Bluelab condictivity pen EC/TDS accuracy

[sicoroot]

Hello Growers,

I'm interested in the Bluelab pen for EC/TDS levels of the water and tea I'll use to feed my plants growing in organic soil. Some user is saying that the pen doesn't read below 100ppm although the specs say 0 to 5000.
From the local water report in my area, water hardness should be between 27 to 30 ppm...I've never checked it but if this is accurate it's a good ppm level to start with.
pH level range is 7.2 to 7.9 based on the same report, a bit on the alkaline side of the scale. I haven't adjusted the pH level in my outdoor grow last season and at some point in early flowering I started to see a strong yellowing of the leaves with subsequent falling off. I also had to leave the plants unattended for a month with only automatic water irrigation, so they may got shocked but lack of nutrients too.
I decided to be a bit more aware of pH and TDS levels going forward. If the water report is accurate on pH levels I need to do some small adjustments to bring it down to at least around 7.0 which should be a good level for my growing medium.

As far as ppm I would be more interested in where the values is on the teas...

anyway, I was curious about the accuracy of the EC/TDS pen and if anyone has noticed what that user was talking about ?

thanks !

 

[Moe.Red]

I have multiple of these

Top Seller - Bluelab Guardian Monitor (MONGUA) - pH + Temperature + Conductivity (TDS) Measurements

Seasonal changes sunlight hours wind inherent plant growth; from vegetative to fruiting; are all influencing factors to plant growth success. But more importantly these parameters change the plants uptake and need of water and specific nutrient elements. The Bluelab Guardian is a constant...

growgreenmi.com

And I can recommend them for accuracy. Starting at between 0 and 5 with RO water they track all the way up to way past where I need them to. They have to be cleaned and calibrated from time to time. I think the pen you are referring to uses the same sensors. I don’t know about the processing electronics but I tend to believe the pen will act like mine. Keep the tip wet at all times for best life and performance

 

[sicoroot]

I have multiple of these

Top Seller - Bluelab Guardian Monitor (MONGUA) - pH + Temperature + Conductivity (TDS) Measurements

Seasonal changes sunlight hours wind inherent plant growth; from vegetative to fruiting; are all influencing factors to plant growth success. But more importantly these parameters change the plants uptake and need of water and specific nutrient elements. The Bluelab Guardian is a constant...

growgreenmi.com

And I can recommend them for accuracy. Starting at between 0 and 5 with RO water they track all the way up to way past where I need them to. They have to be cleaned and calibrated from time to time. I think the pen you are referring to uses the same sensors. I don’t know about the processing electronics but I tend to believe the pen will act like mine. Keep the tip wet at all times for best life and performance

thank you for the info, so it seems like I need to get a cleaning kit as well as I get the pens....

 

[Moe.Red]

Not immediately it will come calibrated but within 6 months you will want one of these

Amazon.com

 

[sicoroot]

Not immediately it will come calibrated but within 6 months you will want one of these

Amazon.com

thank you ..I saw this kit from the website I'm planning to buy the pens from :

Bluelab Probe Care Kit pH & Conductivity

The instrument is only as accurate as the probe is clean.Probe cleaning is one of the most important parts of owning or operating any Bluelab meter monitor or controller.The probe surface is where the instrument takes the reading of the solution or soil/media. If the probe face is dirty or...

growgreenmi.com

they seem to do the same thing, this one is a bit more expensive than the Amazon one