for about a year now, and I have been using a cheap $20 hanna checker PH pen along with a cheap $20 HM digital TDS3 EC meter as I wanted to see what it was like before buying a real nice meter.
They have been working great though, accept lately my PH meter requires more frequent calibration and It could also do for a cleaning so I figure it is time for a new PH meter and now that I am more experienced I figure I should shell out the extra bones to get a meter that is water proofed and has auto temp compensation.
So far I have come up with 3 choices:
The Hanna combo meter
The Blue Lab combo meter
Oakton PH and TDS meter(separate pieces)
PH meter
TDS meter
Now the hanna ranges from about $120-$170 in price and has a 1 year warranty(not including PH electrode). The Blue lab ranges in the $223-$300 and has a 5 year warranty(not including PH electrode) The Oakton PH meter is about $60 and the TDS is about $90 with no warranties from what I understand so far(maybe a 1 year warranty seems pretty average).
So I am stuck as to witch one I like best. They are all pretty solid meters from what I understand. The blue lab should technically last the longest especially considering the warranty length, but is the price worth it If you still have to most likely purchase a replacement $70 PH electrode each year.
That is why I like the Hanna. It seems to provide the same things the blue lab can at about half the cost, but you still have to most likely replace the electrode each year.
This is where the oakton interests me. The PH meter itself only costs about $60. One could potentially buy a new one each year. That would be much cheaper then the initial cost of the other two because the price of the meter is about the price of a new PH electrode. Not to mention that their TDS meter allows you to replace the Probe unlike the other two.
So I am basically stuck between Quality VS Price and such. If you Farmers have any opinions or recommendations please feel free to post them up AND If you don't mind you can also post up what meters and pens you use.
They have been working great though, accept lately my PH meter requires more frequent calibration and It could also do for a cleaning so I figure it is time for a new PH meter and now that I am more experienced I figure I should shell out the extra bones to get a meter that is water proofed and has auto temp compensation.
So far I have come up with 3 choices:
The Hanna combo meter
The Blue Lab combo meter
Oakton PH and TDS meter(separate pieces)
PH meter
TDS meter
Now the hanna ranges from about $120-$170 in price and has a 1 year warranty(not including PH electrode). The Blue lab ranges in the $223-$300 and has a 5 year warranty(not including PH electrode) The Oakton PH meter is about $60 and the TDS is about $90 with no warranties from what I understand so far(maybe a 1 year warranty seems pretty average).
So I am stuck as to witch one I like best. They are all pretty solid meters from what I understand. The blue lab should technically last the longest especially considering the warranty length, but is the price worth it If you still have to most likely purchase a replacement $70 PH electrode each year.
That is why I like the Hanna. It seems to provide the same things the blue lab can at about half the cost, but you still have to most likely replace the electrode each year.
This is where the oakton interests me. The PH meter itself only costs about $60. One could potentially buy a new one each year. That would be much cheaper then the initial cost of the other two because the price of the meter is about the price of a new PH electrode. Not to mention that their TDS meter allows you to replace the Probe unlike the other two.
So I am basically stuck between Quality VS Price and such. If you Farmers have any opinions or recommendations please feel free to post them up AND If you don't mind you can also post up what meters and pens you use.